BOOM! Studios announced today via press release that they've tapped Superman and iZombie writer Chris Roberson to write a new series featuring Michael Moorcock's Elric.

Elric: The Balance Lost kicks off in July, but will be preceded in May by an all-new Free Comic Book Day edition that serves as a prequel to the new series. The artist for the series wasn't named.

“Elric is in inspired hands. I'm enthusiastically looking forward to his appearance from BOOM! Studios,” Elric creator Moorcock said in the release. “One of the best writers of his generation, Chris Roberson, will be writing a brilliantly conceived, entirely new Elric story in the grand manner! I can't wait!”

Elric of Melniboné first appeared in The Dreaming City, a novella that appeared in Science Fantasy #47 in 1961, and has appeared in numerous stories and novels written by Moorcock ever since. Elric's first comic book appearance was 1970's Conan the Barbarian #14, and comics featuring the character have been published over the years by Marvel, First Comics, Pacific Comics, Dark Horse and DC Comics.

This is the second new licensed comic BOOM! has announced this week; on Monday they announced Clive Barker's Hellraiser. It also looks like they'll be offering two books now on Free Comic Book Day, as Elric joins the previously announced Darkwing Duck/Rescue Rangers flipbook.

You can find the complete press release after the jump.

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December 16, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA – For 40 years, Elric has thrilled comic book fandom beginning with Marvel Comics' CONAN THE BARBARIAN #15 in 1972. Neil Gaiman called Elric’s creator Michael Moorcock “my model for what a writer was” while Warren Ellis said he is one of the “eight core sites in my creative genome” — now, the godfather of the Multiverse concept brings one of the most critically acclaimed and most recognizable figures in the history of fantasy fiction back to sequential art with BOOM! Studios’ ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST!

Written by SUPERMAN, iZOMBIE, and STAN LEE’S STARBORN New York Times bestselling scribe Chris Roberson, the adventure begins this May in an all-new, all-original FREE COMIC BOOK DAY edition that’s not simply a preview of the July series, but a prequel that will excite longtime Elric fans and serves an accessible entry point for the curious who have never experienced Moorcock’s saga.

Showcasing not just Elric, but Corum and Hawkmoon in a mammoth epic that uses Moorcock’s fascinating and intricate Multiverse as its tapestry, ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST #1 follows the May prequel and premieres as a full-blown series this July with its first issue.

“Elric is in inspired hands. I'm enthusiastically looking forward to his appearance from BOOM! Studios,” said legendary Elric creator Michael Moorcock. “One of the best writers of his generation, Chris Roberson, will be writing a brilliantly conceived, entirely new Elric story in the grand manner! I can't wait!”

"Publishing Michael Moorcock's Elric feels like a dream come true," said Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. "Even more so when Michael is as enthused as we are about the revival of one of his most classic creations. This year will be 50 years since the creation of Elric and BOOM! Studios aims to live up to the standard and tradition that Michael Moorcock has set."

ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST features the return of Michael Moorcock’s legendary Multiverse, featuring some of the greatest fantasy characters of all time: Elric of Melniboné, Corum of the Scarlet Robe, and Dorian Hawkmoon in a brand-new story that will test the courage of the Eternal Champion! In this new series, the workings of Fate are being tampered with across the Multiverse, upsetting the Cosmic Balance. Elric of Melniboné must preserve the Balance and save the entire Multiverse from ruin. But no sooner has his journey begun than he is waylaid by dark forces and lost on the Moonbeam Roads. Elric finds himself stranded on a world where Chaos holds sway and where change is the only constant. Heroes are forced into action far and wide, but will they fight on the side of Law or Chaos?

ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST FCBD EDITION ships this May for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, featuring an original prequel story by New York Times bestseller and SUPERMAN writer Chris Roberson and cover art by Erik Jones that leads directly into the first issue of the new ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST this July.