Image Comic's Death Jr. back for a second round
By Tina Benitez -- Playthings, 4/1/2006
It's not easy being the Grim Reaper's son. This fall, Image Comics, Berkeley, Calif., will release the second, three-issue series of the cult favorite, Death Jr.
Again illustrated by Ted Naifeh and written by Cary Whitta, Series 2 will follow Death Jr. and friends, Pandora and the Seep, on summer vacation. Last fall, the first series sold out.
Jim Demonakos, marketing coordinator for Image Comics, says the property is popular because is appeals to all ages, which is pretty rare in the comic book business. Recently, a new PSP game was released as well as apparel based on the deathly characters. In 2006, new T-shirts from Ripple Junction, Los Angeles, figures from Gentle Giant, Burbank, Calif., and costumes from Smiffy's, Van Nuys, Calif., are available.
Demonakos tells Playthings that cross-promotion usually works for series like Death Jr. “A lot of items, like posters and bookmarks, are used to promote new titles,” he says. “With a title like this, which is based on a video game, cross promoting with the company is something we pursue, to put advertisements with the games and promote the series to fans of the game and vice versa.”
Also on the Image Comics schedule this summer are Shadowhawk No. 12, from Jim Valentino, Spawn Volume 2 and Witchblade No. 98.
