The Truth Lies at the Bottom of a Mountain in BLOW AWAY
A Neo-Noir Paranoid Thriller from BOOM! Studios in Spring 2024
Hot off of his hit adaptation of the seminal paranormal non-fiction novel Hunt for the Skinwalker, Zac Thompson along with star artist Nicola Izzo (Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer) team-up for a neo-noir crime thriller in the tradition of Fargoand Rear Window in BOOM! Studio’s BLOW AWAY!
Unyielding wildlife videographer Brynne Brautigan, isolated in the frigid, remote Baffin Island sees something she can’t unsee…
In the distance, she witnesses an argument followed by an instance of intense violence between two climbers–did she just see a murder? In a frantic search for the truth, Brynne discovers just what she’s looking for, but soon she will find that more than the silent white of winter is keeping her company…
BLOW AWAY #1 features covers by Annie Wu (Hawkeye), Tyler Boss (Dead Dog’s Bite), and Tula Lotay (Barnstormers).
“Ever since I first watched Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, I’ve dreamt of telling a paranoid thriller story. Blow Away is that dream made manifest through an incredible collaboration with Nicola,” said writer Zac Thompson. “We’ve crafted a neo-noir mystery about obsession and the slippery and subjective nature of the truth. Really, it’s a big love letter to Brian De Palma and Alfred Hitchcock where suspense is the driving force on every page.”
“But beyond all of that, Blow Away is the story of a wildlife videographer who may have recorded a murder,” he added. “We’re arguably living in the most obsessive, post-truth era where regular people are routinely turned into subjects of collective scrutiny. So what happens when you explore those ideas in a place that is entirely removed from that culture? Does something still bleed through? Can a person whose job it is to see patterns really trust their eyes?”
“It’s great to work on a project that allows me to explore the comic book medium in such a cinematic way,” said artist Nicola Izzo. “I owe this to Zac’s multi-layered writing that creates suspense and interest at a FANTASTIC pace. I have always been fascinated by movies and comics where the direction is used in a three-dimensional way that focuses on storytelling and where the environment is an active part of the narrative. I hope all my passion for it translates to the page.”
“Isolation, paranoia, misinformation. These are important benchmarks of a good noir story, and are the core pillars of Blow Away,” said series editor Elizabeth Brei. “Zac and Nicola are telling such an engaging, tight story. They are a team made for each other and are bringing something very different to crime comics with this one.”
BLOW AWAY #1 will be available in comic shops April 17, 2024. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play.
About Zac Thompson:
Zac Thompson is a multidisciplinary writer from Prince Edward Island, Canada. He is best known for his work at Marvel Entertainment on titles like Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land and The Marvelous X-Men. His debut original series, The Dregs, was called “lowbrow brilliant” by New York Magazine. In 2022, Thompson’s original screenplay The Replacerwas selected for production financing from Telefilm Canada. In 2023, Zac received the PEI Arts Grant to write a novel tentatively titled That Thing I Found In You.
His other comic book credits include Batman: The Brave and the Bold for DC Comics, Cemetery Kids Don’t Die at Oni Press, Hunt for the Skinwalker and Angel + Spike at BOOM! Studios, and No One’s Rose for Vault Comics. When Zac’s not out in nature foraging for mushrooms you can find him at the cinema or walking his dog Astra.
About Nicola Izzo:
Nicola Izzo is a comic book artist based in Turin, Italy. He studied at the International School of Comics in Turin and soon began collaborating with BOOM! Studios (Firefly 20th Anniversary Special, Firefly: Keep Flying, Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer). His credits also include work as a sequential and cover artist with Massive-Sumerian (Concrete Jungle, The North Valley Grimoire).
BLOW AWAY is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard; Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Leila del Duca, and Nick Dragotta; Know Your Station by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; The Neighbors by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici; Ghostlore by Cullen Bunn and Leomacs; Sirens of the City by Joanne Starer and Khary Randolph; Coda by Simon Spurrier and Matías Bergara; Rare Flavours by Ram V and Filipe Andrade, and Underheist by David and Maria Lapham. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Harkonnen from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers by Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice; and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle and Rubine.
