Minotaur Press from Top Cow Returns

I had all but forgotten about Minotaur Press, the imprint from Top Cow, but now it's making a return.  Previously publishing such stories as Tony Harris and Dan Jolley's Obergeist and Greg Rucka and Matthew Clark's Felon, Minotaur was a third branch of the Top Cow publishing group.

But this fall, they're reviving the line.  Here's how things break down in Top Cow world: The Top Cow Universe is where you'll find Witchblade and The Darkness, as well as the 45(-ish) series Ron Marz is currently writing in a shared universe style.  Top Cow Productions will publish stand alone series like Mysterious Ways and Sunset.  In the past, there were stories like Wanted and Rising Stars.  Now Minotaur takes up the third branch, doing "darker, more nuanced stories".  Of course, all of these also fall under the umbrella of Image Comics.

The first stories from Minotaur will be Echoes, written by Joshua Hale Fialkov (Tumor), with art by Rahsan Ekedal, and Last Mortal, written by Filip Sablik (Top Cow publisher and resident on A Taste of Comics podcast) and John Mahoney, with art by Thomas Nachlik.  Both stories will appear in the Top Cow First Look trade paperback in October, and will be released in single issues in late 2010 and 2011.

In Echoes, "a man discovers his deceased father may have been a serial killer. When new bodies begin to surface, he’s left to wonder if he has inherited his father’s tendencies. Echoes reflects on sanity and ability to ever escape our family legacy."

In Last Mortal, "a small-time criminal discovers after trying to kill himself that he is immortal. Last Mortal is about searching to find value in life when there is no easy way out."

I'm always glad to see a publisher set up new venues for new stories and possibly new creators.  Now it's up to Top Cow to make sure the stories are good, and it's up to readers to actually give them a chance.