Top Cow Celebrates Artifacts #1

[ENGLISH] Top Cow tells us: LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 28, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that copies of Artifacts #1, have sold out at the distributor level.  A second printing of Artifacts #1 is being sent to Diamond Comics Distributors to meet the demand for the publisher’s 13-issue mega-event series and will be available in upcoming weeks.

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Written by Ron Marz (Witchblade, Green Lantern) and featuring the art team of Michael Broussard (The Darkness), Rick Basaldua (The Darkness), Sal Regla (Magdalena) and Sunny Gho of IFS (Velocity), the Artifacts event series promises to be Top Cow’s most ambitious art series to date and will weave together story lines from a number of Top Cow titles.  The first issue kicks off with the abduction of Hope, the daughter of Sara Pezzini and Jackie Estacado and quickly spirals into a conspiracy, which threatens to destroy the entire Top Cow Universe.

”We have been working on Artifacts for almost two years and nothing has been more gratifying than hearing and seeing the reaction from reviewers and fans alike,” commented Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “Ron, Michael, Rick, Sal, Sunny, and Marc have delivered a breath-taking, show-stopping first issue and let me assure you, we are just getting warmed up.”

« We’ve been talking about Artifacts being a chance to put our best foot forward, so to speak, in terms of introducing the entire Top Cow Universe to readers,” added Marz.  “So I’m absolutely thrilled with the response we’ve received, especially going to a second printing so quickly. I’m proud of what Michael and I and everyone else on the creative and editorial teams has produced, and I want to get it into as many hands as possible. »

On Saturday, July 31st, Top Cow will co-host two bi-coastal launch parties to celebrate the release of this momentous first issue. The Los Angeles release party will be held at Collector’s Paradise from 7-10pm PST.  Broussard, Basaldua, and Publisher Filip Sablik will be at the event signing copies of the Collector’s Paradise exclusive variant cover of Artifacts #1, as well as an exclusive limited edition print featuring art from Broussard.  Collector’s Paradise is located at 7131 Winnetka Ave in Canoga Park. Additional information can be found at the store’s website at http://comicsandcards.net.

The New York release party will be held at Midtown Comics at Times Square from 3-5pm EST.  Marz will be at the event signing copies of the Midtown Comics’ exclusive variant cover of Artifacts #1.  Midtown Comics is located at 200 W 40th Street (Corner of 7th Avenue) in New York. Additional information can be found at the store’s website at http://www.midtowncomics.com/.

Momentum for the race to Artifacts began after the publisher released an Artifacts guide as part of the Top Cow Artifacts #0 Free Comic Book Day issue.  Artifacts #1 is the perfect place for faithful readers to see their loyalty pay off, and for new readers to enter the Top Cow Universe.

Artifacts #1’s success joins other recent sold-out Top Cow titles – The Darkness/Pitt #1, The Darkness/Pitt #2, Tracker #1, Pilot Season: Murderer #1, Pilot Season: Demonic #1, Angelus #1, Angelus #2 and Magdalena #1.

Artifacts #1 Second Printing will be in stores August 18th, 2010.

Artifacts #2 will arrive in stores August 25th, 2010.

ART ATTACHED:  Artifacts #1 Midtown Comics variant cover, Artifacts #1 Collector’s Paradise variant cover and Artifacts #1 Second Print cover

Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry’s Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT’s #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow’s other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow’s other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.