The still-young AfterShock Comics lineup continues to grow, and CBR has the first word on the latest addition: Fu Jitsu, a new series from writer Jai Nitz -- best known for Dark Horse Comics' Dream Thief and as the co-creator of the Chato Santana incarnation of El Diablo, who appeared in last year's Suicide Squad film -- and artist Wes St. Claire.
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The September-debuting series stars "the world's smartest boy," who has the additional advantage of not aging. As the official description puts it, "From Einstein and the Wright brothers, to Gandhi and Johnny Unitas, Fu has met everyone in history while protecting Earth from Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest man, and his dangerous magi-science" -- but his mission is put in jeopardy after he exiles himself to Antarctica following a break up with his girlfriend, and a time-traveling Wadlow sends James Dean to kill Fu (at which point, presumably, things continue to get weirder).
In a statement to CBR on Fu Jitsu, Nitz stressed the importance for him and St. Claire to view the series as a story made specifically for the comics medium -- not with an eye on adapting it as a movie or TV series down the line.
"It's a comic book for comic book readers," Nitz said. "Fu Jitsu has more in common with early Hellboy than it does with End-Around-Movie-Pitch-as-a-Graphic-Novel. Wes St. Claire and I are here to make comics. We are sequential storytellers. We want to knock your socks off with a comic the way Walt Simonson or Howard Chaykin or Jim Starlin knocked you on your butt with the power of words and pictures. That's our goal."
Nitz said that he was motivated to bring Fu Jitsu to AfterShock due to his prior relationships with AfterShock Publisher Joe Pruett and Editor-in-Chief Mike Marts, plus the roster of high-profile creators who have already contributed to AfterShock in its year-and-a-half of publishing comics.
"When AfterShock hired Marts I said, 'Oh, they're serious,' because I knew what kind of business plan they would have to have in place to lure one of the biggest and brightest editors in comics into their fold," Nitz told CBR. "AfterShock has such a good deal for creators. I want to be in that club. AfterShock earned those creators, and they were fair to me and Wes, so Fu Jitsu is in amazing hands."
Fu Jitsu is scheduled to debut in stores on Sept. 27, with covers by St. Claire and Moon Knight's Greg Smallwood. CBR also has the first look at St. Claire's black-and-white pages from Fu Jitsu, plus Smallwood's cover to #1:
