Skybound has announced Blood & Thunder, the story of a bounty hunter and her talking gun, will kick off in May at Image Comics.
The new title is written by Benito Cereno (Tales from the Bully Pulpit) with art by E.J. Su, who will be joined by colorist MSassyK and letterer Rus Wooton. It’s based on a concept created by Skybound founder Robert Kirkman, who will consult on the story.
“Blood & Thunder is a concept I’ve been dying to share with the world for quite some time. I’m so thrilled to be on the cusp of debuting what Benito Cereno, E.J. Su and I have cooked up,” Kirkman said. “Monsters! Aliens! Space! Talking Guns! I dare you to find a comic that’s more exciting! Blood & Thunder! Shut up!”
The title refers to the main characters — “Blood” is the nickname of the bounty hunter, while “Thunder” is her talking gun:
Set in a far future where Earth has integrated alien species into a new society, Blood & Thunder plays by a whole new set of rules…and a whole load of new crimes to solve.
Bounty hunter Akeldama “Blood” Bledsoe and her cantankerous talking gun, Thunder, are the best there is at bringing in the bad guys. However, when the galaxy’s most dangerous criminal breaks out of prison, Blood’s hunt delivers her down a path that will unlock secrets about her past, present, and future… and that’s when things get REALLY BAD.
“What happens when the best fighter in the colony finally finds something to fight for? That’s what we’re hoping to find out in Blood & Thunder, a book where E.J. Su and I have been given room to stretch our legs in exploring strange new worlds and the people who inhabit them,” Cereno said “I can’t wait for everyone to see the vibrant and explosive energy E.J. brings to each new environment, alien and familiar all at once.”
Here’s a look at some of Su’s interior work on the first issue:
“I am thrilled to be partnered up with my old friend Benito, and working with Robert again is icing on the cake,” said Su. “If you love monsters, aliens, creatures, and going on adventures in strange new worlds, you’re going to love this. It was a blast dreaming up different environments and the inhabitants of those particular environments. There is also a lot of action, what else can you ask for? I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have been cooking up.”
Su drew the first issue’s cover, shown above, and here’s a look at the variant covers by David Lopez, Andie Tong and Rex Lokus, and Bernard Chang:
Blood & Thunder #1 will arrive on May 7.