247 COMICS PRESENTS/SPOTLIGHT #1

247 COMICS PRESENTS / SPOTLIGHT combines dynamic, exciting stories from today's top-tier creators together with pioneering classics from the past, curated by executive editor Terry Kavanagh (Marvel Comics Presents). The quarterly ongoing series will feature a gorgeous Cover A from comic book superstars, as well as a Cover B from some of the hottest manga artists on the planet!ANNO INCARNATE by Howard Mackie and Chris Campana In the near future, a benevolent A.I. deity has ended all wars, disease and hunger, but Jude Locke, a jaded and wisecracking special forces soldier with unique sensory abilities, launches a dangerous quest to prove that paradise is built on a lie.CYBER LEAGUE BASEBALL: the Naturals by Anderson Carman The Cyber League has turned baseball into a sport of cyborgs, "enhancing" players' natural talents by turning them into bionic monsters. But Asher isn't playing ball, not even for the championship. With a ragtag team of unaugmented human players, the Naturals, he's about to start the most lopsided fight in sports history.NEWMEN by Rob Liefeld, Eric Stephenson, and Jeff Matsuda They were told the Nu-Gene made them special, a new step in human evolution. The truth is worse. The Nu-Gene was never human at all, but seeded by an alien race that engineered these teenagers like livestock, and the protectors sheltering them are waiting to harvest the herd. Now the NEWMEN must survive long enough to learn the deadliest threat isn't their enemies, but the secret of where their power came from.DEMON'S BRIDGE by Larry Hama In feudal Japan, a young ronin crosses a fog-shrouded bridge and encounters a small god and his deceitful acolyte. The little deity possesses magic beads that can materialize endless quantities of rice wine. However, the beads were stolen from a large, dim-witted demon with a flaming sword who demands the return of his property. The deceitful acolyte accuses the ronin of being the thief, and thereby hangs the tale. SONS OF THE DEVIL by Brian Buccellato and Toni Infante A psychological horror story about an average guy who discovers he has ties to a deadly cult. Told across three decades, SONS OF THE DEVIL is an exploration of cults, family, and the dark side of human nature. HOWARD MACKIE is one of the defining voices of 1990s Marvel Comics. He co-created the Danny Ketch incarnation of Ghost Rider, whose 1990 relaunch became a breakout hit and made his name as a writer, then went on to anchor the Spider-Man line through one of its most ambitious eras, writing Web of Spider-Man and later relaunching both The Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker: Spider-Man with new first issues. Across a career spanning Marvel, DC, Archie, and beyond, he has written Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, the X-Men, X-Factor, Mutant X, Gambit, Wolverine, Batman, and countless others, with a storyteller's instinct for character and the kind of pulpy, propulsive energy that built the modern superhero comic. For the 247 COMICS PRESENTS / SPOTLIGHT anthology series, Mackie brings that range to the page across the anthology's opening arc, writing four original stories paired with world-class artists for the first four issues.JEFF MATSUDA is one of the most distinctive stylists of his generation, an artist whose bold, kinetic, anime-influenced linework helped define the look of 1990s superhero comics. Discovered by Rob Liefeld, he cut his teeth at Image's Extreme Studios, where his collaboration with Liefeld and writer Eric Stephenson on NEWMEN is now remastered in the 247 COMICS PRESENTS / SPOTLIGHT anthology series. He went on to make his name at Marvel with high-energy runs on X-Factor and Wolverine alongside work on X-Men, Generation X, and Avengers, before redefining his career in animation as chief character designer on two hit series, Jackie Chan Adventures and the Emmy-winning The Batman, the latter of which he also helped steer as a producer across its full run.