The Occultist a one-shot but "to be continued"

[iggy101us]

There are some pages from the Occultist from Victor Drujiniu here:

http://druje.deviantart.com/gallery/#

[iggy101us]

From the Wall Street Journal Online 6/11/2011:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

Mike Richardson gets some of his best ideas when he's asleep.

Toni Greaves for The Wall Street Journal

Dark Horse Comics founder and creator-in-chief, Mike Richardson, invents, writes and edits comics.
Mr. Richardson, the 60-year-old founder and creator-in-chief of Dark Horse Comics, had a dream last year in which someone pointed at him and said, "You will do the occultist." The term was unfamiliar to him, so he looked up the definition in the middle of the night: It means someone versed in the study of the supernatural.

Soon he was furiously writing down his ideas for a story about a kid who can read the symbols on pages that look blank to everyone else. He created an outline and then hired a writer and artist; "The Occultist" was published in December. "Who am I to ignore a dream?" he asked. "You just start thinking and building."

[Daniel Jackson]

He should have been dreaming about how to get the GK books out on time....

[MoonChild]

He should have been dreaming about how to get the GK books out on time....

[yardstick]

He should have been dreaming about how to get the GK books out on time....

[iggy101us]

Second_Death posted about the upcoming Occultist on 11/9 on the dark-key site. Here's more info about it:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/511/occul ... -new-power

Dark Horse Comics is pleased to announce that Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) is bringing his rare mix of humor, horror, and heroes to the latest creation from company founder Mike Richardson!

The Occultist returns this fall, following its hugely successful one-shot released last year!

When a mysterious book of powerful spells binds itself to him, the fact that Rob’s life has been falling apart doesn’t seem like such a big deal. What do his girlfriend leaving him or his mountain of debt matter when mystics and demons are overrunning the town in search of the book—and him? To survive, Rob must learn to control the book’s unpredictable magic, while his life slips even further out of control . . .

Now, while harnessing his new powers as the Occultist, college student Rob Bailey must defend himself and those around him from a series of hired hit mages with unique magical abilities and a serpentine demon known as the Swordbreaker, all determined to kill him and to possess the powerful spell book known as the Sword!

Cover art by Steve Morris and variant cover art by Jenny Frison!

The Occultist is a comic you should be checking out . . . If you want more of a magically fun and yet grounded character tale then put your money in to support this.”—Comic Book Resources

On sale November 9, 2011!

[iggy101us]

Here's a new write-up today with reference to Dark Horse Gold Key logo design:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=33414

A bookstore isn't a bad place to work for college students and 20-somethings, especially when its friendly proprietor enjoys sharing his latest acquisitions of rare manuscripts and unusual tomes. But when a down-on-his-luck assistant accidentally unleashes the ancient arcane power held within one such volume, the techno-cult client that had been waiting so eagerly for the book's arrival will do just about anything to take possession of their purchase.

Created by Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson, "The Occultist" debuted last year in a one-shot written by "Hack/Slash's" Tim Seeley and illustrated by Victor Drujiniu, and CBR News is pleased to exclusively announce that the team is reuniting for a four-issue miniseries later this year. We spoke with writer Tim Seeley about the project.

Seeley said that fan reaction to his "Occultist" one-shot was "pretty positive," adding that "it seemed like a few of my 'Hack/Slash' readers picked it up and found it to be within the realm of the kind of thing they enjoyed from me."

With the character now established, the writer is ready to delve deeper into what makes the Occultist tick. "The first one-shot was an origin story, and thus it had all the symptoms of 'origin-itis,' but this one, we just go in all wands blazing," Seeley said. "Our hero got the power someone else was intended to get, so he's being chased by a bunch of hired maniacs known as hitmages. But there's something way worse headed his way!"

Somewhat surprisingly at the time, the logo design for the first "Occultist" one-shot tied it into Dark Horse's Gold Key line, which includes "Doctor Solar," "Turok" and other classic characters, and material in the back of the issue confirmed it as part of this imprint. But, according to Seeley, this does not necessarily imply a crossover in the near future. "The Gold Key connection is more of a philosophical connection," the writer said. "We're taking very Golden Age, comic book pulp ideas and bringing them to 2011, just as Magnus and the other books did." On the other hand, "I'm always up for fun crossovers, and I've already thrown out the idea of an Occultist meets Ghost series to my beleaguered editor."

Seeley has previously described "The Occultist" as a modern "Doctor Strange Year One" but noted that there are some significant differences between the new hero and the Sorcerer Supreme. "Occultist is kind of a reverse Doctor Strange in that he starts out with immense magical powers and is studying ways to control and tame them, rather than growing in power," he clarified. "He finds himself falling into an existing world of magicians and magical items that exist in the shadows."

As seen in the one-shot, our hero does rather fall into this role, as a young bookstore clerk named Rob comes into the possession of a mystical artifact not altogether willingly when its previous owner is murdered. "That'll be the story of the Occultist, the conflict of knowing you can have anything you want and having to cherry pick so that you do the things for the greater good," Seeley said. "The interesting bits come in when we see what happens when Rob uses the power to get everything he ever wanted, and then having to deal with getting it. The story will sort of be about acquiring things versus acquiring wisdom."

Artist Victor Drujiniu is on board once again for the "Occultist" miniseries, though there may be some changes this time around. "Vic's doing a new style for this series... very slick, and very realistic. He makes things look so clear and real world, when the fantastic shows up it really looks otherworldly and crazy!"

[kevinbastos]

Second_Death posted about the upcoming Occultist on 11/9 on the dark-key site. Here's more info about it:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/511/occul ... -new-power

The Occultist returns this fall, following its hugely successful one-shot released last year!

Optimism, perhaps?

[iggy101us]

Second_Death posted about the upcoming Occultist on 11/9 on the dark-key site. Here's more info about it:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/511/occul ... -new-power

The Occultist returns this fall, following its hugely successful one-shot released last year!

Optimism, perhaps?

Nope. With the lack of news, I still think the GK line will be on indefinite hiatus.

[kevinbastos]

Second_Death posted about the upcoming Occultist on 11/9 on the dark-key site. Here's more info about it:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/511/occul ... -new-power

The Occultist returns this fall, following its hugely successful one-shot released last year!

Optimism, perhaps?

Nope. With the lack of news, I still think the GK line will be on indefinite hiatus.

No - I was talking about the Occultist being a 'hugely successful' release being optimism...

[iggy101us]

Second_Death posted about the upcoming Occultist on 11/9 on the dark-key site. Here's more info about it:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/511/occul ... -new-power

The Occultist returns this fall, following its hugely successful one-shot released last year!

Optimism, perhaps?

Nope. With the lack of news, I still think the GK line will be on indefinite hiatus.

No - I was talking about the Occultist being a 'hugely successful' release being optimism...

Haha. Yeah, I wouldn't call selling 5,000 or so copies "hugely successful".

[MoonChild]

I really hope this line survies Occultist is really good.

Thanks for posting iggy

[StarBrand]

I really hope this line survies Occultist is really good.

Thanks for posting iggy

I think The Occultist may survive outside this line.

[MoonChild]

I would concur

[greg]

I'm assuming the "indefinite hiatus" of the "big 3" (Magnus, Dr. Solar, Turok) is related to costs.

The Occultist, if it is a license from Gold Key (Random House / Classic Media), is probably much cheaper than the "big 3".
It may not officially be related to "The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor", so it may not be a license at all.

Since the Occultist does not have Jim Shooter on board, I would say it is also much cheaper to create than the "big 3".

"Hugely successful" has a completely different meaning if costs are near zero.

[BruceReville]

The Occultist, if it is a license from Gold Key (Random House / Classic Media), is probably much cheaper than the "big 3".


The Occultist was created by Mike Richardson for Dark Horse. It is not a licensed product from Random House.

[greg]

The Occultist, if it is a license from Gold Key (Random House / Classic Media), is probably much cheaper than the "big 3".


The Occultist was created by Mike Richardson for Dark Horse. It is not a licensed product from Random House.

Definitely cheaper than licensing.

It's no coincidence that he chose "The Occultist" name for this book
given the history of "The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor" with Dr. Solar
from Gold Key, back in the day.

It's also no coincidence that this new "The Occultist" is completely unrelated in content
because it would be violating copyrights if it even loosely resembled Dr. Spektor.

A play on the original name, without paying for the original connection.

[Second_Death]

Little doubt that DH can sell a lot fewer copies of the Occultist than the other DK books and still produce something that is more profitable. Now whether it is actually as good is another story.