Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, will team with artist Jason Howard to bring readers C.O.D.E., a new science fiction property debuting in issue five of Skybound X, a special anthology book created to commemorate the Skybound imprint’s tenth anniversary. The book will be on sale in print and digital August 4.
After making a name for himself as a writer at Marvel Comics, Robert Kirkman helped create two different titles that would help bring comics to the mainstream: The Walking Dead and Invincible. Both of these titles were critically acclaimed best-sellers, and both have been successfully adapted to other media. Based on the strength of these two titles, Kirkman pivoted to exclusively creator-owned material, creating the Skybound imprint at Image Comics. Skybound would go on to publish titles such as Ultramega, Oblivion Song, and Outcast. 2021 marks the imprint’s tenth anniversary, and to commemorate, a new anthology, Skybound X, was commissioned and the fifth issue will introduce a brand-new property, titled C.O.D.E., created by Kirkman and Jason Howard, who previously worked together on the Skybound title The Astounding Wolf-Man.
Image has released more details about the new series, including preview art. Set in the distant future, humanity scrapes by in a world described as a “technological hellscape.” Split into six warring factions, humanity has the assistance of special devices called Combat Orb Defense Engines, or C.O.D.E. Representatives from the various factions, called “orb-wielders,” must come together to save the world from a foe that has almost conquered the Earth already. The press release also treated readers to an advance look at David Finch’s cover as well as up-close looks at character designs. Both Kirkman and Howard expressed enthusiasm for the project; Kirkman called it “ambitious” and said that it mixed various genres into “one big super-powered epic.”
Kirkman felt this was the perfect capstone for Skybounds’s 10th anniversary. Likewise, Howard was excited to reunite with Kirkman, saying, "It's been a blast to reunite with Robert on a new project, we share a ton of comic book DNA and C.O.D.E. is the offspring of that DNA who’s done nothing but pump iron and become awesome in an attempt to be worthy of your love!”
Skybound has had two runaway hits in The Walking Dead and Invincible; both have appeared on best-seller lists and both have been adapted to hit television shows. Skybound has been host to a motherload of quality titles since its creation a decade ago, and C.O.D.E. seems poised to be another hit in the making for the imprint. Kirkman and Howard’s passion for the project is clear as both, in their words, share the same “comic book DNA,” and it will show in C.O.D.E.
Robert Kirkman is a hit-maker in the comics industry, having helped create the landmark The Walking Dead franchise and now he is set to deliver his next hit: C.O.D.E., debuting in Skybound X 5, on sale this August.
Source: Image Comics