Image Comics will release a paperback compendium edition of one of its most popular comic book series. Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta’s East of West: The End Times compendium will hit comic book shelves in February 2025.

Per Image, the compendium collects all the series’ issues and features a brand-new cover from Dragotta. Image Comics launched East of West in March 2013, and the series concluded its 45-issue run in December 2019. The publisher describes East of West as “a Dystopian, speculative history story — similar in approach to Phillip K. Dick’s The Man in High Castle — but imagines a future United States in 2064 that follows an alternate timeline wherein the Civil War never ended. In it, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse roam the Earth, signaling the End Times for humanity, and the best hope for life lies in Death.”

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN Art by NICK DRAGOTTA Cover by NICK DRAGOTTA

Hickman and Dragotta had originally collaborated on Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four, where they built the chemistry that bore massive fruit for Image. Hickman discussed how East of West still surprised the pair with how good it was. “I knew from the first time I worked with Nick that we were creatively simpatico, but as East of West unfolded, I think we both were surprised and delighted at just how magical the book became,” the Ultimate Spider-Man writer said.

Hickman continued, “The bones of the story are pure nostalgia, but its themes are timeless and its view of the world is prescient and more relevant than ever. We’ve both done some pretty work, but this just might be our best. Dragotta echoed Hickman’s sentiments about the collaboration and East of West.

“Working with Jonathan Hickman on East of West was complete freedom and where I found myself as an artist,” the Absolute Batman artist said. “Collected together for the first time I can see the evolution of my own work, along with my partners in design; Jon, Frank Martin Jr., and Rus Wooton. It’s a story that’s as relevant as when we told it and still looks cool as hell,” Dragotta added.

Nick Dragotta’s Original Art for Absolute Batman Sold For a Lot of Money

Dragotta is currently on a hot streak, with a recent report indicating that his original art for Absolute Batman #1 is the highest-grossing of all time for a modern artist. The book’s cover alone sold for a whopping $70,000. For context, covers typically sell for $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the artist.

Dragotta and Hickman’s East of West: The End Times compendium will arrive in comic book shops on February 19, 2024.

Source: Comic Book Club