The Weird World of Shichigoro

247 Comics Fam,

HEROES BE DAMNED VOLUME 1 is coming! We’re launching soon, and today we’re excited to share our new variant cover. It’s something else.

But first…

A masked serial killer is hunting superheroes and villains alike. A teen hero-in-training is humanity’s only chance to stop him.

From Writer/Artist Vince Sunico and Co-Writer Nicholas Lukic, edited by our own Terry Kavanagh, comes a mystery thriller for fans of gritty, ultra-violent mangas and comics like BERSERK, INVINCIBLE or THE BOYS.

Set in the superhero zeitgeist of the 1990s, an elite class of caped crusaders known as V-Force rules the hearts and minds of the people, led by the American hero Victory, a burly 75 year-old widely recognized as the world’s first superhero. Keeping the streets free of crime, they are adored by the citizens of the world.

Or, most of them. One day, someone begins killing off the heroes in violent, sadistic ways. V-Force suspects one of their arch-nemeses, but this mysterious, seemingly unstoppable figure is killing both heroes and villains alike.

Victory’s fifteen-year-old granddaughter Mystic is still a hero-in-training, and doesn’t fully understand her powers. But she wants to protect her grandfather – and she may be the world’s best chance to stop this killer.

Volume 1 is a gorgeous trade paperback compiling the first three issues of Heroes with a brand new short story titled “The Greater Good”, which goes into Victory's backstory and the origin of the superhero coalition the V-Force.

This new, remastered version will be available in two editions - the HEROES Edition:

…and the DAMNED Edition:

The HEROES Edition contains the remastered version of the collected issues and the brand new story. The DAMNED Edition is double the length, with all that plus a deep dive behind-the-scenes: thumbnails, the full script, character sketches, and new insight from Vince.

Shichigoro-Shingo is a Japan-based artist with a wild, imaginative style that blends sci-fi, manga and gothic imagery. Much of his work recalls the fluidly mechanized, futuristic horror art of H.R. Giger (as this rave review of his work titled “Shichigoro’s Dark Art: Great Giger’s Ghost!” points out.)

Shichigoro’s early, digital work seems to portray a society of orphans in an Giger-esque hellscape, their cute faces etched with porcelain cracks, their gazes searing and defiant:

Recently, Shichigoro has been drawn to the analogue world, turning to acrylic painting on canvas. Here is his striking, haunting cover for Heroes Be Damned Vol. 1:

This variant will be available for the Heroes Edition, which includes all three issues and the new story “The Greater Good”.

You can pick up this variant cover version and any of the other rewards when Heroes Be Damned Vol. 1 goes live.

We have some exciting Day 1 Rewards to announce on this one. Follow the campaign to be notified when we launch, if you haven’t already. More to come!

Onward and upward,

Carl Choi