The latest issue of Dark Horse’s multiple Eisner- and Harvey-winning anthology has a great cover story written and drawn by Black Hammer, Descender, All-New Hawkeye, and Bloodshot Reborn writer Jeff Lemire, “The Witches of Mars,” and you should pick it up! Jeff did painted color himself, and his frequent collaborator Steve Wands is on lettering.
This grew out of a casual check-in at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, as we got coffee and caught up on the progress of Jeff and Dean Ormston’s series Black Hammer (debuting in July!). I asked Jeff if he’d like to do something for Dark Horse Presents, and he immediately said yes. He didn’t have anything particular in mind, but because there were already so many approved stories and his schedule was so full, we figured he had plenty of time.
As it turned out, Jeff came up with “The Witches of Mars” pretty quickly, and he was excited enough by the story that a script and then art came long before his deadline. We all loved it enough that we asked if he could fit in a cover, and before we knew it, we had that too. As usual, I offered a little feedback, but what you see is almost exactly what Jeff turned in, because he nailed it from the beginning.
“The Witches of Mars” is my only contribution to this issue of DHP, but I’m looking forward to reading new “Finder,” as always, and am also excited for the latest from Dennis Calero’s “The Suit,” Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton’s “Brooklyn Blood,” and the rest. I’ll be reading with excitement, and you should too!
(Also out this week, and in the picture above, is Matt Kindt and Sharlene Kindt’s Dept. H #2. While I helped out in the early development of this series before going freelance, the editorial heavy lifting has been done by my successor, editor Daniel Chabon, so I can say with only a little bias that it is absolutely worth your time. And Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo #154 is something everyone should read, and as I read the series religiously long before I edited it and still do now that I am no longer connected to it, I feel completely unbiased in pushing it on anyone who will listen.)
Brendan H. Wright 