Acclaimed digital series gets hardcover collection from Image Comics/Shadowline
MASKS AND MOBSTERS was hailed as one of the best webcomics of the year when it was released by MonkeyBrain in 2012, and now the Image Comics imprint Shadowline is bringing it to print in style, with a deluxe hardcover edition that collects all seven issues. Written by Joshua Williamson (GHOSTED, DEAR DRACULA) and drawn by Mike Henderson, Ryan Cody, Jason Copland, and Justin Greenwood, MASKS AND MOBSTERS explores the secret stories of superheroes and mobsters vying for control of Golden City.
Writer Williamson imagines a world where, in the 1930s and ‘40s, superheroes and supervillains didn’t start appearing just in the pages of comic books but in flesh-and-blood life, confronting the underground powers that had maintained a fearful status quo.
“One of the things that always has stuck with me was… if all these superheroes started to pop up, how did that affect the mob’s business?” said Williamson. “The masked men couldn’t be paid off, and the supervillains didn’t care about paying dues, right? How did organized crime deal with it all? I wanted to see that world from their perspective.”
Praise for MASKS AND MOBSTERS:
“Best digital series [of 2012]... an intriguing black-and-white tale about gangsters, snitches and the first caped do-gooders.”
– USA Today
“Smart work brilliantly presented. My favorite Monkeybrain series.”
– Mark Waid
“Masks and Mobsters is such a fantastic idea that I burn with jealousy I didn’t think of it first. Fortunately, Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson, and company are doing things with the notion that I never could have imagined possible. One of my absolute favorite comics currently being published.”
– Chris Roberson
MASKS AND MOBSTERS is a 128-page, black and white hardcover, retailing for $19.99. It will be in stores on July 3 and can be pre-ordered from the May issue of Previews.