Broken Frontier

Beginning in February of 2005, Image Comics is set to unleash the latest original series from the home of new ideas.

THE EXPATRIATE, a monthly full color book written by HAWAIIAN DICK and  BATTLE HYMN creator B. Clay Moore, and illustrated by Jason Latour, will take readers places they've never been in a comic book.  Throwing convention to the winds, Moore has crafted a new story initially set in the mid-sixties...a spy book without spies that will eventually cover a wide range of ground as the book's hero, Jack Dexter, takes on everything from the CIA to...the Beatles?

"Basically, the book starts off as a chase story," explains Moore. "Our hero, Jack Dexter, is being chased by CIA agents through a tiny South American country.  They want to kill him and bring his body home, but he has no idea why.  And they kill a lot of people to get to him."

And what makes the book so unique? Moore gives a clue with his answer.

"The reason they're chasing him. Readers won't see it coming, but it will make sense once they see the result of his capture," says Moore.  "If readers will give us three issues, I'm pretty sure they'll be hooked. I'm trying to break some new ground with Expat, and I hope the market is ready for it. We've got the book plotted through two years, and have no plans to stop there."

While Moore's penchant for crafting unique twists on pop cultural icons has been well established with the critically acclaimed HAWAIIAN DICK, he says Jason Latour's contribution is what really solidifies the book.  Latour is currently providing one-page backup strips to Robert Kirkman's INVINCIBLE, but Moore says those strips are only the tip of the iceberg for the artist.

"Jason Latour is going to be a star," says Moore. "He's one of these guys with an unlimited imagination, and a driving devotion to improving his craft.  He's like a sponge, soaking up lessons from the best the business has seen. By the time we're a year or so into THE EXPATRIATE, Jason will be in a pretty elite class, if he isn't already."

According to Moore, it was WALKING DEAD and INVINCIBLE writer Robert Kirkman who convinced him to do the book as a monthly ongoing, after hearing Moore's ideas for the book.

"I ran what I thought would be the craziest idea I could think of past Robert during the Baltimore Comicon, and he flipped out," says Moore. "After telling me I had to use the idea or he'd steal it, he grabbed Latour and bullied him into agreeing to make the book a monthly.  And I'm glad he did."

Kirkman remains the book's most enthusiastic supporter.

"When Clay told me his plans for the Expatriate is was like a punch to the stomach," says Kirkman.  "I was extremely enthusiastic about the idea.  I wished I had thought of it so badly that I tried to convince Clay that I had.  Sadly, it didn't work.  I'll be counting the days until the release of the Expatriate."

According to Image Executive Director Eric Stephenson, THE EXPATRIATE is exactly the kind of original book readers should expect to see from the new Image.

"The Expatriate is a gripping example of comic book excellence and a truly unique project," says Stephenson.  "Image needs more new concepts from guys like Clay, and we're proud to be publishing this one."

THE EXPATRIATE #1 is solicited in the December PREVIEWS, and will hit stores in February.