A brutal mix of crime noir and splatter horror is heading to shelves this summer with Hammerfist, the new ongoing series from New York Times bestselling writer Rick Remender and acclaimed artist Steve Epting.
The series launches in August from Image Comics and blends the crime energy of Reservoir Dogs with the horror chaos of Evil Dead.
Matt Hollingsworth provides colors for the series.
Variant Covers Bring Major Talent Together
Hammerfist will debut with an extensive lineup of variant covers from several high-profile comic artists.
The launch issue features artwork by Jerome Opeña, Nic Klein, Dan Panosian, Daniel Acuña, and Andrew Robinson, along with additional contributors.
Readers can also expect a blank sketch cover and a foil-treated version of Robinson’s cover art.
Remender Promises Violence, Horror, and Heart
Remender described the series as a tribute to the wild genre films of the VHS era.
“Hammerfist is for people who grew up on those unhinged genre films of the VHS era,” Remender said. “Over-the-top, hard-R, wildly original, but never forgetting to be fun.”
He said the story begins as a hardboiled crime thriller before spiraling into brutal supernatural horror.
“A hardboiled crime story that mutates into an ultra-violent, Raimi-style horror story following a low-rent killer who becomes the only thing standing between us and eternal darkness,” Remender said.
The writer also praised Epting and Hollingsworth for bringing the series to life.
“Getting to see it come to life in the hands of a master like Steve Epting is a dream come true,” Remender said. “I’ve wanted to collaborate with him for years, and the pages speak for themselves. Cinematic, brutal, and emotional. Paired with Matt Hollingsworth’s color there just isn’t a better art team.”
A Hitman Faces the End of the World
The series centers on Mike Denton, a failed father and low-level hitman trapped in a cycle of addiction, violence, and self-destruction.
Mike spends his days chasing drugs, sex, and quick money while ignoring the one person who still believes in him: his daughter.
Everything changes on the eve of Black Noon, an ancient darkness capable of wiping out all light and hope.
To stop it, Mike must rise out of the gutter, unlock a supernatural weapon fueled by love, and battle the living embodiment of evil.
The story follows a man with no redeeming qualities forced to finally stand for something beyond himself.
Epting Calls the Series “Unpredictable”
Epting said the collaboration has delivered one of the most intense projects of his career.
“Collaborating with Rick on Hammerfist has been incredible,” Epting said. “The book is unpredictable, gritty and funny. A hardboiled crime story that mutates into fever-dream horror without ever losing the heart underneath.”
He added that the emotional core remains just as important as the graphic violence.
“There’s real emotion under all the blood and chaos,” Epting said. “We just take the most violent road possible to get there. I can’t wait for readers to see what we’ve been building.”
Hammerfist #1 arrives in comic book shops and on digital platforms on Wednesday, August 26.
