Here's one for those fans who are tired of talking head crossovers where it takes half a dozen issues or more for anything to happen. Creator Erik Larsen takes the bull by the horns with the superhero crossover no one saw coming: Savage Dragon vs. Mark Millar's WANTED and delivers an action-packed epic that fits neatly into the pages of SAVAGE DRAGON #128!

SAVAGE DRAGON started off as a cutting edge superhero book for older readers that focused on over-the-top action, dark humor and planet- shattering adventures. It blazed the path for books like THE AUTHORITY, THE ULTIMATES and WANTED, and with this crossover, the book returns to its roots.

A six-issue miniseries published by Image/Top Cow, Millar had previously stated the cast of WANTED were never to appear again, but the moment Larsen proposed the crossover, he had to make one exception.

SAVAGE DRAGON #128 will be in stores July 2006 and is available for order in the May issue of Diamond's PREVIEWS. Mark Miller and J.G. Jones' WANTED miniseries is collected in a trade paperback and is available now.

What do you get when the top names in the animation industry find some time after working their day jobs to express their creative passion for comics? Image Comics is proud to present an amazing anthology debuting this July - AFTERWORKS 2. Following in the footsteps of other recent Image anthologies, such as FLIGHT and PUT THE BOOK BACK ON THE SHELF, AFTERWORKS 2 brings an eclectic mix of artists and stories together in to one collection.

The original AFTERWORKS GN was a self-published black & white anthology by E-Ville Press, a collective of artists based in Emeryville, CA (home of Pixar Animation Studios). E-Ville Press is comprised of Mark Andrews, Max Brace, Simon Dunsdon, Louis Gonzales, Robert Kondo, Ted Mathot, Kevin O'Brien, Sanjay Patel and Nathan Stanton, and between them, these nine animators have worked on some of the top-grossing movies of the last decade, including The Incredibles, Star Wars: Episodes I-III, Monsters Inc, Ice Age, Toy Story, Iron Giant, Finding Nemo and too many more to list!

This Summer, Image Comics takes you to the next theater in the war on terror -- a near future where every soldier is a weapon of mass destruction. ShadowHawk creator Jim Valentino brings you TASK FORCE 1!

A generation after 9/11, the world is paralyzed by terrorist sects of every persuasion, from armed religious fundamentalists to militaristic environmentalists. In this bitterly divided, terror- struck United States, General Abigail Rhodes takes on the thankless job of heading up the Department of Homeland Security. She intends to put a stop to the reign of terrorists once and for all by ordering "Operation: Damocles," a top-secret project too risky for any of her predecessors to try. Now Rhodes has created a top secret unit of super soldiers, Codename: TASK FORCE 1

Written by talented newcomer Jeffery Stevenson with art by former ShadowHawk penciller Carlos Rodriguez, TF1 introduces a unit of soldiers who are enhanced as government weapons. Each of them is infused with deadly abilities for combating terror, but plagued by a fact that the government neglected to tell them: if the terrorists don't kill them, their new bodies will.

Valentino says, "TF1, for me, is what would happen if the Avengers met Delta Force. I wanted each soldier to be a three-dimensional character with superhuman abilities, but with the conscience and tactical know-how of a frontline combat soldier.”

Valentino calls out the team roster: "MASS leads the team. He can increase his molecular density, giving him great size, strength, and near invulnerability, but as he uses this power, the strain on his heart is becoming too much. RUSH can run at subsonic speeds, but because of her powers she's trapped in a bodysuit that holds her molecular structure together – if she takes it off, she dies. BLAST wears huge gauntlets that create concussive blasts, but they've fused themselves to his hands, making him a hostage in a world where he can't touch anyone or anything without destroying it. ALPHA wears a helmet that increases her mental powers, giving her telepathy, super intelligence, and telekinesis. Unfortunately the human brain wasn't made for that purpose, and the strain is giving her progressive migraines that will eventually stop with a brain aneurism. KLONE was transplanted into a prototype android body made of an indestructible alloy. It makes him stronger and possibly immortal, but it also makes him a living action figure who craves the sensual world but can no longer experience it."

He adds, "These are career soldiers, prepared to die if need be to protect our country. With the abilities they've gotten from Operation: Damocles, the test is whether they are willing to live so they can do their patriotic duty."

TASK FORCE 1 will be available for preordering from the April PREVIEWS and the first issue of this full-color ongoing series is set to hit stores in July 2006.

After a long hiatus, SAVAGE DRAGON has returned to the shelves with a vengeance, selling out of its two most recent issues as the series approaches the landmark number 125. Only one other Image Comics title has made it to that point – Todd McFarlane's SPAWN – and to celebrate, SAVAGE DRAGON #125 will feature an ad-free 64 pages of material.

Having taken almost a full year off to focus on his position as Publisher of Image Comics, SAVAGE DRAGON creator Erik Larsen hit the ground running this year with renewed vigor for his long-time creation.

Not only has the book been shipping on-time, every month, but fans will notice that Larsen has taken over all creative aspects of the book himself: writing, illustrating, coloring and even lettering!

"It's great to be back," said Larsen. "I've been dabbling with Photoshop over the last few years, coloring back-up stories and the occasional page or pin-up and many of the covers, but I really wanted to color the book itself. Having had a lot of practice over my 'break' I was able to pick up the ball and run with it on the regular series, and I'm pretty excited about the results. The lettering is still a bit shaky, but I'm confident that I'll get a handle on it."

For the SAVAGE DRAGON #125, Larsen handled full creative chores for a whopping 44 pages of all-new material. The milestone issue is rounded out by three previously published stories: "The Wish" from NEGATIVE BURN WINTER 2005 special, "Power Shortage" from the IMAGE COMICS SUMMER SPECIAL (released for Free Comic Book Day in 2004) and "A Very Glum X-Mas" from the IMAGE COMICS HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2005.

"SAVAGE DRAGON #125 was a lot of fun." Larsen said. "I'm gearing up for another awe-inspiring Savage Dragon epic and this one sets the stage for that. It gets Mr. Glum in a position so that he can take over the world and it puts the Savage Dragon in a place where he doesn't want to be. It's all leading up to a rousing epic that culminates with the characters from Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' WANTED series dropping by to kick some serious ass (which happens in SAVAGE DRAGON #128) and THAT leads into the NEXT phase of the Dragon's life. But it all starts in #125, which gets the ball rolling."

Five Eisner Award nominations. Three issues sold out. Still only $1.99, the best deal in comics. FELL is having the best week ever.

Image Comics has announced it is going back to print on three separate issues of FELL - new printings on the two most recent issues (#3 and #4) along with a FOURTH printing for FELL #1. In keeping with previous re-printings, each new printing of FELL will feature the same cover and content, with no variants.

Aside from its amazing creative team and universal praise, what sets FELL apart is its unique format - coming in at only $1.99 for 24 pages, the ultra-compact story delivers more bang for the buck and is pioneering what is quickly being nicknamed the "FELL Format" comic book.

"It's absurd that we are doing another printing of a $1.99 comic featuring a nun wearing a Richard Nixon mask. But as long as retailers keep selling 'em, we'll keep printing 'em," said Ellis. "And to think some retailers accused us of leaving money on the table. We seem to be hoovering it up pretty damn good, no?"

To top off its incredible sales velocity, it was also announced that FELL had received FIVE separate Eisner Award nominations - Best Continuinig Series, Best New Series, Best Writer, Best Painter/ Multimedia Artist and Best Lettering. The Eisner Awards winners will be announced at this year's San Diego Comic Con International.

FELL is the first book from Image Comics to encompass this new format, but not the last. Debuting in June will be the second "Fell- Format" book, CASANOVA, a sci-fi espionage epic by Matt Fraction (Punisher: War Journal) and Gabriel Ba (Rock'n'Roll).

Don't miss out on one of the hottest books on the stands, advance orders are available now for FELL #5, which is scheduled to be in stores late May, the same time as these new printings. Also, still available for order is the 3rd Printing of FELL #2.

Flying in under the radar in a devastating sneak attack, Image Comics’ new series RETRO ROCKET, written by industry veteran Tony Bedard (Exiles) and illustrated by Jason Orfalas (Supergirl) has captured the hearts of readers and critics who wrote it off as just another American manga.

RETRO ROCKET follows the adventures of an outdated "Man-Mech" rendered obsolete by the new generation of robotic fighters. When an alien invasion knocks out the new model army, suddenly the one guy headed for the scrap heap becomes Earth’s only hope.

The book has found itself with universal praise from all quarters. "Jason and I couldn’t be more pleased with the reception RETRO ROCKET is getting," said Bedard. "We also knew some people would make up their minds about our baby without even cracking the book open. Now they’re starting to realize this isn’t a manga re-hash. It’s something new and special and this is the time to hop onboard!"

The premiere issue of RETRO ROCKET also featured a whopping 32 pages of cover-to-cover story. It hit stores across the country on March 8 and is rapidly disappearing from the stands, with only a limited amount of reorders still available!

"Our next issue packs in twice as much action as the first," said Bedard. "After that, the story takes a darker turn as our heroes and villains are both put to the test."

RETRO ROCKET #1 is a 32 page full color comic, on sale now, and RETRO ROCKET #2 is available for advance reorder and will be in-stores in April. Subsequent issues are available for pre-order through Diamond Previews.

GDH K.K ("GDH" in Tokyo) announced today that they have obtained the rights to create an animated version of Top Cow's Witchblade. GDH group company GONZO K.K. (of Tokyo) will handle the animation.

Witchblade is a popular comic published by Top Cow for more than 10 years. The series has thus far spawned toys, a TV drama, and at the end of last year it was announced that a movie was in the works.

The main plot of Witchblade, is that of an ancient weapon, which selects its own female bearer. This concept is used, but the new animation does have its differences - now set in Tokyo in the near future, the main character is a Japanese woman.

It is planned to air Witchblade every Thursday morning on CBC, beginning April 6th at 1:45 am, and every Saturday morning on TBS, beginning April 8th at 2:25 am.

This June, Image Founder JIM VALENTINO cleans the slate for a new chapter in the saga of ShadowHawk, with a special issue delving into the character's past. "Past Lives" will feature four stories by four different creative teams offering glimpses into the lives of ShadowHawks in a stand- alone issue with no ads.

Having recently reclaimed his helmet and his heritage, young Eddie Collins, the current and last ShadowHawk in a 5000 year lineage, delves into his legacy and examines the lives of three ShadowHawks that came before him.

SHADOWHAWK #13 is available for order in the in the April issue of Diamond Previews (on-sale March 22) and hits the stands in June.

Blasting it's way on to comic pages, critically acclaimed scribe Rick Remender's sci-fi space adventure FEAR AGENT has captured the imaginations of readers with a modern take on classic science-fiction themes, filtered through Tony Moore's incredible art.

The response to the book has been astounding and both FEAR AGENT #2 and FEAR AGENT #3 have now officially sold out!

"Sci-Fi has such a rich history in sequential art and yet in the past decade there has been so little American Sci-Fi in the medium. We were hungry for it and it's gratifying to see from the response readers have had to FEAR AGENT, we weren't alone. It's the new era of Sci-Fi, its happening all over the industry now."

The art, by Eisner Award-nominated artist Tony Moore (best known for his run on The Walking Dead) is hailed as one of the brightest new talents in comics. With the help of legendary inkers Sean Parsons and Mike Manley, plus the world famous colors of Lee Loughridge, Tony's work on Fear Agent evokes memories of the art of legendary science- fiction artist Wally Wood while giving it a very modern spin.

There are only a few copies left of FEAR AGENT #1 at Diamond, and with all the demand, Image Comics is making sure that readers are able to find this critically acclaimed sales sensation and get in on the ground floor by soliciting a trade paperback for release in June.

FEAR AGENT, VOL. 1: RE-IGNITION TP will be specially priced at $9.99 and collect issues #1-4. It is available for order in the April issue of Diamond Previews (on-sale March 22) and will feature a wrap-around around cover by Moore.

"When down and out alien exterminator, Heath Huston stumbles upon an extraterrestrial legion of amoebas preparing to annihilate the Earth, he’s forced to choose between the bottle and resuming his roll as a peace keeper, as the Last Fear Agent," explains Remender. "As a character I view Heath as a physical embodiment of the tough wall we erect to guard us and hide our damage. Heath carries a lot of damage around; he's seen and done things that he can't get past. When we meet him in the first trade he's about to be given a chance to redeem himself."

FEAR AGENT is a monthly book from Image Comics. You can order advance re-order FEAR AGENT #4 and it is scheduled to be in- stores April.