Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced today that the sixth issue of the second season of  Impaler will be cancelled with Impaler #5 and Impaler #6 combining into a single issue set for a release in early January.

International Horror Guild-nominated writer William Harms will be concluding the second season of *Impaler* in this action-packed showdown between the vampire hordes and Vlad, Victor, Wagner, and his soldiers in Washington, DC. Along the way, Victor must fight for his life and come to grips with his new destiny. As with the previous four issues, the over-sized finale issue will be painted by Matt Timson.

”Impaler has been incredibly well-received critically, with both William and
Matt pouring blood, sweat, and tears into each issue,” explained Top Cow
Publisher Filip Sablik, “When we looked at the end of this second arc, we
realized that it serviced the story better to combine these last two issues
into a single over-sized installment. While it will delay the release of
issue #5, the reading experience and the value for fans will be richer for
it.”

The six-part story line will be collected in a second trade in the spring of
2010, and the series will go on hiatus after Issue #5, which closes out the
story arc.

The new over-sized issue #5 will carry a cover price of $4.99, a full dollar
less than the combined cost of the previously solicited two single issues.

“The story is masterfully plotted to crescendo in each issue, teasing and
tempting the reader to come back for more…this is a great read,” says Ain’t
It Cool News.

“Writer William Harms gives us what might be the freshest reinterpretation
of the vampire mythos in years,” says Metro (Toronto), “…the impending
bloodfest over the coming issues promises to be spectacular.” 4 Stars (out
of 4).

Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced yesterday it will launch the Let Us Win YOU Over initiative in February 2009 that will see the publisher distribute thousands of free comics a month to new readers through participating retailers across the United States and Canada.

Over the course of the yearlong promotion, Top Cow will send 200 free comics each to 25 comic book stores per month (a total of 5,000 free comics per month). Each month, a different set of stores, each month a different free comic. The stores will be spread out geographically and demographically.

Combined with the books it plans to give away during Free Comic Book Day on May 2, 2009 and the many books Top Cow gives away at various conventions across the country, the publisher stands to give away up to 200,000 free comics during the year.

Top Cow’s goal with the Let Us Win YOU Over initiative is threefold: to invite new readers to give Top Cow comics a try and win them over to their line of titles; to generate buzz and excitement for fans and the retailers they support; and to pump some much-needed energy into an industry not immune to the current economic crisis.

“We feel strongly that Top Cow titles are the best they’ve ever been and it’s important for to invite readers and retailers to discover why,” explained Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “While our competitors are straining the wallet of the average fan, Top Cow is making it easy to try new comics.”

So as to not slight existing readers who are already buying Top Cow titles, the publisher will also ship each participating store exclusive Customer Appreciation covers for each subscriber of that month’s free comic. It will be limited exclusively to the subscriber fans at the participating stores for that month.

Top Cow initially opened the Let Us Win YOU Over program to members of the comics retailer group, ComicsPRO, because of the organization’s commitment to banding together to ensure a strong and healthy retailer community.

“ComicsPRO retailers are eager to support this innovative promotion, with the hope of proving that new ideas can lead to new readers for quality titles,” said ComicsPRO President Joe Field. “Our mutual goals with this program are to expose thousands of new eyes to Top Cow’s singular brand of comics and to lead more readers to enjoying Top Cow comics and buying them from ComicsPRO member stores.”

“Our stores always looks for great ways to promote comics and connect readers to new stories they might not have given a second thought to before in the past,” said Michael Malve, owner of Arizona-based chain Atomic Comics and a member of ComicsPRO. “So when we heard of this very progressive marketing idea that Top Cow was coming up with, well, let’s just say we were one of the first to dive in.”

“We at Atomic Comics have worked hand in hand with many publishers over our 22 years in the business,” Malve added. “And in that time, Top Cow has been one of the easiest to work with. They have always made themselves available to retailers and listened to our concerns, as most recently noted in their $2.99 in 2009 announcement. I really look forward to this promotion and I hope other retailers embrace and take full advantage of a great opportunity that Top Cow is offering us with their Let us Win YOU Over campaign.”

Retailers who are not members of ComicsPRO and are interested in participating will be able to sign up through their Diamond Comics Distributors customer service representative in the next several weeks.

Check out the Wizard interview with Virgin Comics Chief Creative Officer, Gotham Chopra and Top Cow’s Publisher, Filip Sablik as they discuss the first crossover between the two companies—Witchblade/Devi.

The first issue, published by Top Cow, is on sale now and the second half of the story (published by Virgin Comics and featuring art by Mukesh Singh) will hit comic shops on June 25th.