Broken Frontier

Ardden Entertainment is proud to annouce that bestselling AVENGERS/INVADERS and SUPERPOWERS scribe Jim Krueger has joined the Ardden team and will be penning the four-issue spy thriller mini-series THE STAND-IN, with art by Alex Cal, who has worked on THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY for Marvel and drew the NORTH WIND mini-series for Boom! Studios. 

THE STAND-IN chronicles the adventures of Dexter Laumb, a talented but troubled and out-of-work actor who's desperate for money.  When he's offered a job to "stand in" for a low level Senator who has double-booked two events for the same evening, Dexter is excited by the prospective paycheck and thinks the job will be a breeze.  Hair dye and make-up transform Laumb into a virtual double of Senator Joe Murphy.  However, he soon realizes that he's bitten off more than he can chew when he's partnered with one of the Senator's senior aides, beautiful but acid-tongued Jennifer Forsythe.  The two quietly go at it like cats and dogs while Dexter acts the part of the Senator, schmoozing and boozing as necessary.  However, when a bullet rips through Dexter's shoulder and the crowd scatters, he soon finds himself on the run with Jennifer, attempting to unravel the truth behind the assassination attempt, and finding himself in the middle of a conspiracy with earth-shattering consequences…

Brendan Deneen, Ardden's co-publisher, comments,  "It is a huge honor to be working with one of the most successful comic book writers currently working in the medium.  I've known Jim for years and we've been trying to find something to work on together that whole time.  THE STAND-IN is the perfect collaboration and I feel privileged that he's publishing it through Ardden."

Ardden will be debuting THE STAND-IN #0 at the New York Comic-Con in February 2009.  The issue will feature an action-packed story that takes places before the events of the mini-series.  Alex Cal's cover for THE STAND-IN #0 was inspired by John Byrne's classic cover for UNCANNY X-MEN#141.

Ardden Entertainment is the publisher of the new critically-acclaimed monthly FLASH GORDON series that has recently seen a complete sell out of issues #1 and #2, with issue #3 hitting comic book stores nationwide tomorrow.  The company—whose business model is to produce contemporized versions of classic licenses and exciting new creator-owned titles—was formed in mid 2007 by former Miramax/Dimension Films executive Deneen and former Markosia EiC, Richard Emms.  The company is set announce several more books in the months leading up to NYCC.  Joining Deneen and Emms is veteran comic book creator and writer, JM DeMatteis, who was announced as Ardden's Editor-in-Chief at last year's New York Comic-Con.