Rob Hanes Adventures to be Collected in Trade Paperback

Earliest stories digitally re-lettered for debut edition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Though Rob Hanes Adventures is one of the longest running independent comic-book titles still in active publication, the series has never been available in trade paperback format—until now.

WCG Comics announced that the first volume of a projected series of trade paperbacks collecting the globe-trotting action-adventure comic-book series will be released in September 2010. The first volume—Rob Hanes Adventures, Volume 0—will collect the complete 4-issue run of Adventure Strip Digest, which was the series' original home before being re-launched as Rob Hanes Adventures. The next volumes will begin collecting the current regular series, Rob Hanes Adventures. Series creator Randy Reynaldo acknowledged that the anticipated collection was long overdue and was in response to requests he has received from both longtime readers and others interested in checking out the series.

A preview of the front and back covers and sample interior pages may be found at WCG's Facebook gallery preview site for the book.

The trade paperback is obviously now a widely accepted format for comics," said series creator and writer-artist Randy Reynaldo. “I’m glad that comics fans will have a new way to discover the series.”

In addition, exclusively for this new release, series creator and writer-artist Randy Reynaldo has completely re-lettered the stories being released in the first volume. To do so, he turned to a collaborator for the first time in the series' history, letterer Johnny Lowe.

“The earliest issues were done ‘old school,” meaning they were hand-lettered on the original art,” says Reynaldo. “Now that I’m re-issuing the stories in trade format, it seemed right to re-letter these issues to bring their quality up to par with the current series and make sure they meet the expectations of today's comics readers.”

Since the 1990s, cartoonist Randy Reynaldo has kept alive the tradition of high adventure and the globetrotting soldier of fortune in his acclaimed independent comic-book series Rob Hanes Adventures. The series features the adventures of an international troubleshooter/spy and modern-day soldier of fortune who works for Justice International, a worldwide private investigations and security agency. The series provides a modern-day spin on classic high adventure comic strips like the Spirit and Terry and the Pirates. WCG Publisher Randy Reynaldo said the planned trade paperback collections will give readers a convenient new way to discover and to read the series from the beginning.

Reynaldo projects collecting the series in four-issue increments. The first compilation, volume 0, will collect the stories that appeared in Adventure Strip Digest starring Rob Hanes, the original title of the series that ran for four issues from 1994 to 1996. (The title was afterwards re-booted as Rob Hanes Adventures.) The next trade to follow, volume 1, will commence with the current series, collecting issues 1-4 of Rob Hanes Adventures. Twelve issues of Rob Hanes Adventures have been published to date. A previous trade paperback from 1996, The Rob Hanes Archives, collected the earliest stories that appeared as a zine title. The earlier trade was funded by a Xeric Foundation award and is still available.

Letterer Johnny Lowe’s credits include Existence 3.0, Forgetless, Morning Glories, and Strongarm for Image Comics; Free Realms and Garrison for Wildstorm;  Mr. Stuffins, Caped!, Nola, The Anchor, Shmobots, Swordsmith Assassin, The Calling, Pale Horse, Hawks of Outremer, Codebreakers, Amory Wars, and several Warhammer titles for Boom Studios; Logan’s Run: Lastday for Bluewater Productions; educational comics for Layne Morgan Media; and 11 comic adaptations of The Boxcar Children book series. 

Reynaldo is a Xeric Foundation grant recipient and a past nominee for the Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer, which is awarded annually with the Will Eisner Awards. In 2006, WCG Comics celebrated 15 years of publishing.

Rob Hanes Adventures, Volume 0, will retail for $15.99, and be available at comic-book stores everywhere served by major direct-sale distributors. Fans interested in purchasing the trade are encouraged to ask their local retailers to stock the book through their distributor.

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