Todd McFarlane Productions and Image Comics have announced “The New U” — a fresh lineup of comics spinning out of the landmark Spawn #350. Things kick off this March with Sam & Twitch: Case Files, a new series starring the eponymous detectives.
Per Image, Sam & Twitch: Case Files teams Spawn creator Todd McFarlane with co-plotter Jon Goff and artist Szymon Kudrański. The debut issue features a main cover by Kevin Keane, as well as a variant cover by McFarlane himself. The series follows Sam Burke and Max “Twitch” Williams as they “navigate the treacherous streets of New York City, gumshoeing and confronting the darkness lurking around every corner.” As opposed to the Spawn Universe’s usual superhero fare, Sam & Twitch: Case Files promises episodic “true-crime style murder mystery cases” that “unfold like an R-rated Drama.”
Check out the covers for Sam & Twitch: Case Files #1 — plus some unlettered preview pages — below:
Rat City and Monolith follow Sam & Twitch: Case Files
Of course, Sam & Twitch: Case Files is far from the only new series Image has in store as part of The New U. The publisher has also announced Rat City by Erica Schultz and Zé Carlos (launching in April), as well as Monolith by Sean Lewis and Valerio Giangiordano (launching in May).
Schultz and Carlos’ Rat City is a sci-fi tale set in a post-war future. The upcoming title centers on Peter Cairn — “an ex-soldier, an amputee, and a Hellspawn.” However, Peter isn’t dead like Al Simmons. Rather, he “got his Spawn powers from the nanites in his prosthetic leg — nanites that were affected when Al Simmons initiated his necroplasmic detonation in the present.”
Meanwhile, Lewis and Giangiordano’s Monolith is a three-issue limited series that will “explore the origin of the hulking Hellspawn.” “What connection does he have to one of the most savage of his kind, Omega Spawn?” Image asks. “Readers will follow his journey from the cosmic depths of deep-spawn to his first encounter with Al Simmons.”
What else to expect from ‘The New U’
“The repercussions of Spawn #350 affected every character’s fate, lead[ing] to a massive shift in the power dynamics within the universe, and gave birth [to] The New U,” Image explains. The publisher says the new comic line will “offer fans a next-level reading experience featuring gripping storylines, dynamic characters, and jaw-dropping plot twists.” Furthermore, its titles will “range in genre from Horror to Drama, Crime to Science-Fiction, and even Comedy and provide a story for every type of reader.”
After Sam & Twitch: Case Files, Rat City, and Monolith get things started in March, April, and May, respectively, The New U’s rollout continues in June with the launch of Misery, Medieval Spawn, and Spawn Kills Every Spawn. Violator and Knights vs. Samurai arrive in August, followed by Deadly Tales in September and No Home Here in October. Additional upcoming titles include Focus, Spawn: The Dark Ages, She-Spawn, Bloodletter, and Spawn 77.
Sam & Twitch: Case Files #1 goes on sale Wednesday, March 27 from Image Comics.
