FIRST WATCH: Oni Press at ECCC Delivering HOT Variant of The Ballad of Sang!

Ed Brisson’s The Ballad of Sang #1 will feature an Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) variant by Declan Shalvey (Savage Town, Moon Knight). ECCC is in Seattle, WA, from March 1-4 at the Washington State Convention Center. Both Ed Brisson and Declan Shalvey will be signing at the Oni Press booth #216, Friday March 2 from 11am-12pm, and Saturday March 3 from 1-2pm. Don’t Miss them!

Kidnapped off the streets of the Philippines as an infant and trained as a child assassin, Sang has never had a childhood. All he’s ever known is killing and the kindness of his master, Chen, the closest thing Sang has to a father. When Sang’s enthusiasm botches a job, it brings the wrath of Don Minchella down on the pair, resulting in Chen’s murder. Barely escaping with his own life—and with Minchella’s severed arm in tow—Sang swears revenge, while every gang in the city mobilizes to return him to Minchella, dead or alive.

A propulsive blend of mature audience violence, humor, and pathos, The Ballad of Sang is for fans of cult Asian cinema such as the films of Takashi Miike and Park Chan-wook, and of comics such as Deadly Class, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Hit-Girl.

Ed Brisson is a famed creator whose career began with his self-published crime series, Murder Book, which led him to publish Comeback with Image Comics in 2012 and subsequent success with four more Image series: Sheltered, The Field, The Mantle, and The Violent. The Ballad of Sang is Ed Brisson’s first Oni Press publication.

In The Ballad of Sang, Brisson joins Italian artist Alessandro Micelli and colorist Shari Chankhamma (Ghost Station Zero, The Fuse) for the new action/adventure series. The Ballad of Sang is Micelli’s debut the in American comics market.

“The Ballad of Sang is a story I’ve been wanting to do for YEARS. Back in 2010, I’d be telling my writer friends about it while acting out scenes,” said Ed Brisson. “It’s something that sat for years, percolating until I could find the PERFECT artist for it, which I eventually found in Alessandro Micelli. It’s a project I’m very excited about that touches on my love of cult cinema and the trashy VHS treasures of my youth. So strap in and prepare for a high-octane, balls-to-the-wall story of revenge, love, gangsters, missing arms, and all-out violence!”

Cover artist Declan Shalvey is best known for Hero Killers, the Eagle Award-winning superhero comic, his graphic novel adaptations of horror tales like Frankenstein and Sweeney Todd, and Marvel’s Moon Knight with Warren Ellis.

“I’ve been a big fan of Ed’s for many years, so The Ballad of Sang was a no-brainer for me,” said Declan Shalvey. “I really liked Alessandro’s design, too, so with the cover, I wanted to concentrate on the red bird on Sang’s jacket because it’s a symbol that cuts through—just like his character.”

The Ballad of Sang is slated for release March 7, 2018.