Artist Zachary Sterling is known for his work on popular comic adaptations like Adventure Time and My Little Pony. Now Sterling is debuting an original graphic novel called Punch Up!, one that should appeal directly to fans of martial arts manga and anime.
IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of Punch Up! ahead of its August 29 release. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:
Punch Up! is a shonen manga-style story that focuses on Pitch, a young, aspiring fighter who dreams of competing in the Wide Plains Fighting Tournament. But apart from proving his mettle in the ring, Pitch also has a very personal reason for competing. He hopes to reunite with the man he believes to be his father, a legendary fighter named Sonny Chan.
"This is a story inspired by something very simple: the belief that a dream is something worth fighting tooth and nail for," Sterling tells IGN. "Out of all the comics/novels/games/movies/etc. I consumed growing up, the ones that always spoke to me had a hero chasing after something. More importantly, this hero was incorruptible; nothing could stop them on their journey, and if anything, they were going to inspire others to chase after something, too. I’m not reinventing the wheel or anything, but It’s always been my dream to do a send-up to all of the things that kept me on my journey, too."
Punch Up! is published by Oni Press. The book will be released in print and digital on Tuesday, August 29.
Elsewhere in the world of comics, Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR is getting another prequel, and DC is adding Harley Quinn and Scarecrow to the Burtonverse.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
