Vita Ayala Brings XENA Charging Back to Comics!
Launching in April 2019
January 21, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite announces a new XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS ongoing series for April written by Vita Ayala (Black Panther, Shuri, Wonder Woman, The Wilds), illustrated by newcomer Olympia Sweetman, colored by Rebecca Nalty (WWE, Sparrowhawk) and lettered by Ariana Maher (James Bond 007, Nancy Drew).
Journey back to Ancient Greece with the reformed warlord. Take up your swords and chakrams to follow the newest adventures of the cult classic TV phenomenon and her trusted companion Gabrielle. As they will first have to investigate a mysterious village where children are miraculously strong. Could the infamously petty Greek Gods be involved, and if not how long before they stick their meddlesome hands in?
The first issue features a range of stunning covers from today’s top talents David Mack (Daredevil, Jessica Jones), Emanuela Lupacchino (Wonder Woman, Supergirl), Erica Henderson (Squirrel Girl), Paulina Ganucheau (Black Panther), as well as Raúl Allén and Patricia Martin (Wonder Woman, Livewire).
Editor Nate Cosby pitches the series in a nutshell to fans new and returning, “Bounding adventures! Amazing episodes that build to a huge overall story! Every action sequence motivated by strong characters and deep emotion! Did you dig the Xena television series? You will ADORE what Vita, Olympia, Rebecca and Ariana are cooking up with this series. And if you don’t know what Xena’s about? This is the perfect place to start!”
“I am INCREDIBLY excited to be working on Xena! She is my favorite character of all time, and to be able to work on any project involving her is an honor,” said writer Vita Ayala, pictured. “The team has a lot of fun things in store for readers, including some old frenemies and travel to places that even XENA has never seen before!”
Exciting illustrator Olympia Sweetman had this to say, “I am tremendously enjoying working on Xena, and feel fortunate and lucky to be drawing such an iconic and interesting character. To me, one of the most exciting aspects of drawing this book is having the opportunity to depict the vivid and interesting world of Xena, including the scoundrels, gods and allies. This is my first major comics job, and I am putting my all into this book!"
XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ February 2019 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in April 2019. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the issue with their local comic book retailers. It will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more!
Cover A: David Mack
Cover B: Emanuella Lupacchino
Cover C: Erica Henderson
Cover D: Paulina Ganucheau
Cover E: Raúl Allén and Patricia Martin
Olympia Sweetman
About Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, Neil Gaiman, Andy Diggle, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner, Gail Simone, Steve Niles, James Robinson, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles - including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's Project Superpowers - have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.