Image and Top Cow Solicitations: January 2012 Highlights

As I've come to expect, the new months solicitations from Image and Top Cow promise a number of highlights and I'm looking forward to picking up a couple of trade paperbacks this month, particularly the 160-page, oversized collected edition of Fractured Fables featuring the work of Terry Moore, Ben Templesmith and Nick Spencer amongst many others!

More details from Image Comics, Top Cow Productions and CBR.

FRACTURED FABLES TP
story VARIOUS
art VARIOUS
January 18, 160 pages, FC, T, OVERSIZED, $19.99
Some of comic’s most celebrated creators (including MIKE ALLRED, JILL THOMPSON, TERRY MOORE, SHANNON WHEELER, WHILCE PORTACIO, PETER DAVID, BEN TEMPLESMITH, NICK SPENCER and over 40 more) turn familiar fairy tales on their ear! This critically acclaimed, super-star anthology will thrill old and young alike. Now, for the first time in an oversized trade paperback edition!


FATALE #1
story ED BRUBAKER
art & cover SEAN PHILLIPS
colors DAVE STEWART
January 4, 32 pages, FC, M, $3.50
GUNS! SEX! SECRET CULTS! AND MONSTERS!
Nothing the BEST-SELLING and AWARD-WINNING creators of SLEEPER, CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO have done so far will prepare you for the explosive debut of FATALE!
A reporter in 2012 stumbles on a secret that leads him down the darkest path imaginable… to a seductive woman who’s been on the run since 1935, a mobster who may be an immortal demon monster, and the stories of all the doomed men who’ve been caught in their decades-long struggle.
FATALE blends noir and horror to tell a riveting epic unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Issue #1 ships with “Beauty” and “Beast” variant covers.

WHISPERS #1
story JOSHUA LUNA
art & cover JOSHUA LUNA
January 11, 32 pages, FC, T+, $2.99
A mentally troubled man is suddenly empowered with the ability to leave his physical body in “ghost” form and manipulate people in strange and disturbing ways. With this incredible power, will he control his demons...or discover even more?
JOSHUA LUNA of the Luna Brothers (ULTRA, GIRLS, THE SWORD) makes a solo debut with a dark, supernatural thriller that questions free will and explores the obsessions, addictions and urges we all have and may not have control of at all.

THE BULLETPROOF COFFIN: DISINTERRED #1 (of 6)
story DAVID HINE
art & cover SHAKY KANE
January 25, 32 pages, FC, M, $3.99
“KILLER INSIDE” - THE ORIGIN OF THE SHIELD OF JUSTICE
Back from the grave! The cult hit of 2011 returns with a tale of treachery, murder and unrequited lust. When headless corpses start to appear on the first night of the full moon, ace detective Johnny P. Sartre smells a rat…
Contains profanity, nudity, violence and the graphic depiction of alcohol abuse.

MONDO #1 (of 3)
story, art & cover TED McKEEVER
January 4, 48 pages, BW, M, GOLDEN-AGE FORMAT, $4.99
Catfish's daily grind of "enhancing" poultry comes to a halt when he is accidentally tripped up by a loose chicken, causing him to fall victim to his own process. What proportions of his that were once human are now beyond anything normal. Add villainous corporate and military big wigs, a roller-skating weapon-toting chick named Kitten Kaboodle, a gang of tattooed babies, and there's still that enormous beach monster…
And what you have is MONDO, in all its raging glory!

NANCY IN HELL (ON EARTH) #1 (of 4)
story EL TORRES
art ENRIQUE LOPEZ LORENZANA
color FRAN GAMBOA
January 25, 32 pages, FC, M, $3.99
The unlikely couple of Nancy and Lucifer are back! After escaping from Hell, the chainsaw-wielding hottie finds that the Gates of Hades remained open, and all kind of demons are pouring out on Earth. Our world is the newest infernal region, and nobody will help the humans... not even the angels from Heaven!

THE DARKNESS ACCURSED, VOL. 6 TP
story PHIL HESTER
art SHELDON MITCHELL
cover MICHAEL BROUSSARD
January 11, 160 pages, FC, M, STANDARD SIZE, $19.99
OUTER DARKNESS!
In one of the most explosive THE DARKNESS arcs yet, longtime writer PHIL HESTER (WONDER WOMAN, GODZILLA) and artist SHELDON MITCHELL (PILOT SEASON: STEALTH) push Jackie Estacado, current bearer of the Darkness, to the brink. Having defeated his enemy, The Sovereign, Estacado had hoped to settle into a quiet, peaceful life in Chicago. But a series of attempts on his life, set him on a path that reunites him with old friends, allies and enemies. However, Jackie soon finds that the most dangerous enemies don’t come from outside, but rather, from within…
Collects THE DARKNESS #90-#95

RED SPIKE, VOL. 1 TP
story JEFF CAHN
artist MARK TEXEIRA & SALVADOR NAVARRO
cover MARK TEXEIRA
January 11, 144 pages, FC, T, $12.99
70 years ago, the world began its race to create the first Super Soldier. In 2011, the United States succeeded... twice. Project Red Spike discovered that through the manipulation and regulation of the adrenal glands the super soldier was no longer just a dream. Matt Cutler and Greg Dane, the first to survive the process, have been proven on the field to be everything that was wanting in the program. Unfortunately, an upgrade to Greg’s implant goes array and now it’s up to Matt to chase down his friend before he hurts himself, the city and the tax payers who funded their creation. But as the friends begin their very public battle in heart of Washington D.C., twisted and sinister secrets begin to emerge from within the Red Spike program. Can both soldiers survive or are their deaths a necessary measure to secure the program's secrecy?
Collects RED SPIKE #1-5

THE VAULT, VOL. 1 TP
story SAM SARKAR
art & cover GARRIE GASTONNY
January 1, 96 pages, FC, T, $9.99
A small team of treasure hunters struggles to excavate a dangerous and legendary treasure pit before a massive storm hits Sable Island, the Graveyard of the North Atlantic. Equipped with all the latest technology, the scientists believe they are prepared against all of nature's fury, but nothing can prepare them for what they are about to unleash from the vault.
Collects THE VAULT #1-3

THE DARKNESS #99
story PHIL HESTER
art ROMANO MOLENAAR
cover A JEREMY HAUN
cover B SHELDON MITCHELL
January 18, 32 pages, FC, M, $2.9
CELEBRATE THE FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY!
The Darkness has mustered its considerable defenses in its home dimension to crush its prodigal son and current bearer, Jackie Estacado. Long time writer PHIL HESTER (WONDER WOMAN, THE GREEN HORNET) and ROMANO MOLENAAR (THE DARKNESS II: CONFESSION) build to the crescendo that will be landmark THE DARKNESS #100 when Jackie will come face-to-face with the source of his power and misery.