Top Cow Productions, the company behind The Darkness and CyberForce, will celebrate Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead 20 year milestone anniversary with collectible variants by artist Giuseppe Cafaro and colorist John Starr. Together, these three virgin variant covers will connect to create a panoramic masterpiece featuring Top Cow characters from Destiny Gate #1, Antarctica #4, and Haunt You to the End #5, fighting side-by-side with The Walking Dead iconic horror series heroes and villains this October.
“Being part of something done by Top Cow was one of my biggest dreams,” said Cafaro. “It was super fun to work on and John did an amazing job on colors! It was great to put together the characters from some new and awesome Top Cow series and some of the most iconic The Walking Dead characters.”
The duo wanted to create a feel to match each respective book and also tie them all in together. “Destiny Gate, I gave a hellish vibe,” said Starr. “Antarctica, I used cool colors, but the lighting was mostly dictated by the portal. And, Haunt You to the End, I used the blues and reds that are used in that book. I added some of Giuseppe’s cool texture splatter and fog across the covers to give it some grit and mood. He did a great job on this and I really had fun coloring it!”
Lee Thomas, the creative director of EP1T0ME—Top Cow’s partners on the series Destiny Gate—added: “When offered the opportunity to resurrect one of the greatest comic book characters from the original The Walking Dead series, we took that opportunity. Lucille… she lives, again! A ferocious Negan explodes from the macabre annals of Destiny Gate’s horrors with a determinism worthy of his character’s savagery and focus.”
For the Top Cow/EP1T0ME series Destiny Gate #1 by Ryan Cady and Christian DiBari, The Walking Dead’s Negan is wielding the mighty Lucille as he struggles with Destiny Gate protagonist Mitchell Slate while the demonic character ‘Madness’ looms.
While on Antarctica #4, Michonne’s sword is drawn with Antarctica heroine Hannah, as they fight back to back against walkers clawing at them.
A huge fan of The Walking Dead, Antarctica artist Willi Roberts added: “It’s one of my favorite comics and TV shows of all time—it was hard to believe…that Hannah gets to fight back to back with Michonne!”
Lastly, the cover of Haunt You to the End #5, features the tough-as-nails mercenary Gersh, as she struggles in the foreground while behind her the The Walking Dead’s Maggie fights for her life against ravenous walkers, tears in her eyes in shock and surprise, as next to her she sees the mangled, broken, ghost corpse of the love of her life, Glenn.
Cady, writer on both Destiny Gate and Haunt You to the End, said: “Giuseppe and John have masterfully merged the worlds of Haunt You to the End and Destiny Gate with the post-apocalyptic nightmare of The Walking Dead.”
Collectors will want to pick up all three to create what Antarctica creator called: “zombie multiverse heaven.”
Antarctica letterer Lyndon White added: “This feels surreal.”
“Seeing Negan on the cover of Destiny Gate and Gersh paired with ghost Glenn makes this Halloween season an extra special one,” said Cady.
The Walking Dead first launched in 2003 from Image Comics and garnered critical acclaim and an escalating sales track-record before Hollywood picked up the hot IP and the series was adapted from TV by AMC in 2010. It was also in 2010 that Kirkman teamed up with David Alpert to launch the multiplatform entertainment company, Skybound Entertainment, which would expand his—and others’—IP beyond comics into other mediums. The Walking Dead has since gone on to become a pop culture phenomenon inspiring everything from hit video games, novelizations, merchandise, and a multitude of multimedia spin-offs across the walker universe. The series has sold over 45 million copies across multiple formats and has been translated into 21 languages globally.
The following The Walking Dead team-up variants will be available at local comic shops:
A HAUNTED GIRL #1 CVR E by Jeffrey Edwards – on sale Wednesday, October 11 – Lunar Code: 0823IM302
ANTARCTICA #4 CVR C by Giuseppe Cafaro – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM353
CREEPSHOW #2 CVR D by Rafael Albuquerque – on sale Wednesday, October 11 – Lunar Code: 0823IM363
THE DEAD LUCKY #10 CVR B by Stefano Simeone – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM368
DESTINY GATE #1 CVR C by Giuseppe Cafaro – on sale Wednesday, October 11 – Lunar Code: 0823IM297
ENFIELD GANG MASSACRE #3 CVR B by Jacob Phillips – on sale Wednesday, November 22 – Lunar Code: 0823IM376
FIREPOWER #28 CVR C by Andre Bressan & Adriano Lucas – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM379
THE FORGED #5 CVR B by Mike Henderson – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM808
HACK/SLASH: BACK TO SCHOOL #1 CVR D by Tim Seeley – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM285
HAUNT YOU TO THE END #5 CVR C by Giuseppe Cafaro – on sale Wednesday, October 11 – Lunar Code: 0823IM385
I HATE FAIRYLAND #10 CVR D by Skottie Young – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM390
ICE CREAM MAN #37 CVR C by Martín Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM393
KAYA #12 CVR C by Wes Craig – on sale Wednesday, November 22 – Lunar Code: 0823IM401
KILL YOUR DARLINGS #2 CVR E by Bob Quinn – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM406
KLIK KLIK BOOM #5 CVR B by Doug Dabbs – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM410
LOCAL MAN #6 CVR D by Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM414
NO/ONE #7 CVR D by Stefano Simeone – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0723IM816
PURR EVIL #4 CVR C by Roberto Meli – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM419
RADIANT BLACK #28 A CVR B by Stefano Simeone – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM423
RADIANT BLACK #28 B CVR B by Stefano Simeone – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM424
ROGUE SUN #17 CVR C by Stefano Simeone – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM427
SACRIFICERS #3 CVR D by James Harren – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM431
SAVAGE DRAGON #269 CVR C by Erik Larsen – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM435
SAVAGE STRENGTH OF STAR STORM #6 CVR C by Drew Craig – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code 0823IM438
THE SCHLUB #3 CVR G by Tyrell Cannon – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM445
THE SCORCHED #23 CVR C by Stephen Segovia – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM448
SCRAPPER #4 CVR B by Natacha Bustos & Jordie Bellaire – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM450
SOMETHING EPIC #6 CVR E by Szymon Kudranski – on sale Wednesday, October 11 – Lunar Code: 0823IM455
SWAN SONGS #4 CVR D by Martín Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM462
TALES OF SYZPENSE #3 CVR E by Ashley Wood – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM467
TENEMENT #5 CVR C by Andrea Sorrentino – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM359
TIME BEFORE TIME #28 CVR C by Declan Shalvey – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM471
THE UNBELIEVABLE UNFORTUNATELY MOSTLY UNREADABLE AND NEARLY UNPUBLISHABLE UNTOLD TALES OF I HATE FAIRYLAND #4 CVR B – Lunar Code: 0923IM809
UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY #27 CVR C by Giuseppe Camuncoli – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM474
VOID RIVALS #5 CVR F – on sale Wednesday, October 18 – Lunar Code: 0823IM481
WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #15 CVR C by Tyler Boss – on sale Wednesday, October 25 – Lunar Code: 0823IM488
