Sean Lewis will team up with artist/painter Jonathan Marks Barravecchia for “a blood-splattered story of conquest.” Bear Pirate Viking Queen, coming from Image Comics this May, is billed as a high fantasy story, and from what I can tell, it does not feature a bear who is also a queen, pirate and viking at the same time (although I’ll be pleasantly surprised if that is, indeed, the case).
Lewis said he was inspired by an Alan Moore/Eddie Campbell classic when creating the story.
“I always wanted to make something that hit me like From Hell the first time I read it,” said Lewis. “Something with historical scope, something with a really uncompromised visual beauty, and something that felt BIG. Jonathan’s work is incredible. The story is one I am incredibly proud of. We are shooting for ‘canon’ with this one.”
As the title suggests, the three-issue miniseries will focus on four elements:
Bears. Pirates. Vikings. And Queens—all battling for their claim to determine what the world will become. Bear Pirate Viking Queen is a gorgeous, high fantasy story about the blood spilled to make countries. With 72 pages rendered in stunning watercolor artwork, this new comic book series is sure to be one of the most beautiful and thought-provoking books of the year.
“Bear Pirate Viking Queen has been a true collaboration, and unlike any other project I’ve worked on in the past,” Barravecchia said. “It’s been fascinating to go back and forth with Sean, and truly impressive—even to me—that a meeting over drinks listing random ‘cool’ things to draw could turn into such an epic and poetic story. I’m so excited to share this book!”
Here’s a look inside the first issue, at some of Barravecchia’s watercolors:
Look for the first issue on May 1.