Broken Frontier

Just a year ago, very few readers had ever heard of David B. Schwartz, Sean Wang, or their comic book Meltdown. Of course, that was before their Image Comics miniseries began garnering some of the strongest reviews for a debut comic in years. Now, due to the overwhelming fan reaction for Meltdown, the boys are back at work putting together a jam-packed trade paperback edition.

"We've got the full 96 pages of story that were in issues one and two," says Schwartz, "but there's gonna be a lot more than that. We're really thinking of this like an ultimate edition DVD release, and packing it with tons of great bonus features."

"I'm opening my entire sketchbook," said Wang. "You'll get to see all of the design work I did when creating the look of these characters, and I talk you through the whole process."

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The senses-shattering collection will also feature:

- "The Making of Chris Bachalo's Cover," a rare look inside the creative process of one of comics' top artists, where you'll get to see his thumbnails, pencils and inks.

- A foreword by superstar writer Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead and Invincible.

- The original series pitch

- Pin-ups by other great artists, giving their interpretations of the Meltdown characters

- Deleted scenes, alternate endings, and more.

Plus much, much more cool and exciting behind the scenes material!

Meltdown tells the story of a reluctant superhero whose fire-based powers are killing him by melting him down from within. With only 7 days left to live, he must put his life in order, and make amends for all of his regrets. The script is by David B. Schwartz, artwork is by Sean Wang (creator of Runners), colors by Guru-eFX, and incredible covers by both Bachalo (issue 1) and Greg Horn (issue 2).

Meltdown: The Definitive Collection trade paperback, a 152-page full-color comic, ships July 5 and is currently available through Diamond Previews (MAY071863).