Dustin Gebel
Image Comics announced earlier today that writers Kevin Eastman and David Avallone are teaming up with artists Ben Bishop and Troy Little for a new maxi-series, Drawing Blood. The 12 issue series began its publishing life as a successful Kickstarter book, and now Image is providing a wide release for the semi-autobiographical comic. The series mines from Eastman’s own life, as it tells the story of a successful cartoonist trying to escape the burnout that comes with corporate success and flash stardom.
Kevin Eastman described pulling from his own experiences in the press release, stating:
“The completely fictional true stories of Shane ‘Books’ Bookman sums it up the best. Set squarely in our collective world of Comics, part autobiographical, part tall tails and legends, I wanted a fictional character we could really put through the paces. Drawing Blood is all that and a basket of kittens…”
Image has revealed not only the primary cover, but two of the variant covers for issue one, all of which can be seen below.
Troy Little discussed the metatextual elements of the series in the press release, stating:
“The Mirage Studios Turtles had a massive impact on me wanting to become a comic creator so there’s a lot of full circle happening for me with Drawing Blood and the Ragdolls. Being able to collaborate with this team to create and expand a meta-fiction where I get to draw cats with ninja weapons based on a hit property that never existed, creating a sort of Mandela effect… I mean, you all remember the cartoon series from the ’90s, right? Those cats were badass!”
Drawing Blood #1 will be available at comic book shops and on digital platforms on Wednesday, April 24.