Fire And Ice #1 will be published from Dynamite in August written by Bill Willingham and drawn by Leonardo Manco.
Almost a year ago, Bleeding Cool reported that Dynamite Comics was to create a Fire And Ice comic book based on the 1983 animated fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi and a collaboration between Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, based on characters co-created by Bakshi and Frazetta, from a screenplay written by Conan comics writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas.
Fire And Ice #1 will be published from Dynamite in August. and will be created by Elementals and Fables’ Bill Willingham and drawn by Leonardo Manco. With covers by Bill Sienkiewicz, Francesco Francavilla, Mahmud Asrar, Joseph Michael Linsner, Leonardo Manco and the original Frank Frazetta poster.
Before the fire waned and the ice spread across the world, before the events of the film, readers will get to meet the memorable central characters once again or for the first time ever. The beautiful princess Teegra and her powerful panther companion have not yet gone through the kidnapping attempt by the evil queen Juliana and her son Nekron. The young warrior Larn’s village has not yet been destroyed. And who knows what the mysterious Darkwolf has been up to? Writer Bill Willingham and artist Leonardo Manco will chronicle the lives of these characters in parallel, leading to the genesis of the movie.
Bill Willingham states “I discovered both Frank Frazetta and Ralph Bakshi at an early age. My awareness of Frazetta cemented the first time someone put a Conan book into my hands. I discovered Bakshi when almost everyone did, when the film Wizards was released. I was in college at the time and working a number of jobs to be able to afford it. One of those jobs was at a local movie theater. I got to see it about a dozen times, twice a night for a week, and it ignited something profound in me. Now, 50 plus years later, there was a chance to work with these story giants. I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to work with these Giants in the Earth.”
“I’ve always had the desire to explore more character and world building around the film and doing this comic series has provided just that,” said Sara Frazetta. “Our team is truly out of this world. I’m so proud of everyone involved. There is so much heart and the process has been overwhelmingly positive.”
“The dedication and talent has been jaw-dropping with this new series” shared Eddie Bakshi . “The Bakshi Family is honored and thrilled to be able to see fire and ice Come back to life with such creativity. What an incredible storyline addition. We are all in for this release. “
And then in September, DC Comics will be publishing Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville series by Joanne Starer, Natacha Bustos, colourist Tamra Bonvillain and letterer Ariana Maher for DC Comics’ Dawn of DC publishing initiative.
I do hope no one confuses them.