With the lack of sales charts still bedeviling the industry, noting sell-outs is still the closest thing we have to a success metric, and DSTLRY, the new publisher on the block, has been doing well with that.
They just announced that GONE #1, the first issue of Jock’s futuristic tale of have-nots stowing away on a luxury space cruiser, has sold out at the distributor level from both Diamond and Lunar. The first 48–page issue debuted last week to positive reviews.
DSTLRY, which was launched earlier this year from industry vets Chip Mosher and David Steinberger, also sold out of its first publication THE DEVIL’S CUT.
But fear not, GONE #1 is still available at local comics shops. Spinning out of Jock’s 8-page story “The Stowaway” from The Devil’s Cut, GONE is edited by “industry legend” Will Dennis (Snow Angels, Y: The Last Man). The logline reads:
On an impoverished and distant planet where menial workers scratch out a living resupplying starships, the best place to be is GONE… and that’s exactly where 13-year-old Abi wants to be. Along with her street-tough friends, Abi stows away on a colossal luxury space-liner, hoping for a better life. Unbeknownst to her, Abi’s ‘friends’ are not who they seem, and she suddenly finds herself branded a saboteur as she desperately struggles to evade the ship’s deadly crew to stay alive! As the young heroine confronts betrayal, discovers her true allies, and fights against all odds, Abi will soon realize that nothing is farther away than…home.
This is Jock’s first comic done on his own as creator,w riter, artist and co-colorist and “I couldn’t be more thankful for GONE’s reception, he said in a statement. “This is a true labor of love, and I can’t wait for retailers and readers to see where this cosmic tale will wind.”
“It’s phenomenal to see Jock’s first creator-owned work—that he’s both written and drawn—create so much excitement and enthusiasm,” said DSTLRY co-founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger in a joint statement. “Jock is the first creator in a line of many legendary writers and artists—our Founding Creators and friends—who are going to release comics that will be new benchmarks for the medium. We promise to work tirelessly on behalf of creators, retailers, and fans to continue the high bar this sets.”
And let’s face it, a sell-out PR is just an excuse to run some nice art, so here’s the preview pages and cover variants for GONE #1. All interior art by Jock, covers as marked.
Main cover by Jock
Online exclusive cover by Caitlin Yarsky
Online exclusive cover by Cliff Chiang
For more information about GONE and to sign up for news regarding DSTLRY’s upcoming drops, visit www.dstlry.co and follow the publisher on social media via @DSTLRY_Media.
