Z2 is publishing a 12-issue comic series, The Mandrake Project, by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson that will be a companion piece to his upcoming solo album. Dickinson developed the story, which is being scripted by Tony Lee, with art by Staz Johnson, coloring by Gabo, lettering by Troy Peteri, and covers by Bill Sienkiewicz. The comic will be released quarterly over three years, with a trade paperback released every fall. The format will be 9.35″ x 9.35″ square, with a cardstock cover, and it will be shipped in a sealed plastic bag with a first-printing certificate of authenticity. The first issue, which will be returnable, will be released on January 17, 2024, with a cover price of $10. The next four issues will follow in March, June, and September, with the first trade available on November 6, 2024.
Z2 will also make an 8″ x 8″ copy of The Mandrake Project Alpha #1, a limited-edition preview, available to retailers for pullbox customers for free. The Mandrake Project Alpha #1 was originally released, in a larger format, as a limited-edition preview at the 2023 Comic Con Experience – São Paulo, Brazil (CCXP), where Dickinson was the keynote speaker. The preview comic includes sketches by Sienkiewicz and reflections on the making of the series.
Dickinson’s single, Afterglow of Ragnarok, which was released on December 1, 2023, included an eight-page prologue. The album, also titled The Mandrake Project, will be released in March 2024, and both the CD and vinyl editions will include a preview comic. Dickinson plans to tour and make promotional appearances for both the album and the comic through 2025.
The single-issue comic format is unusual for Z2, which usually publishes graphic novels. “Z2’s model has always rested firmly in the graphic novel space,” said Editor in Chief Rantz A. Hoseley in a statement accompanying the announcement, “but when we sat down with Bruce and discussed the story of The Mandrake Project, and the experience that he wanted the readers to have with it, we realized two very important things: First, that this was a story that we had to be a part of. It reminded us of reading the iconic titles from Vertigo. The second realization was that The Mandrake Project had to be released as a comic series and, as anyone in comics knows, releasing a series is a different animal.”
“Since Rantz and I come from the same comic shop trenches, we made sure that our comic retailers feel supported and that they have great partners in Z2 and Bruce Dickinson,” added Z2 President, Josh Bernstein. “It’s our hope that the efforts of making the free pullbox preview available to stores, giving retailers the PDF of the first issue before they order, clearly conveying the release schedule and plans for the next two years, as well as making the first issue returnable, make it clear that we place immense value on comic shops in measuring the success of Bruce Dickinson’s The Mandrake Project.“
Source: ICV2
