Rob Hanes Adventures Returns June 2004

Series will go Back to its Roots in Upcoming Stories 

February 9, 2004

For immediate release

Cartoonist Randy Reynaldo announced that his comic-book series, Rob Hanes Adventures, would return to comic-book stores with all new stories in June 2004. Reynaldo, the creator, writer and artist of the long-running series, said he looks forward to getting the quarterly series back on track. Reynaldo is a past Xeric Foundation Award recipient and a previous nominee for the Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer, presented annually in conjunction with the Will Eisner Awards.

Debuting in 1994, Rob Hanes Adventures has earned a strong following among both comic-book fans and industry professionals. Though the globetrotting series takes place in the modern day, readers familiar with the series know that its tales of high adventure and derring-do, and its clean black-and-white art style, harken back to classic soldier-of-fortune adventure strips like Terry and the Pirates, Tintin, Buz Sawyer, and the work of Alex Toth.

"I've always loved Randy's work and I'm looking forward to get new stuff," said Kurt Busiek, creator and writer of Astro City, and more recently, the enormously successful JLA/Avengers crossover series. "Rob Hanes Adventures has a thoroughly modern feel, but it still captures the excitement and thrill of classic adventure comics that you rarely get to see today." Busiek is a long-time fan of the series.

Rob Hanes Adventures will return with issue 5 in June in a story entitled "The Glowworm Identity." The issue concludes the long-running "Glowworm" story arc that has been running in background continuity for several years. In the story, Rob finally uncovers the truth about whether his father was a double agent for the Soviet Union known as "Glowworm" during the Cold War. The story climaxes with a daring raid on a decommissioned Soviet submarine being sold on the black market.

Because not everyone may be familiar with "The Glowworm Conspiracy," the original 8-page tale that introduced the story arc in the Rob Hanes Archives trade paperback, the story has been posted in its entirety online at the WCG Comics website.

Reynaldo cited his recent marriage and the birth of his first child as the primary reason for the delay between new issues. Nevertheless, during the hiatus he has continued to work on the series and has completed several issues.

"I know I haven't maintained a regular a publishing schedule over the years," Reynaldo said. "That partly is why I have always focused on giving readers full-length stories that are complete and self contained. Readers are never kept hanging between issues."

The long-running comic-book title features the globetrotting adventures of Rob Hanes, a private investigator for worldwide Justice International. Accompanied by his trusted friend and sidekick, Abner McKenna, Rob travels the world on assignments that often involve current world events. Past stories have included infiltrating a crime syndicate in Hong Kong, recovering stolen nuclear suitcases in Russia, and tracking down a missing spoiled millionaire in Eastern Europe. More than 20 stories, totaling more than 350 pages, have been produced since the series debuted in 1994.

After the Glowworm story arc concludes, Reynaldo plans to return the series to its roots.

"My early stories were stand-alone adventures that moved quickly, and featured plenty of action, exotic locales, beautiful women, and humor," Reynaldo explained. "As I got more ambitious with the series and tried to make it more complex and rich, I think some of the early charm of the series disappeared. I want to try and recapture the fun and innocence of those early stories, and I think readers will see a new energy in the series and get a kick out of upcoming stories.

Issue 6 will reflect the series' new direction. In the story, Rob is hired to find a missing nuclear scientist who has ties to terrorists, but he must do so while his agency, Justice International, is undergoing major budget cuts. The balance in the story between the importance of Rob's assignment and the way it is humorously undercut by the subplot perfectly captures the new direction of adventure-comedy that Reynaldo plans to take the series.

The following issue, #7, features a humorous send-up of classic drawing-room mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot. In the story, entitled "Death on the Moors," Rob is invited to an old English manor in the middle of a violent rainstorm. When someone attempts to murder the host, Rob is forced to play sleuth, despite the fact that he really has no experience conducting such investigations! As usual, Rob Hanes finds himself out of his element.

Every issue of Rob Hanes Adventures features a complete story and 24-32 black-and-white pages. All back issues in the series are still available.

"I appreciate the support that everyone at all levels of the comic-book industry has given me over the years," Reynaldo said. "I like to think it's because Rob Hanes Adventures is one of the more unique comics being published - few comics continue to uphold the tradition of the classic adventure strips I always have loved and have tried to emulate with a modern-day edge. I'm excited about returning the series back to the market!"

See preview pages from this issue.

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Additional NEWS BRIEFS:

In addition to the attached press release about the return of Rob Hanes Adventures,in June 2004, WCG Comics is also pleased to release the following additional news briefs:

• Rob Hanes Adventures returns June 2004 with issue 5. The issue will wrap up the "Glowworm" story arc that has been running in background continuity for several issues. In the story, Rob learns the truth about whether his father was indeed a Cold War-era double agent known as "Glowworm" for the Soviet Union. Beginning with issue 6, the series returns to its roots by focusing on fast-moving, stand-alone adventures that feature plenty of action, exotic locales, beautiful women, and humor. Every issue of Rob Hanes Adventures features a complete story and 32 black-and-white pages, with a full color cover and $2.95 U.S. cover price. All back issues in the series are still available. 

• WCG has significantly expanded the wcgcomics.com website. A new Reading Room has been added that includes stories in their entirety, available for free. The Reading Room is a great way for readers unfamiliar with Rob Hanes Adventures to sample stories from the series' archives. Other added features at the site include a new e-mail newsletter for fans of the series; a "Publishing 101 FAQ," which is a primer for cartoonists interested in self-publishing; online reprints of previously-published essays and articles written by WCG Publisher Randy Reynaldo; and an expanded Retailer Support section, that features shelf-talkers, a sign-up list for e-mail and "snail mail"retailer-only newsletters, a new "featured retailers" section, and other services intended to help retailers promote Rob Hanes Adventures in their stores. 

• All back issues of the series remain in print. This includes 4 issues of Adventure Strip Digest, now available in a specially-priced 4-pack collection; the Rob Hanes Archives, a 144-page trade paperback that collects the early small press zine run of the series; and 4 issues to date of the current series, Rob Hanes Adventures. Since the series became an independent comic-book, more than 20 stories and 350 pages have been produced. 

• Reynaldo was among the earliest recipients of a Xeric Foundation Award and is a past nominee of the Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer, which is presented annually with the Will Eisner Awards.