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FATALE #1, the first issue of Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips' new Image series, has sold out at Diamond and has a second printing on the way. And of course it will have a variant cover.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are but two of the big-name creators making the move to Image in 2012 -- that's definitely going to be a BIG story for the year -- and Warren Ellis has a five page preview of their new book FATALE. Here's a one-page preview of the five-page preview. The book goes on sale this Wednesday.

Ruminating on the year past, cartoonist/educator Steve Bissette considers the story of how creator owned comics can be sunk by just one stuck cog -- in this case a rather large cog named Alan Moore. Just to bring everyone up to speed, 1963 was a very early Image project re-imagining the origins of Marvel, written by Moore and illustrated by Steve Bissette, John Totleben, and Rick Veitch, with additional art by Dave Gibbons, Don Simpson, and Jim Valentino and published in 1993. The final issue was to have been illustrated by Jim Lee, but Lee took time off in the middle, Moore decided not to finished it and...blah blah blah. Time passes. And, Bissette and Moore have a bit of a falling out, as chronicled in a series of interviews, here and there. However, last year, a 1963 follow-up — Tales of the Uncanny - N-Man & Friends: A Naut Comics History Vol. 1 — was to be produced by Bissette and published by Image. Well, things didn't work out, as Bissette posts. In addition, there was to be a reprint of 1963. After months of negotiations, Moore "pulled the plug" — meaning 1963 will never be reprinted ever again.

By Todd Allen There's a sub-genre of espionage that's come to be called "Spy-Fi."  Spy-Fi is the blending of science fiction and spy stories.  It's primarily a film and television thing, with the mild science...

Image Publisher Eric Stephenson gives another one of his candid, informed reviews -- one of the bonuses from Image's solidified spot as the #3 publisher is Stephenson's increased profile. And even though Image is riding the Walking Dead Wave to increased performance all around, there is always room for improvement, he says, with a new issue of CHEW unavailable from Diamond a week after release and limited support for all-ages material:

Looking for a last minute giftable? B&N is selling The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume 1 for $29.99 -- half of the regular $59.99 price -- but only until 2:59 am December 20th, so don't dawdle. At 1088 pages, this collection of the first 48 issues of THE WALKING DEAD have proven a great entry point into the world of Rick Grimes vs the Zombies -- even at that price it's a consistent bestseller.

Lots of interesting stuff from Image! Some are all ages (so read them before you give them to a child, just to make sure they are age-appropriate!), some are "mature reader" (MR).

Image Expo, the February show that both fills the Northern California comic-con slot and gives Image a place to publicly celebrate their 20th anniversary, has announced more guests, including Blair Butler, Kevin Mellon, John Layman, Rob Guillory, and Nick Spencer. In addition, Jennifer de Guzman interviewed the principals for PW Comics World:

An ultra violent blend of Paul Blart, the Village People, Robocop and Axe Cop (although it came first), Joe Casey and Chris Burnham's Officer Downe wishes us happy holidays in preparation for this week's debut of the Officer Downe: Bigger Better Bastard Edition. Artist Burnham has since gained fame as a Batman artist, so there's that, too.

Via PR, news of that new four-issue zombie mini Image has been teasing -- the series will be previewed in both HAUNT and SPAWN:

A new Image teaser for a new kind of zombie book went out this afternoon...and it looks gory and pretty at the same time.

This new Image book from writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Artiz Eiguren looks plenty arresting, but the cover by Sas Christian is what will claw its way into your nightmares. The standalone graphic novel goes on sale in February.