Tellos Returns As a Two-Volume Mike Wieringo Tribute Book

As ComicBook.com first reported back in June, Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo's acclaimed creator-owned series Tellos is returning to print as a non-profit charity publication in Wieringo's name.

To volumes, each with a price tag of $50, are currently available for pre-order, with dozens of contributors and all proceeds going to benefit the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in honor of Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

When Wieringo passed away, his family similarly asked for donations to animal-welfare charities in lieu of flowers.

In his too-short career, Wieringo provided fans with memorable runs on The Flash, Superman, Robin, and the Fantastic Four, much of which remains in print years later. It was his pairing with writer Dezago on Sensational Spider-Man that led to their creator-owned Tellos, the fantasy-adventure that the two published through Image Comics.

The series centered on a young protagonist named Jarek, his genie, and his anthropomorphic tiger companion Koj. The heroes strive to unravel the mystery behind Jarek's origin and escape the attentions of a mad boy-wizard named Malesur who is seemingly bent on Jarek's destruction. Along the way, they hook up with the likes of a pirate named Serra, a fox thief named Rikk (many of the characters were anthropomorphic, not just Koj), a dragon named Brad, and many more colorful characters.

Besides the original 10-issue run by Dezago and Wieringo, the world of Tellos existed in a three-issue miniseries and a number of one-shots, with art by Wieringo and a number of other artists. Not long before he passed away, Wieringo had talked about working on new Tellos.

The comics industry suffered a great loss in the summer of 2007 when Wieringo died of a sudden heart attack. In 2008, a scholarship in Wieringo's name was established and handed out at HeroesCon in Charlotte.

Here's the official description of the upcoming books:

The Mike Wieringo TELLOS Tribute is a 500 page, original graphic novel presented in two over-size, hardcover volumes. It features the artwork of over 200 of the comics industry's most popular and talented artists and is dedicated to the memory of late artist, Mike Wieringo, with all proceeds from this project being donated to the ASPCA in Mike's name.

Three years in the making, the Mike Wieringo Tellos Tribute continues the adventures of characters made popular in the original Tellos series created by Mike and writer Todd Dezago and published by Image Comics. They are; Jarek—a young hero with magikal abilities he does not yet understand, Koj—a tiger-warrior who is both Jarek's partner and protector, Serra—the young pirate queen who finds herself somehow linked to these two reluctant heroes and, Rikk—the fox-thief bent on finding his fortune but, more often than not, finds trouble instead.

In this tale, they are reunited to stop the dread Sur-Azal, the ruthless leader of the denizens of Nether, slithering, scuttling creatures that dwell far beneath the lands of Tellos. As Sur-Azal and his minions move to make Tellos habitable once more for his primordial brethren, other dark creatures called The Baden sweep across the many kingdoms, terrorizing and possessing the bodies of the population.

Produced by a dazzling array of Mike's friends, fans, and colleagues, the Mike Wieringo Tellos Tribute is dedicated to the memory of this kind, caring, and talented artist and friend.

PLEASE NOTE: In an attempt to insure that all monies go to the ASPCA, we have made this a very limited offer; The two volumes — shipping in June and September of this year — are unique in that they will only be offered in this format ONE TIME and ONE TIME ONLY. These exclusive books WILL NOT be available in any stores. The only way to order the Mike Wieringo Tellos Tribute is here, on this website. Once initial ordering is done, it's done. This means ALL SALES ARE FINAL. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Contributors include Stan Sakai, Franco, Jon Bogdanove, Paolo Rivera, J. Bone, and many more.

The books are expected to ship on the second week in June, but have to be ordered on the website by April 10.