John Byrne, Bernie Wrightson Launch New Books at IDW

This May, IDW Publishing will launch two new series, one each from veteran creators John Byrne and Bernie Wrightson. The first issues of the series will be fully returnable for direct market retailers, so expect to see them on the shelves at even some of your more conservative local comic shops come May. "Both Byrne and Wrightson are not only legends in the comics field," said Chris Ryall, IDW's Chief , "but they're also doing work here that stacks up nicely alongside their very best comics from the past, and we want retailers to know we stand behind these books in a big way. Hopefully the returnability of the issues really speaks to how strongly we feel about these books being a good bet for comic shops." Frankenstein Alive, Alive! will see Swamp Thing co-creator Wrightson sequelize his cult-favorite illustrated edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which he originally published in the 1980s, along with writer Steve Niles. Niles is best known for his creator-owned vampire series, 30 Days of Night, which is currently publishing monthly through IDW, but he recently made headlines by setting up a fundraising campaign to help Ghost Rider co-creator Gary Friedrich financially after he was sued by Marvel for selling what they characterize as bootleg Ghost Rider merchandise at conventions. According to IDW, the series will not only feature art by Wrightson but also "heaps of engrossing supplemental material like interviews, essays, and a serialization of Shelley's original work."

John Byrne, the legendary artist who reinvented Superman in the 1980s and had historic runs on characters like Wonder Woman, the X-Men and (notably for the purposes of this discussion) The Fantastic Four, is bringing a monthly series to life featuring a superhero team derived from the concept of the game of rock, paper, scissors. Seriously. Byrne's Trio features three superheroes called Rock, Paper and Scissors with powers appropriate to those names. He'll work with a series of inkers who have embellished his work in the past, beginning with Joe Sinnott and Tom Palmer. Ryall, who will edit Trio himself,  says in the press release that "Trio really is Byrne's return to superheroic form. Fans who've loved Byrne at all stages of his career, from his beloved and influential superhero comics to his more recent work with us on Star Trek and Next Men, will love what he's bringing to bear on this series." Both series will debut in May from IDW; it would be hard to imagine that they won't be teased in the company's Free Comic Book Day offering the first weekend of that month.