Humanoids’ 50th Anniversary Celebration Continues With an Unforgettable Horror Noir from the Creator and Showrunner of Spartacus and the Acclaimed Artist Leno Carvalho
(July 9, 2024) Humanoids, the renowned Franco-American publisher that began in 1970s’ Paris and houses the works of creators such as Mœbius, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Juan Giménez, will continue the company’s 50th anniversary celebration with a Kickstarter campaign for HARD BARGAIN, a graphic novel from film and tv powerhouse Steven S. DeKnight (Buffy, Angel, Daredevil) and acclaimed artist Leno Carvalho (Dean Koontz’s Nevermore). The dark supernatural thriller follows a hard-boiled P.I. in 1940s Los Angeles who finds himself fighting not only the usual cadre of criminals and ne’er-do-wells—but also demons, monsters, and other malevolent supernatural beings—as he races to solve a deadly mystery before a horrific fate descends upon everyone it touches.
Steven S. DeKnight got his start in the entertainment industry as a staff writer on the groundbreaking television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to write, direct, and produce on the series Angel, Smallville, and Dollhouse. He is the creator and showrunner of Spartacus, as well as the executive producer and showrunner of season one of the acclaimed Marvel/Netflix series Daredevil. He’s also written Wastelanders comics for Marvel.
“HARD BARGAIN has been a dream thirty years in the making. An idea that sprang from my love of two-fisted, hard-boiled detective stories and matinee creature-features of days gone by,” said DeKnight. “I’m thrilled to finally have that dream realized via the incredible artwork of Leno Carvalho and the good people at Humanoids.”
Battling the forces of darkness is another day at the office for Frank Harding, P.I.—but his current case may just be the one that puts Frank out of business for good. As he investigates a case deeply connected to his own murky past—as well as L.A.’s all-too-real history of prejudice and discrimination—Harding is forced to reckon with the fact that the sins of one generation will always be paid for by the next… Combining the appeal of classic noir crime storytelling with a well-wrought fantasy world of monsters and magic, HARD BARGAIN pairs DeKnight’s crackerjack storytelling with Carvalho’s dynamic visuals to build a fast-paced, hard-boiled thriller that simultaneously reckons with the dark underbelly of bigotry, violence and revenge haunting gritty Los Angeles.
“HARD BARGAIN is a new universe of possibilities with new challenges and new rewards,” said Carvalho. “A strong, concise narrative rich in twists and turns that combines the charm of old detective stories with the action-packed thrillers of today.”
“It is the great John Cassaday who introduced me to Steven DeKnight, and I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude,” said Humanoids CEO Fabrice Giger. “The challenge was finding an artist who could match Steven’s razor-sharp storytelling and uncanny talent for breathing life into his characters. But the moment I saw the first pages of HARD BARGAIN, crafted by Leno Carvalho and filled with pure adrenaline, I knew we had hit it out of the park. We are so thrilled about this book that we’re going all out, offering an exclusive oversized edition as part of our crowdfunding campaign.”
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