You've never seen me make a phone call so fast.
I don't remember exactly what we said to one another, but the gist of it was this: fan-favorite Tony had put his popular series The Tenth on hiatus, and was wrapping up his current hit miniseries, F5. He loves writing and drawing comics - hey, if you've seen his incredible work, you know what I'm talking about - but was becoming disillusioned by the business side. And I understood what he meant. Despite working through an established publisher, Tony was responsible for creating, packaging, marketing, and financing every one of his books. He'd been doing this for three years straight, averaging a book a month (and getting noticed by some serious players: his Tenth spin-off, Adrenalynn, is in feature-film development with producer Joel Silver and Sleepy Hollow actress Christina Ricci!). But with all of the great work that was being done, there was a lot of tedious business; in other words, he was practically a one-man company.
All of this works just fine for some people. But for someone who writes and draws almost all of his comics himself every month, all of the other work involved in getting comics on the stands can get to be a drag. Heck, Dark Horse has entire departments for designing comics and ads, marketing books, paying creators, making contracts, and all of the other mumbo jumbo that's part of the wacky world of publishing comics. So Tony wanted a change, and if he couldn't get one, he'd just call it quits.
Luckily for Dark Horse, and of course all of Tony's fans, we were able to work out a deal. Dark Horse would publish and promote his work, and he could get back to doing what he loved best: writing and drawing. And wait till you see what he's working on!
In the spirit of change, Tony's first project for Dark Horse will be an entirely new concept, combining his favorite elements of his storytelling and artwork in a dynamic new series: Silke.
Getting back to his roots in action/adventure stories, Silke gives the world Tony Daniel at his finest. The feature character, Sandra Silke, is a shape-changer who accidentally gained her incredible abilities in a top-secret program. Now, the project has been shut down, and all evidence has been destroyed... except Sandra. She's on the run, blending in, able to be anyone she wants... except herself. And there's an enemy on her tail, one who knows her secrets, and how to eliminate her (I dunno about you, but I'm already pumped!).
Silke launches this January, which has been declared "Tony Daniel Month" at Dark Horse. Look for Tony Daniel's luscious artwork gracing the covers of several of Dark Horse's best series in January, as well as the cover of November's Previews. And don't be surprised if other TD projects sprout at Dark Horse.
The word is out - there's a new sheriff in town!
- Mike Hansen
editor
Silke ™ & © 2000 Tony Daniel. All rights reserved.