Best-selling writer/artist Tony S. Daniel, best known for his work on books like Nocterra, Batman, and Deathstroke, will launch an all-new fantasy series titled Edenwood next month, and ComicBook.com has an exclusive first look at the first issue’s variant cover by superstar artist Ryan Stegman. The ongoing, war-ravaged epic will feature coloring by Marcelo Maiolo (Nocterra) and debut on September 27th from Image Comics.
The series, which has drawn praise from other comics luminaries ahead of its release, has been in development for a while, with a pause to launch Nocterra along the way. The project is moving forward now, and while Daniel is providing scripts and pencils, he has other stars on board to help push some covers (maybe learning a little from the Nocterra model).
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“Edenwood is a series three years in the making, one that I was beginning to craft right before Scott Snyder and I crossed paths in NYC, and fate took me in another direction, co-creating Nocterra with one of comics’ finest writers,” said Daniel in a statement. “This series represents what I love most about comics: excitement, drama, big action, heroes we can relate to and fall in love with, and villains we’ll love to despise. This series is very high concept-yet its characters remain relatable and grounded in reality-all while we have an epic, large-scale battleground of demonic tanks, floating battleships and demon soldiers pitted against witchcraft-infused weaponry and armored soldiers. And away from all of the violent magic and mayhem between Edenwood and Necronema, we have the ‘Open Lands’ (the rest of the United States) where just as much evil is happening but in a quiet, deliberate way, to further the demon expansion. All of this is the backdrop for our hero, Rion, and his cast of fun and exciting demon hunters. So to say that I’m excited to be working on this new series would be one of the biggest understatements of my career!”
You can see Stegman’s image below.
“Edenwood is everything I want, I need, and I love in comics,” Snyder said. “Great characters, huge mythology, and epic storytelling on every level. Part heartfelt coming of age story, part gore-filled, action-packed showdown between demons, witches and badass warriors, this book has some thing for everybody! Tony Daniel has outdone himself!”
Sean Gordon Murphy added, “If telling you Tony Daniel’s is creating a book about Demon Hunters doesn’t immediately make you want to buy this book, I don’t know what to tell you. Edenwood leaves you wanting to turn the page faster and faster. Gnarly, exciting, and just a damn good time.”
Here’s how the book is described in its press materials:
Edenwood — an eons-long series of multiverse wars between demons and witches has found earth as its latest battleground. The battle pits Necronema, the demonic land which supplanted the Midwest twenty years ago, against Edenwood, the witchcraft controlled area of land that protects the rest of the U.S. In the first story arc of this ongoing series readers are introduced to Rion, a young man born during the apocalyptic events of southern Illinois, who is thrust into the role of hero and leader after killing a Gather, a transient demon with the powers to cross any barrier or dimension.
Summoned by the Witch War Council, Rion must assemble an elite team of demon hunters tasked with infiltrating Necronema with a list of targets to annihilate. The men and women he selects happen to all be the most famous and revered demon hunters of all time, dating back to the 1700s. But Rion has his sights set on a young and powerful witch being held prisoner deep within Necronema. The mission is one of search and destroy… however Rion feels he’s been chosen for more than that.
Edenwood #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, September 27.
