Free Mike Grell Forever

Starting Friday, November 2, ComicMix is proud to present, online and for free, Mike Grell’s newest graphic novel, Jon Sable Freelance: Ashes of Eden.

Jon Sable is many things: freelance bounty hunter, bodyguard, mercenary… even a children’s book author. It’s true. Under the pen name of "B. B. Flemm," Sable is the author of a popular series of children’s stories about a troop of leprechauns living in Central Park. How did he get to this point in his bizarre life? Ivory poachers slaughtered his family when Sable was a professional hunter in Africa. Deported back to the States, he drank himself to the bottom. With the help of his mentor, Sonny Pratt, and his literary agent, Eden Kendall, he struggled to put his life back together.

In Ashes of Eden, his newest adventure, Sable is hired by the head of an African diamond cartel to transport a magnificent raw diamond to an exhibit in New York. But his task is complicated by having to play escort, bodyguard and babysitter to the cartel’s corporate spokesperson, Bashira, a temperamental model with a history of drug problems. While Sable struggles to keep her under control and out of tabloid headlines he finds himself the center of a deadly hunt and a plot that reaches beyond the world of glamour and into the world of terror. But when diamonds are on hand, who would you expect to find behind the scenes, lying in wait?

Jon Sable: Ashes of Eden also marks the long-awaited reappearance of another classic Mike Grell, Maggie The Cat. The Jon Sable series was the best-selling title published by First Comics, one of the most important independent publishers at the birth of the direct market. Created (and owned) by Mike Grell, the character of Jon Sable is so popular that he was the inspiration for the ABC network series, Sable, in 1987. Rene Russo was a regular cast member, and guest stars included Lara Flynn Boyle and Del Close.

To celebrate, ComicMix is launching the first internet publication of two major works by Mike Grell, Shaman’s Tears and Bar Sinister. Shaman’s Tears was published by Image Comics in the 1990s, featured Grell’s Joshua Brand and guest-starred Jon Sable. Bar Sinister, with art by Rick Hoberg, contained a super-hero team introduced in Shaman’s Tears, was published by Valiant soon after. These will be full, 22-page issues, free and in color, online and for free at ComicMix.

Here’s the schedule: Shaman’s Tears Issues 0-4 runs 11/1 Shaman’s Tears Issues 5-8 runs 11/8 Shaman’s Tears Issues 9-12 runs 11/15 Bar Sinister runs 11/22 — Thanksgiving.