Free Weekly “Crossed: Wish You Were Here” Horror Webcomic Launches Today

AVATAR PRESS LAUNCHES FREE WEEKLY "CROSSED: WISH YOU WERE HERE" HORROR WEBCOMIC

March 14, 2012 – Avatar Press, a publisher of extreme horror comic books, proudly announces that its new, ongoing webcomic Crossed: Wish You Were Here launched its first episode online today at www.CrossedComic.com. The full-color series, written by novelist Simon Spurrier with artwork by Javier Barreno, is set in the continuity of the wildly successful Crossed series created by Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher), and expands upon the premise of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by thrill-killers and psychopaths. Subsequent episodes will be posted on a weekly basis every Thursday for years to come, available completely free to site visitors.

Crossed: Wish You Were Here introduces a cast of two dozen human survivors who survived the “Crossed plague,” a worldwide outbreak that transformed a percentage of the populace into violent, insatiable murderers. While other Crossed tales follow people who are constantly on the move and trying to avoid detection by bloodthirsty hordes, Spurrier and Barreno’s tale sees a group determined to hold their own, to convert an island into a defensible stronghold.

Crossed blends the gnawing psychological terror of shattered nerves and paranoia with sudden bursts of all-out, gruesome violence, a combination that has proven extremely successful in the comic marketplace. At the dramatic core of Wish You Were Here is a character whose career – that of a comic book writer – lends nothing to his own survival or the makeshift new society. Writer Simon Spurrier says, “In the real world, folks who are practically-minded, farmers and fishers and builders and butchers, are rarely the ones making the Big Decisions. So what happens when everything goes insane, when the class system no longer exists? When the minimum-wage guy who knows how to tune an outboard motor or set a trap is suddenly more important, more indispensable, than a millionaire or politician? What does a writer do in a world where the one thing he’s any good at, the only skill he’s ever used to judge his self-worth, suddenly means nothing?”

The online release of Crossed: Wish You Were Here ties into a larger marketing event taking place today, “C-Day.” Comic book retailers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are celebrating the in-store release of the new print comic, Crossed: Badlands, in many cases with promotional giveaways, decorative displays, and even costume parties. The first issue of Badlands is written by influential comic writer Garth Ennis and his frequent artistic collaborator, Jacen Burrows (Alan Moore’s Neonomicon).

Horror fans, especially those with an affinity towards “zombie apocalypse” scenarios, will find the Crossed: Wish You Were Here refreshingly different and uncompromising in its depiction of extreme horror. By making this new series available online for free, Avatar Press hopes to attract a massive internet following at www.CrossedComic.com as they did when previously publishing Warren Ellis’ Eagle Award-winning science fiction webcomic at www.Freakangels.com.

Avatar Press is a groundbreaking independent publishing company which produces a wide variety of cutting-edge comic books, graphic novels, and original web content. Their high-quality publications include the work of such industry luminaries as the aforementioned David Lapham (Ferals, Caligula), Garth Ennis (Crossed, Chronicles of Wormwood), Warren Ellis (Freakangels), and Alan Moore (Neonomicon). They also produce a diverse range of licensed projects including the classic zombie epic Night of the Living Dead and George RR Martin’s Fevre Dream. Their Boundless Comics imprint publishes Brian Pulido’s original Lady Death and Mike Wolfer’s reimagining of the classic femme fatales Pandora, Hellina, and Widow in the series War Goddess. For more information about Avatar Press, their publications, and creators, please visit www.avatarpress.com.