Official Press Release

ORANGE, CA -- Image Comics has announced that following a long delay, Warren Ellis and Chris Weston's MINISTRY OF SPACE miniseries will finally conclude this April.

"MINISTRY OF SPACE #3 is completely finished," said Image Comics' Director of Marketing, Eric Stephenson. "Since signing on with Image at the end of 2001, we've received literally hundreds of emails and phone calls about this book, so believe me when I say we couldn't be more pleased to finally get this book out.

"Best of all, it's gorgeous. Chris has done a brilliant job with this issue, bringing the whole series to an absolutely magnificent close. And Laura Martin's (formerly DePuy) coloring is nothing short of perfect."

Written by Warren Ellis (Planetary, Transmetropolitan, Orbiter) with art by Chris Weston (The Filth, The Authority), MINISTRY OF SPACE #3 concludes the story of how the world might have gone into space had Britain led the way following World War II. The British are in orbit, on the Moon and on Mars as issue #3 opens, but it took a lot of blood to get them there, and the dark secrets of the Ministry of Space may see the sun finally set on their grand and glorious empire.

Originally solicited in 2001, the first two issues of MINISTRY OF SPACE were instant sell-outs, garnering rave reviews from readers and reviewers alike. The third issue was delayed, first due to Ellis' much-publicized health problems, and then due to Weston's commitment to the Grant Morrison-penned Vertigo series, The Filth. Completing the miniseries has been a priority for both Ellis and Weston, however, although they were adamant not to resolicit it until the book was complete.

Prior to the release of MINISTRY OF SPACE #3, Image is also releasing a 56-page collected edition of issues #1 and 2.

"Considering the fact MINISTRY OF SPACE #1-2 sold out so quickly, but were never reprinted, we felt it would be irresponsible not to make the earlier chapters of the story available in some format," explained Stephenson. "The main thing is to make sure everyone interested in reading this story has an opportunity to do so. Warren's crafted a truly fantastic tale, and I think with #3 finally out, there's going to be a high level of interest in it."

MINISTRY OF SPACE #3 (FEB04 1331) is available for order now in the February issue of Previews and will go on sale April 14.

The MINISTRY OF SPACE OMNIBUS, collecting issues #1-2, is available for order in the January issue of Previews and is due out in March.

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become the third largest comics publisher in the United States. There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into three major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions and Image Central, which is the home of MINISTRY OF SPACE). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com for more information.