| #SDCC: RODNEY BARNES REVEALS SECOND TITLE IN ZOMBIE LOVE STUDIOS LINEUP: THE BUTCHER OF BLACK BOTTOM Following Up On Last Year’s News of The ‘Winning Time’ Co-Creator/Executive Producer and Killadelphia Co-Creator and Writer’s Upcoming Reimagining of ‘Blacula’ Comes a Tale Inspired by Jack the Ripper and 1920s Detroit LOS ANGELES, CA– Zombie Love Studios, the comic studio and publishing imprint founded by Eisner Award nominated graphic novel creator and award-winning television writer-producer Rodney Barnes, last year announced plans to release a graphic novel adaptation of the classic 1970s film Blacula. Today, the Killadelphia writer reveals the next title in the upcoming lineup of books The Butcher of Black Bottom, which premiers on the creator’s Substack newsletter later this year and will be collected under the Zombie Love Studios imprint banner after that. Rodney Barnes says “The Butcher of Black Bottom speaks to the struggle to find racial harmony in a post-civil war America. Where the migration of blacks from the south meets an industrializing north wrestling with its own issues. As one might imagine finding peace was no easy chore.” The Butcher of Black Bottom unites Barnes with Argentinian artist Germán Erramouspe, and is a dark and moody period horror comic that pairs the sophistication of European graphic storytelling with the gritty master craft of the Killadelpia horror aficionado. Launched with the goal of being a creative space dedicated to storytelling from BIPOC perspectives in a format where they typically aren’t told, Zombie Love Studios allows Barnes to simultaneously expand his creative footprint while also making a larger impact on the comic industry by eliminating any limitations on such stories to get to the honest depiction of the culture. In addition to Blacula, Barnes and Zombie Love Studios are set to release two additional titles in 2022: Crownsville, a ghost story set in the first black insane asylum in America, and Florence and Normandie, a science fiction epic set in South Los Angeles that Barnes has partnered with rapper Xzibit to create. Barnes will appear as part of next week’s Comic Con International convention in San Diego in the Image Comics booth, and on two separate panels on Friday and Saturday: FRIDAY JULY 22: 2:30PM – 3:30 PM, Room: 5AB Join some of the buzziest comics creators of the year Michael Walsh (The Silver Coin), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), Joshua Williamson (Nailbiter), Trish Forstner (Stray Dogs), and Scott Snyder (Nocterra) for a discussion of the Horror genre’s revival the past decade, what it takes to send chills down your readers’ spines, the nuance of dark storytelling and tricks of the trade, and why tales that thrill are now more popular than ever. Moderated by Ryan J. Downey. Signing: 4pm – 5pm – Rodney Barnes (at the Image Comics Booth #1915) SATURDAY JULY 23: 5:30PM – 6:30 PM, Room: 24ABC Whether in extreme horror, sci-fi explorations, or fantastical fun for kids, the love for monsters is real. Experts in the field Steve Niles and Shannon Eric Denton (Monster Forge Productions), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia),HansRodionoff (Man-Thing), Brea Grant (Halloween II), DavidHartman (Army of the Dead), DirkBlackman(Underworld: Rise of the Lycans), Ken Lashley (Black Panther), Kevin Grevioux (Underworld), TimSeeley(Hack/Slash), and Thomas Healy (Spawn EiC) discuss inspirations and their upcoming film, comics, and toy projects that revolve around this ever-evolving appreciation of the monstrous things that scare and delight us. |
