Writer Ed Brisson has scored major creator-owned successes at Image Comics with comics such as Comeback and Sheltered, leading to multiple Marvel titles including his current runs on Iron Fist and Cable. In 2018, he’s making his Oni Press writing debut with The Ballad of Sang, and CBR has the first details of the martial arts movie-inspired mature readers action series.
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The Ballad of Sang is a five-issue miniseries scheduled to debut in March, written by Brisson and illustrated by Italian artist Alessandro Micelli, making his American comics debut, with colors by Shari Chankhamma. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Kidnapped off the streets of the Philippines as an infant and trained as a child assassin, Sang has never had a childhood. All he’s ever known is killing and the kindness of his master, Chen, the closest thing Sang has to a father. When Sang’s enthusiasm botches a job, it brings the wrath of Don Minchella down on the pair, resulting in Chen’s murder. Barely escaping with his own life—and with Minchella’s severed arm in tow—Sang swears revenge, while every gang in the city mobilizes to return him to Minchella, dead or alive.”
The series is based on ideas that have been percolating for a while, according to Brisson.
“The Ballad of Sang is a story I’ve been wanting to do for years,” Brisson said in a statement. “Back in 2010, I’d be telling my writer friends about it while acting out scenes. It’s something that sat for years, percolating until I could find the perfect artist for it, which I eventually found in Alessandro Micelli. It’s a project I’m very excited about that touches on my love of cult cinema and the trashy VHS treasures of my youth. So strap in and prepare for a high-octane, balls-to-the-wall story of revenge, love, gangsters, missing arms and all-out violence!”
The Ballad of Sang #1 is scheduled for release on March 7, 2018. CBR has the first look at both covers to issue #1, a main cover by Micelli and a variant by Marley Zarcone.
The Ballad of Sang #1 cover by Alessandro Micelli.
The Ballad of Sang #1 variant cover by Marley Zarcone.