Paul Chadwick's Concrete Returns in 2011!

Twenty-five years ago, an idea that would ultimately change the comic-book industry was born in the backroom of a small comics shop in Portland, Oregon. 

Dark Horse Presents #1 was released into a very different comics market than that which exists today. Company-owned characters dominated the industry, and most writers and artists were rarely given the opportunity to retain any rights to their own work. 

This now-legendary first issue, featuring a diverse cast of characters and comics creators, signaled a change in the industry that would revolutionize the way that comic-book creators were compensated for their work. It wasn't long before Dark Horse Presents attracted some of the top talent in the comics industry, and the magazine launched many of the titles now associated with the company. Creator-owned properties such as Frank Miller's Sin City, Paul Chadwick's Concrete, and Mike Mignola's Hellboy all made their first appearances in the pages of this classic comics anthology, as did best-selling licensed titles (another area revolutionized by Dark Horse), including Aliens, Star Wars, and The Terminator.

Now, on the eve of the triumphant return of our flagship title, we are excited to announce that over the next twenty-five weeks, we will divulge a different creator appearing in the all-new, full-color, eighty-page Dark Horse Presents right here, on the Dark Horse blog. 

Twenty-five creators. Twenty-five weeks. Twenty-five years of Dark Horse.

This week, we are excited to lead with one of the creators who appeared in that very first issue, twenty-five years ago. Paul Chadwick's Concrete is the complex tale of a man whose very human thoughts and feelings are encased in a rocky exterior, isolating him emotionally from the world, but not from the woman he loves. Trapped in an alien body, he sets out to discover the very experiences that make a man "human." One could easily argue that Concrete, having won numerous awards and received widespread industry acclaim, was not only ahead of its time, but also one of the first modern comics in what is now referred to as "comics lit." 

Dark Horse was launched with the publication of the very first Concrete story. Over the years, he has served as the unofficial mascot of our company. It wouldn't be right if we relaunched the book without Concrete and his creator, Paul Chadwick, deeply involved. I think you will be seeing and hearing a great deal about Concrete during our twenty-fifth year.

Each week we will reveal the name of one of the creators involved in the relaunch, and it is a truly amazing list with lots of surprises. If you are interested in the future of comics, this is the place to be.