Broken Frontier

The untimely death of a beloved comic book hero can be a shocking event for long-time fans – be it Jason Todd’s Robin at the hands of the Joker, Superman’s demise facing Doomsday, or the recent assassination of Captain America.

To avoid any similar pain and outcry, Red 5 Comics has decided to kill Abyss – the lead character of a series by the same name – before the first issue of the comic even comes out this October. Right from the first page, the oblivious billionaire son of Abyss (Eric Hoffman) is already attempting to move on with his life.

Abyss is written and created by Kevin Rubio – recipient of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Fan Film Pioneer Award for his acclaimed internet-phenomenon parody film "TROOPS".

"I didn’t want the death of Abyss to be used as some kind of gimmick to boost sales years down the road," Rubio said. "Frankly, none of you have ever heard of Abyss, so we need that sales gimmick now… before the series gets started. Trust me, you would have really loved to hate him."

Abyss reunites Rubio with artist Lucas Marangon, partners on the sharply satirical and best-selling Star Wars: Tag and Bink comic series. The duo’s reverent whit and colorful exploitation was recently honored by the American Library Association.

Rounding out the team are renowned creator Nick Schley (Abiding Perdition) on inks, colorist Andrew Dalhouse (Garth Ennis’ Wormwood), and 2007 Harvey Award nominee letterer, Troy Peteri (Necromancer).

Savvy fans have become wary of publicity deaths and claim that editors plot a path to resurrection in advance. Is Abyss really going to stay dead? "I’m not going to sit here and say he’s completely dead," Rubio replied. "But fans are going to have to wait until page 8 or so before they find out those kind of big answers."

Abyss begins its four-issue bi-monthly dose of comedic, dysfunctional and heroic adventures this October 2007 from Red 5 Comics. Be sure to contact your favorite comic shop and ask them to order your copy from the August issue of Diamond Previews catalog.