NYCC EXCLUSIVE: Paul Pope Covers PopGun 2

EXCLUSIVE: PopGun Volume 2 cover by Paul Pope

PopGun, the Image Comics anthology billed as the ultimate graphic mixtape, returns this July with another 400+ pages of comics -- or tracks, if you like -- by a wildly diverse roster of talents from all across the worlds of comics, games and animation. One such contributor is the esteemed Paul Pope (Heavy Liquid, Batman: Year One Hundred) who provides PopGun Volume 2 with an original and decidedly eye-catching cover that CBR News is pleased to present here for the very first time.

"It's totally awesome," said Joe Keatinge, Image's PR & Marketing Coordinator and co-editor of PopGun. "When [co-editor] Mark [Andrew Smith] and I first conceived PopGun, we had a list of our all-time favorite artists we would have killed to have do our covers. Thus far, we've had the first two we've asked -- Mike Allred and Paul Pope -- say yes. That said - Jamie Hewlett, please call us back."

Covered extensively by CBR News, last year's PopGun Volume 1 debuted to some fanfare and took its place beside Image's existing line of acclaimed anthologies like 24Seven, Put The Book Back On The Shelf and the forthcoming Tori Amos project Comic Book Tattoo. "PopGun has been doing exceptionally well, with the first printing of volume one nearly depleted," Keatinge said. "We've also experienced a tremendous amount of success with reviews in publications you would have previously not expected comics to be, like UNder the Radar and The Onion."

As sales of PopGun increase, so too does the book's creative prestige, with far more creators wishing to contribute than there are pages in the book. "But it's a great problem to have," Keatinge remarked. "We're already 200 pages over our count, meaning volume three is already half full."

PopGun Volume 1 on sale now

Fans of the content and philosophy of PopGun can look forward to more of the same in volume two, but with even more original content. While PopGun Volume 1 reprinted some obscure and long out-of-date material like Mike Allred's first ever Frank Einstein -- aka Madman -- story, PopGun Volume 2 will feature 100% original content. "This PopGun's all-new and all-different!" Keatinge confirmed. "There are more than a few rare tracks we want to reprint, but we just had way too much new stuff in."

Mike Allred's memorable cover for PopGun Volume 1 depicts his signature creation Frank Einstein wearing a large pair of headphones, and Paul Pope's cover features a character doing the same. The headphones illustrate succinctly the spirit of the PopGun project. "The main thing we want is for the artists to fuse the things they love most about comics and music," Keatinge said, adding, "everyone loves massive headphones."

As for what exactly Paul Pope's cover girl has her oversized headphones plugged into, Keatine offered, "It's how you'll listen to music in the year 5000. Watch for it!"

PopGun Volume 2, with 448 pages and priced at US$29.99, is set to drop July 16.

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TAGS:  paul pope, popgun

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