Image Comics Releases Ziggy Marley's MARIJUANAMAN; in Stores April 20th

BERKELEY, Calif., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- He's a Grammy Award-winning musician, an irrefutable Reggae star, and staunch environmental and social activist. In April, ZIGGY MARLEY steps into another creative arena with the release of MARIJUANAMAN from Image Comics.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110203/AQ41798)

Based on a character conceived of by Ziggy Marley, written by Man of Action Studios JOE CASEY (GODLAND, BUTCHER BAKER) and illustrated by JIM MAHFOOD (KICK DRUM COMIX, MIX TAPE), MARIJUANAMAN promises to shatter all expectations -- this is not the comic you think it is! The oversized deluxe hardcover graphic novel tells the tale of a noble extraterrestrial champion, who has arrived on Earth to deliver an important message and at the same time save his own planet.

"MARIJUANAMAN represents the hope of the future... the hope that we will utilize all of the power that the universe has given us to save our planet," Marley explained.

Casey spoke of being part of the creative trio, "Mahfood and I have been friends for over a decade and I've been a big fan of his for even longer. This was the perfect project for us to collaborate on because Ziggy's given us a great concept to go nuts with. This book goes beyond just being a comic... this book is an experience."

Mahfood added, "It's been a really unique and thrilling project for me to work on. Ziggy Marley is a visionary and MARIJUANAMAN is his, so he's involved in every step, but he's also been cool enough to let Joe and I cut loose and really spread our artistic wings on this project. Through our collaboration, we are creating something that has a unique flavor and feeling. MARIJUANAMAN is not going to be what people except it to be."

Discover a new hero for our times with MARIJUANAMAN, a 48-page oversized full-color hardcover by Ziggy Marley, Joe Casey, and Jim Mahfood. The book will be in stores April 20, 2011, for $24.99.

ABOUT ZIGGY MARLEY

A five-time Grammy winner and Reggae icon, Ziggy Marley has had a fruitful career, in which he has released twelve albums to much critical acclaim. His early immersion in music came at age ten when he sat in on recording sessions with his father, Bob Marley. As front man to Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, Ziggy released eight best-selling albums that garnered three Grammys, with such chart-topping hits as "Tomorrow People" and "Tumbling Down."   Ziggy's first solo album, DRAGONFLY (RCA Records), was released in 2003. His second solo release, LOVE IS MY RELIGION (Tuff Gong Worldwide), won a Grammy in 2006 for Best Reggae Album. His third solo album, FAMILY TIME (Tuff Gong Worldwide), scored him a 5th Grammy award. Ziggy continues his creative path this year with a new album entitled WILD AND FREE, which will be released alongside MARIJUANA MAN this Spring. For more information, visit www.ziggymarley.com and www.marijuanamancomic.com.

ABOUT JIM MAHFOOD

Jim Mahfood single-handedly introduced Live Art to the American comic book scene. Food has worked for every major comic book publisher and his list of comics credits include Clerks (with filmmaker Kevin Smith), Grrl Scouts, Stupid Comics, Felt, Bad Ideas, various Spider-Man books for Marvel, One Page Filler Man, Kick Drum Comix, Carl, the Cat That Makes Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and more. His illustrations have appeared in magazines like Playboy, MAD Magazine, Star Wars Gamer, URB, BadAzz, Mofo, BPM, and so on. He's painted murals in such locations as the Spike TV building, Munky King toys, IGN.com, and the Sarah Silverman Program on Comedy Central. For more information, visit www.jimmahfood.com

ABOUT JOE CASEY

Joe Casey is a founding partner of Man of Action Studios, a creative development company formed in 2000 by graphic novelists Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle. Based in Los Angeles and New York, Man Of Action Studios created the popular BEN 10 TV franchise as well as the new series Generator Rex. Currently they are supervising producers/story editors on the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man animated series premiering in 2012 on Disney/XD. Man Of Action wrote the X-Men and Superman comic book series and currently publish their original creations through Image Comics. They wrote the best-selling video games X-Men: Legends for Activision, and Darksiders: Wrath of War for THQ. For more information, visit www.manofaction.tv.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

SOURCE Image Comics