Vault Comics is teaming up with Max Bemis (Moon Knight, X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever) and Eryk Donovan (Quantum Teens, Memetic) for a psychedelic new series HEAVY. The new series will follow Bill, a dead man who polices the multiverse in order to reunite with the woman he loves. Here's an official synopsis for the series:
Bill may be dead, but he’s got a job to do. Welcome to the Big Wait, where folks who don’t quite make the cut go to work off their debt. Everyone in the Wait’s got a job. Bill is a Heavy, whose job is policing the multiverse, making sure bad eggs get what’s coming to them. He’s on track to earn his Climb and reunite with the woman he loves...until he meets his new partner: the worst dude of all time. Heavy is The Punisher for neurotics; Inception for the impatient; Preacher for…well, it’s a lot like Preacher. Max Bemis and Eryk Donovan bring you a story about the existential purpose of dumb boys with big guns.
Bemis, who's also the lead singer and guitarist of Say Anything when he's not writing comics, said he's always wanted to write a comic like HEAVY. Drawing inspiration from some of his favorite comics ever, Bemis said HEAVY is simultaneously a collection of his wildest hopes and fears but also is a "rip-roaring good time."
In my early twenties, having finally achieved most of what I had set out to do with music, I made the vow to stop procrastinating and pursue my first passion and ambition; to write comics. I had been married recently and huge existential quandaries began to manifest in my heart concerning morality, my masculinity, and the enduring nature of true love. I wanted to write a comic akin to the weird, violent epics that were my favorites of all time (The Invisibles, Preacher). The only problem was that I hadn't written a single issue of comics, and thus I didn't have a single credit to my name. I took meetings and mulled over ideas from general thematic qualities to specific dialogue, but none of it came to fruition. Here I am now, more than ten years later, with quite a few books to my name, and I'm finally getting to tell the story that means the most to me. HEAVY contains my wildest fears, hopes, self-criticisms and my own muddled vision of what reality means. It's also meant to be a rip-roaring good time. Writing the first few issues has been one of the greatest creative joys I've experienced so far, and I hope you guys will join us on its singularly strange journey.
Donovan, who co-created HEAVY with Bemis and will be drawing the series, said that his own tumultuous personal and professional life over the past few years ultimately led him to co-creating the book. He said the series is about finding a deeper understanding and inner truth of your experiences and the world around us.
Each year of our lives is a story, unique unto us. We undergo personal growth or regression, have new experiences, hopefully, deepen and formulate new relationships, friendships, and bonds between each other. The past few years have been absolutely tumultuous for me personally and professionally, and when I look back, I see that winding road leading me to HEAVY.
In each new story I tell, I seek to bring us closer together; to share in joy, excitement, and passion. Each stroke of my brush, each mark of my pen, reflects a deeply personal and intimate journey with myself, and I welcome sharing this next step of my path with you in with HEAVY.
HEAVY, for me, is a story about transformation, growth, and finding a deeper understanding of inner truth and world around us. It’s about Love, Hate, Violence, and yes, Sex. It’s about what it means to find ourselves. It’s about the power and cruelty we wield over ourselves and each other, and how the ripples of that indelibly affect our hearts.
Welcome to The Big Wait. I hope you enjoy.
The series will feature colors from Cris Peter (The Dollhouse Family), letters from Taylor Esposito (Babyteeth) with design elements from Tim Daniel (The Plot). Screen Rant has an exclusive first look at the series which includes a cover by Donovan and Peter, as well as a variant cover by Nathan Gooden (Money Shot) and Daniel.
We've also have some concept art for HEAVY from Donovan for the lead character Bill and his new partner Slim.
HEAVY is published by Vault Comics and issue one will be on sale May 27th, 2020.