"It's going to be short, but violent and everything that painting depicts. Basically, it's going to be Dracula and the Wolfman walk into a bar and get into a fight," Niles joked. "It'll be a lot more than that, really, but it's also because other than some very old films, those two ... don't have a lot of crossover. It's going to be fun. Dracula and Frankenstein have an entire history together -- and I do have a Dracula/Frankenstein thing I'm working on with another artist over at Wildstorm actually -- but this will be very visceral and I'm going to attempt to bring the sense of that picture to life. That's really the fun of this whole ride they've embarked on.

"Brutal violence is the first thing that comes to mind," said Niles of Frazetta's work, "But really it's incredibly strong characterization. The one thing that always strikes me, and what makes this project that Jay's is doing so brilliant, is it takes me back to when I was a kid. And I'd sit down with those old Frazetta books, and I'd look through them, and the stories that would come out of them had a huge effect on me. And, in a way, I could liken that to how I learned how to write. Spending that much time staring at just one image had an effect on me.

"There's that one image –- again, I'm bad with the titles –- but there's a creepy cover with a guy working at a table and there's some sort of ghoulish woman coming through a door –- holy Hell! That actually was one of the candidates to do a story on, but I decided I didn't want to burst the bubble for myself because that one haunted me as a kid and if I go and explain it I'll take away one of my good nightmares.

"There's also the famous image of the monster on the hill with the moon behind him overlooking a village. And I remember, as a kid, staring at that and thinking at first here's a monster and he's shown up there to kill. Then, as I got a little older, I thought, what if in fact he was a kid from that village who got turned into a monster and now he's standing there watching the village wanting to return home. Just looking at his paintings your imagination grows and that's what he brings: he jumpstarts your imagination.

"It's not just horror, he also paints scenes of incredible beauty, too.

"Jay's handling this very smartly," Niles said. "They let me pick my own artist. The Frazettas have to approve everything, which is for me surreal in its own way, but I'm really given total freedom. Of course, let's see how much freedom I get if I write a crappy script."

Niles hooked up with Fotos for the Frazetta projects because he has a certain history with the initial Frazetta comic series.

"I was supposed to write 'Death Dealer' –- don't I know the right project to jump off of!" Niles said, laughing. "It goes and sells 60,000 copies and I'm like, 'Yup, that's me! I'm the guy who dropped off that because I'm too busy.' While at the same time, I'm writing books that are selling four to six thousand copies! Oh, well.

"I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when those numbers came in, especially after the rough year I had, that was just a perfect ending! 'Yup, I called that one right!' Seriously, I'm glad Joshua Ortega seems to have gotten a lot out of it and that just thrills the hell out of me."

CBR Executive Producer Jonah Weiland contributed to this story.

At Comic-Con International in San Diego, Image Comics announces it would follow-up on its popular "Death Dealer" mini-series, based on the painting by famous fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, with a new miniseries and a spate of one-shots all based on further Frazetta works. The projects are spearheaded by artist Jay Fotos and include a number of well-known creators. Among them is Rick Remender, who spoke with CBR News about his one-shot, "Frank Frazetta's Creatures."

" Jay and I did some hanging out at a show we did together and got to chatting about our love for Frazetta," Remender said. "Everyone who reads my book, 'Fear Agent,' knows what a huge inspiration Frank was on that series. So my passion for the work, and Jay's, made us fast friends. When he came to me with the possibility of doing a book based on a Frazetta piece I jumped -- very excited to be involved."

"Rick Remender is a workhorse and takes no shit, like me," said Fotos. "He's a good all-around creator, moves fast and if you're in his way he'll punch you in the face, like me. In my mind, it's a no-brainer, I love him."

The first step in expanding the Frazetta line of comics, after getting the painter's blessing, was to choose a piece for Remender's project.

"We went through a few different ones that I picked as my favorites before landing on 'Creatures,'" Remender said. "I wanted something very different than the fantasy stuff, [something] that had some sci-fi to it and this has that, plus mutant gorillas, giant snakes and all kinds of gorgeous Frazetta monsters. Jay loved the idea of this one as well, so off we went."

Remender was cautious in describing what "Creatures" the title refers to.

"Ah, but that would be spoiling so much," he said. "I will tell you the lead hero is Teddy Roosevelt, who as President of the United States moonlights as a paranormal investigator. As president, he is privy to things the rest of us don't and shouldn't know. Dark things that live among us, around every corner, where we work, where we live. Monsters and aliens have infiltrated us. With no one else he can trust with this horrible information, Teddy resumes his role as a Rough Rider. Part Indiana Jones, part 'X-Files,' it's perfect fun."

As one might guess, it does not tie-into the emerging Frazetta Universe being laid out in the current "Death Dealer" miniseries as well as the projects announced alongside "Creatures."

"All these titles are based off Frank's art," Fotos said. "We're building the Time-Life library of Frazetta comics. There are titles that tie into each other, 'Death Dealer,' 'Silver Warrior,' 'Dark Kingdom' and 'Swamp Demon.' But we don't want all the titles to do that, hence 'Creatures' and 'Dracula Meets the Wolfman.'

"'Creatures' has such a cool concept that I don't see it just a one-shot, so be prepared to see somewhat of an ongoing with that title. It's just too cool, with potential for movies or even a TV series."

Like his co-creators in the Frazetta line, Remender's first contact with the legendary fantasy artist's work goes way back.

"Art class," in Remender's case. "Freshman year of high school, I had an art teacher who was pretty lazy. He would give us Xeroxed images and simply have us reproduce them. For two to three months, he handed us Frazetta images and we would redraw them. I fell in love with the stuff.

"Every Frazetta image tells a story that you want to know. You look at one of his paintings, and it demands that you create a story to fit it. Frank creates pure imagination like the Willy Wonka -- Gene Wilder version, please -- of fantasy art. It is one of the most inspirational bodies of work I can think of. When I have a block or need a big idea, I look through his paintings for inspiration and I always find it. He painted scenarios that send the mind reeling in a million directions with endless possibilities. No one artist does that for me like Frank does."

"Creatures," like the other Frazetta projects announced at the convention, is not due in stores until 2008. Thus, certain decisions are yet to be made.

"We have a few of the usual amazing suspects in mind," said Remender. "I think the announcement about the artist is going to wait till we have some pages to show."

"As far as working on titles beyond 'Death Dealer,' from the start I knew if we nailed the first book we'd have a chance at doing an interconnected Frazetta Universe, so I started seeding some hints throughout the story that dealt with some larger events and other places and characters. Nat and Jay were also thinking along the same lines, and we were fortunate that the Frazettas loved what we were doing and gave us the green light for the idea."

While the "Silver Warrior" mini-series is still in development, Ortega spoke about why the painting was selected to be the basis for the centerpiece of the expansion of the Frazetta line.

"From the get-go, that was my first choice after 'Death Dealer.' 'Silver Warrior' was painted by Frazetta at the same time as 'Death Dealer,' and it has that same incredible energy, but with a very different feel to it. It's one of those paintings that really resonates with people and has a huge following. Heck, you can even buy Zippos of both of them!

"When it came time to pick the follow-up mini-series to 'Death Dealer', I think we all sensed that 'Silver Warrior' was the best image we could choose. I couldn't be happier to be working with that image, and we've got a killer story for him."

In addition to 'Silver Warrior,' Ortega will also be writing a one-shot based on another Frazetta work.

"'Frank Frazetta's Swamp Demon' is the one-shot that I'm writing, which will most likely be released before the 'Silver Warrior' mini-series. It's a dark fantasy tale in the vein of 'Death Dealer,' very different from 'Silver Warrior' -- which is more high fantasy -- and it even features some of the characters from 'Death Dealer,' albeit 500 years before the 'Death Dealer' story takes place.

"The same creative team from 'Death Dealer' will be featured on 'Silver Warrior' -- me, Nat Jones, and Jay Fotos -- though we aren't quite yet ready to announce who's on 'Swamp Demon' yet. Suffice to say, the artists on the book will not disappoint...after all, you've gotta bring your A-game to the table when you're working on a Frazetta book!

"'Death Dealer,' 'Silver Warrior,' and 'Swamp Demon' are all very interconnected through various characters and events, and all take place in the same world. These books are the foundation of the Frazetta Universe, and reading all three of these will allow you to get a good feel for this brand new world of fantasy fiction. Mark Kidwell's 'Dark Kingdom' will also tie into the Frazetta Universe, though the land of Vikavia is still somewhat isolated at the time that his story takes place...however, it's still essential reading for those who want to explore every corner of the Frazetta Universe."

Ortega's connection to the works of Frazetta goes back further than he can pinpoint.

"I can't even remember the first time. I just know that when I realized that the same man had painted so many of these great, inspiring images that I had seen, I was hooked. There's no other painter like Frazetta. Simply put, the man's a genius.

"They have been incredibly inspiring. ... I can go on at length, but that pretty much sums it up. Inspiration is a powerful thing, and all great art and great artists have the ability to inspire. Frazetta's work does just that."

While Ortega has not yet had the opportunity to meet the man who has inspired so much, he did mention a planned trip to Frazetta's home state of Pennsylvania in the near future.

Once on board the team, it came time to select a piece on which to base his one-shot.

"That's a funny story," said Kidwell. "Since most of the stuff I've had published is predominantly in the horror genre, the guys asked me to focus on one of the horror paintings. I spent an evening scanning the Internet for galleries of Frazetta's work and looked at everything. There were, of course, dozens of pieces that rocked, but the horror stuff just didn't affect me like the fantasy paintings. I'm a lifelong junkie for Robert E. Howard's work and the sword and sorcery genre in general, and the 'Dark Kingdom' painting has long been one of my all time favorite depictions of barbaric fiction. I just kept coming back to that one. I couldn't shake it. Over the next week or so, the story started forming in my head and fleshed itself out so fully, I had to sit down and write it. When I got in touch with Jay to tell him which painting I'd decided to do, I sent him a finished panel-to-panel breakdown script. He was a little freaked out and E-mailed me back, saying simply, 'You're nuts.' He and Nat read the script, liked it, made some changes, I tweaked the script and Voila! 'Dark Kingdom.'"

"The 'Dark Kingdom' in the story has a double meaning," Kidwell explained. "Physically, it's the part of the Frazetta painting that you don't see. The warrior in the piece is pensively entering a cave opening, leaving the world of light and sun behind. What he faces in the wet shadows of that cavern is the tangible aspect of the 'Dark Kingdom' story.

"Secondly, due to the situations surrounding the character in the script, the 'Dark Kingdom' also applies to the internal motivations driving the warrior to enter the dangerous darkness before him. Elements of the story set him on an inescapable path toward something deadly and force him to overcome his own personal fears. So, the 'Dark Kingdom' resides in his mind as much as his physical environment."

The tale of the "Dark Kingdom" is centered on a legendary sea-raider, reminiscent of a Viking. And known for remarkable abilities in combat and savagery.

"His name is Morden," said Kidwell, "but he's known on the high seas as 'Red Morden, the Crimson Reaver.' He's a member of a clan of pirates who prey on merchant ships in an untamed region of the northern seas. His prime motivation is plunder and wanderlust, both satisfied by his wild, seafaring nature."

The one-shot also has a rich supporting cast. "Other characters include Morden's wife, Brynna," added Kidwell, "a gentle woman who is looked up to in their home village as healer, teacher and seer. She's also an artist and has some limited, latent psychic abilities." The rest of Morden's Viking crew and a shepherd who narrates the tale round out the cast.

Kidwell spoke of the themes of the story and what readers can expect.

"The story is one of human loss and the lengths one will go to for vengeance and acceptance. All this is wrapped up in an overall tale of high adventure that moves fast and doesn't skimp on action. There's plenty of barbaric combat and daring-do, but it's laced with a lot of heart and characterization as well. Oh, yeah, and there are monsters…"

While standing on its own, Kidwell's one-shot is firmly set in the emerging Frazetta Universe.

"'Dark Kingdom' shares the same world with the 'Death Dealer' books and there will be some references to geographical elements that work within the framework of what Josh has set up in the first series. He has been very cool about sharing his vision of the fantasy world in which the two stories are set. I wanted to make sure everything I did blended seamlessly with his current and future plans for the Frazetta universe. Some of the other Frazetta books will take place in separate worlds, but mine is locked into the 'Death Dealer' canon."

"When you're a lifelong fan of fantasy art and pulp fiction, it often feels like Frazetta has always been there and you've been a fan since birth," said Kidwell when asked to trace back to the time he first discovered Frazetta's work. "I guess the first stuff I saw were the Conan book covers. I credit Mr. Frazetta with leading me to the actual stories behind those amazing pieces of art. Without his paintings to draw me to them, I might never have discovered characters like Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane and all the other Howard properties. Other than that, probably the 'Death Dealer' and 'Dark Kingdom' paintings on the old Molly Hatchet album covers. I remember just staring at those things when I was a kid and thinking, "How the hell does he do that?"

"It makes me cry, deep in the night, knowing that I'll never be anywhere near that good," Kidwell joked on the subject of the effect Frazetta's work has had on him. "Seriously, the Frazetta stuff inspires generations. It has and continues to bring thousands of new fans to the dark fantasy genre, year after year. It's timeless and iconic and makes me, like I'm sure it does everyone, want to be part of the worlds it depicts."

While Kidwell has "Dark Kingdom" firmly worked out and is scheduled for a 2008 release, there's still much work to be done.

"Nat and Jay have an artist in mind for the 'Dark Kingdom' project, but nothing has been firmed up yet. Once everything is in place, they'll be shouting it to the rooftops. Not naming names, I'll just say that the guy they have in mind is another one of my biggest influences art-wise, and a legend in his own right. I'm hoping it works out, 'cause the book will be simply amazing to look at."

Discuss this story on CBR's Image Comics Forum.

Building on the success of Image's "Death Dealer" mini-series based on the painting by renowned fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, the book's shepherd, artist Jay Fotos, is moving forward on expanding the line of Frazetta-inspired comics. Fotos has announced, at the San Diego Comic Convention, a line-up of several one shots and a new mini-series, all based on famous Frazetta paintings and featuring the work of a team of recognized comics creators. Fotos spoke with CBR News about the project.

" The Silver Warrior" is a four-issue mini-series by Fotos, Nat Jones and Joshua Ortega. One-shots include Rick Remender on Frazetta's "Creatures," "Swamp Demon" written by Joshua Ortega, Steve Niles handling "Dracula Meets The Wolfman," and Mark Kidwell doing the same for "Dark Kingdom."

The origins of the Frazetta projects go back to Fotos' love of the artist's work as simply a fan. "Always a Frazetta fan and a art collector I scraped up some money to finally purchase a Frazetta original," explained Fotos. "I contacted the Frazettas [Frank and his wife, Ellie] about purchasing some art, with many phone conversations we became friendly. I sent out comics and prints that I worked on and they were impressed. So I just asked if I can do a 'Death Dealer' series, they said 'okay,' but they were pretty strict on how they wanted Frank's art to be portrayed and insisted on approving everything. I was fine with that. I wanted them involved as much as possible. It slows things down but in the long run everyone is happy with the results, which was my first concern."

"Frazetta sees everything," Fotos added. "For the most part, from having conversations, I know what he doesn't want to see. So before stuff goes to him it'll be filtered."

The 'Death Dealer' mini-series has seen sell outs and second printings, proving successful for Fotos, Frazetta and publisher Image Comics, giving Fotos an idea.

"The Frazettas are so pleased with how 'Death Dealer' is turning out and sales are good, that I approached them about continuing on with the 'Frazetta Comic Universe,'" said Fotos. "They think I'm nuts, but I feel these books will be like the Time-Life books of the comic world. If you're a Frazetta fan you must have these on your shelf!"

Looking over the upcoming event's projects, Fotos said, "Nat Jones and I are the 'go to' guys on all this. We (along with Frazetta) decide on the direction/look we are looking for. "

Fotos explained, "With the new 'Silver Warrior' four-issue mini, we wanted to keep in the same world as 'Death Dealer,' tying them together, but still keeping them at arms length from each other. 'Dark Kingdom' and 'Swamp Demon' tie in with the Death Dealer world. 'Dracula Meets the Wolfman' and 'Creatures' are all on their own and all with room to expand if we wanted."

"All titles will bare the name 'Frank Frazetta's...' with logos and layout similar to the 'Death Dealer' series," Fotos continued. "Like I said, we are building a library, kind of a brand name with these books so when you see it on the shelf you know it came from us and can expect the same quality."

Once it was decided to build on the success of "Death Dealer," Fotos expanded his team. "Writers were picked from who we know and from what ideas they had," he said. "We kept it pretty open, saying 'What would you like to write?' Being we have full reign over the whole Frazetta library there's a ton to pick from. "

Fotos continued, "Choosing the paintings, it was a two-way street, stuff we thought would work and what the writers wanted. I approached the writers saying 'pick up some Frazetta books and pick out your top 3 paintings you would like to do.' From there we discussed story ideas and went with what worked best. In no way I would say, 'This is what you're doing!' I want the other creators to be excited about working on these projects so having them choose what they want is the best way to go in my opinion."

"We are still in development with most of these books," added Fotos. That's why we have all these titles slated for 2008 releases.

Fotos is more directly involved in one of the announced projects, the mini-series, "Silver Warrior." "'Death Dealer' was plotted by Nat and myself then Joshua [Ortega] came in an took the reigns, adding on, and is doing a fantastic job. With 'Silver Warrior,' it's very collaborative, we (Joshua, Nat and I) will go over story ideas and we'll all put I our two cents in. The basis is another epic story like 'Death Dealer'...but in the snow."

Fotos can't be entirely forthcoming on what the story of 'Silver Warrior' will be about just yet. "That's a tough question to answer at this point," he explained. "Like I said, things are still brewing with this storyline and to give a definitive who and what that might change...we are still focused on finishing up the 'Death Dealer' series."

For Fotos, these projects are the culmination of something that started long ago."[When I was in] third grade, my father was big on 'Heavy Metal' magazine, back in the seventies, and he picked up 'The Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta.' That book changed my life, along with a million other people."

"The effects of Frank's art that you can still see within my own art is the sense of depth and movement," Fotos continued. "I pretty much base all that from Frazetta."

Are these projects all that are planned for this Frazetta line of comics?

"Five new titles aren't enough? Geez! I kid! We plan to go as long as fans still pick up the books. Like I said, we have full reign on all the Frazetta paintings...and there are a lot of them. Stay tuned."

Discuss this story on CBR's Image Comics Forum.

The ongoing monthly series will be written by industry veteran Walter Simonson (Thor, ORION) and feature art by Ludo Lullabi and inker Sandra Hope. The first six issues of the WORLD OF WARCRAFT comic series will each feature two covers, one by superstar comic book artist Jim Lee and a second by Blizzard Entertainment Senior Art Director Samwise Didier.

The Warcraft® series has been a pillar of gaming culture for over a decade, with multiple #1-selling titles. Blizzard's World of Warcraft MMORPG allows thousands of players to explore the rich, war-torn setting of the franchise together, and has attracted more than 8.5 million subscribers worldwide. The Burning Crusade, the first expansion to World of Warcraft, recently shattered PC game sales records by selling more than 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours of release and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.

The first storyline of the new ongoing series begins when a human is found unconscious on the shores of Kalimdor, with no memory of who he is or how he arrived there. Enslaved by an orc shaman, the man must fight for survival against members of both the Alliance and the Horde. He strikes uneasy relationships with other races in his quest to find the secrets of his past

ADDED 06.18.07:

FALLEN SON: DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA #4 – SPIDER-MAN
Source: Marvel

FALLEN SON: DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA #4 – SPIDER-MAN
(IN STORES: June 20th, 2007)

Written by Jeph Loeb. Krul; Pencils by David Finch; Inks by Danny Miki; Variant Cover by Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald

He’s confronted the deaths of family and friends – but how will the passing of a fellow hero rock the Wall-Crawler? We know we’re being secretive about these FALLEN SON issue descriptions, but it’s Jeph Loeb, David Finch (NEW AVENGERS) and Spider-Man all dealing with life’s greatest foe – so you know it’s going to rock!

MARVEL UNIVERSE| 32pg. | Color | $2.99