Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The One Pope Who Can Save Us All
LOS ANGELES 05/09/2025 — Today Skybound and Image Comics announced the Battle Pope 25th Anniversary HC from the superstar creative team of visionary Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible) and acclaimed artist Tony Moore (Punisher), collecting their iconic series in one collection for the very first time. Readers worldwide can CALL BATTLE POPE once again in this September.
“I swear we had this planned months ago! Full disclosure, we did try to time this announcement around the conclave but it happened so fast! And the first American Pope? Seems suspicious, right?” said Kirkman. “Well, regardless of all that, I couldn’t be more thrilled to see my earliest professional(ish) work collected in a deluxe and downright heavenly format! And Tony Moore came back to do a new cover, how cool is that? I can’t believe I’ve been in this business for a whole 25 years. I mean, I’m still having fun and all but man... it sure does make someone feel old. That someone is me! I think back on my early years in the business very fondly. Battle Pope is where I first met and got to work with Matthew Roberts, Cory Walker and E.J. Su and all that work is collected here. The beginnings of The Walking Dead, Brit, Manifest Destiny, Invincible, Science Dog, Tech Jacket and Blood & Thunder... all started here... in this ridiculous comic,” continued Kirkman. “I mean, Tony Moore and I met in the 7th grade, how crazy is that? And then years later... Battle Pope. There were so many people from our high school who thought we were, well, morons, who would never amount to anything. Well, we showed them. Ha!”
When Heaven, Hell, and everything in between go to war, you better hope your prayers don’t get answered by anyone but Battle Pope. Once condemned by God Almighty for his hard drinkin’, womanizing evil ways, Pope has one last chance at salvation, and he’ll greet it with twin Uzis and the help of his new roommate, Jesus H. Christ.
“Wait until you hold this book in your hands, it’s just gorgeous.” Wait, Kirkman is doing ANOTHER quote? “Andres Juarez, designer supreme at Skybound put, let’s be honest, way too much work into this thing. He really deserves an Eisner for best reprint collection design for this book. Just wait until you see it. To be completely clear, Andres deserves an Eisner award for every book he designs, not just this one, he’s a very talented person.” Kirkman is still talking. “I’ve loved everything he’s done. Look how slick those Energon Universe books look, that’s all Andres. Do you think there’s a word limit on press release quotes? Can you just keep going and no one will stop you? Honestly, this book is really cool and if you’ve ever wanted to check out Battle Pope or are a longtime fan just itching to buy it again, this book will not disappoint. It’s going to have gold foil and everything. Seriously, the chances of this book earning a profit are slim to none. We’re just doing this for the love.”
Featuring a new remastered cover by Tony Moore, this immaculate hardcover edition of the landmark series features the holy grail of behind-the-scenes material for fans including cover galleries, sketchbook material and more. You think you know Battle Pope, but this is his story presented in its full divinity for the first time ever!
Battle Pope 25th Anniversary HC (ISBN 9781534333932) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, September 10 and at independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, September 23.
It will also be available on digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
ABOUT SKYBOUND ENTERTAINMENT
We do things differently here. Skybound is the creator-driven, fan-focused company behind landmark global franchises like The Walking Dead, Invincible, Impact Winter and hundreds more IPs that are redefining entertainment through our Wheel of Awesome business model. Skybound unlocks the unique opportunity to cultivate all aspects of a franchise from development through distribution; our IP connects with audiences through groundbreaking stories told on a grand scale. We empower our creators to directly expand their IP and turn their ideas into movies, TV shows, tabletop games, comics, podcasts, collectibles, video games, or all of the above and then some.
Skybound publishes award-winning and bestselling comics series such as Invincible, The Walking Dead, Stillwater and Ultramega, among others. Skybound's commitment to partnering with top industry talent and giving an elevated platform to diverse and unique voices has resulted in a record-breaking run on Kickstarter, where we launched mega-successful campaigns for Ava’s Demon, Extra Fabulous, and G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero — the most funded comic book campaign in Kickstarter’s history. Skybound Comet, our young readers graphic novel imprint, released the Clementine (set in The Walking Dead universe) series to great critical and commercial success. Skybound is also a savvy and sought-after licensing partner, working with companies including LEGO, Universal Products & Experiences and Hasbro to publish comics for their most coveted properties. Skybound’s Energon Universe series is Hasbro’s biggest comics launch of all time, with TRANSFORMERS #1 becoming the bestselling comic of 2023.
Skybound doesn’t just make global franchises, we change the way that global franchises can be made.
Follow Skybound on X (@Skybound), YouTube (Skybound), Facebook (@SkyboundEntertainment), Instagram (@skyboundent), Discord (Skybound), Reddit (Skybound), and at www.skybound.com
Gallery
