Dynamite Entertainment has announced that critically acclaimed author David F. Walker will continue the legacy of Ernest Tidyman’s iconic private detective John Shaft in an all-new comic book series, Shaft: Imitation of Life, illustrated by Dietrich Smith. The first issue will debut in February 2016 alongside Shaft’s Revenge, the first Shaft prose novel in 40 years (also written by Walker), coinciding with the nationwide celebration of Black History Month.
Imitation of Life takes place following the events of Walker’s 2015 comic book miniseries, Shaft: A Complicated Man – a six-part storyline that won a 2015 Glyph Comics Award and was nominated for the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity. After a high-profile case puts him in the headlines, private detective John Shaft searches for something low-profile to keep him out of the spotlight and out of danger… and takes a missing person case that proves to be more difficult than he thought. At the same time, he is hired to be a consultant on a low budget film that may or may not be based on his life, and proves to be as dangerous as any job he’s ever had. But when there’s danger about, John Shaft won’t cop out – even if it means squaring off against sadistic gangsters that want him dead.
“The idea for the new miniseries, Shaft: Imitation of Life, is one that’s been in my head for a long time, and is something that I’m really excited about,” says Walker. “This has been a really fun story to develop.”
David F. Walker is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and author of the Young Adult series The Adventures of Darius Logan. His publication BadAzz MoFo became internationally known as the indispensable resource guide to black films of the 1970s. His work in comics includes the series Shaft: A Complicated Man (Dynamite Entertainment), Cyborg (DC Comics), Number 13 (Dark Horse Comics), and The Army of Dr. Moreau (IDW/Monkeybrain Comics).
New series artist Dietrich Smith, whose work previously graced the pages of Dynamite’s Army of Darkness and Vampirella, says, “Of all the great action heroes I watched and imitated as a youngster, Shaft was at the top – a private eye with a chip on his shoulder, an attitude that dared anyone to try him. Having the opportunity to draw the smoothest man alive is something I’m very excited about.”
Shaft: Imitation of Life #1 is slated to release in February alongside Shaft’s Revenge, the first official prose novel written by anyone other than the character’s creator. David F. Walker says, “Writing the first Shaft book in forty years has been not only an honor and a privilege, it has been a dream come true. Ernest Tidyman created one of the most iconic and enduring pop culture characters in John Shaft, a legacy that has reached across multiple mediums, and sparked the imagination of millions of people, myself included.”
