IDW Publishing will release a new 'director's cut' edition of Ascend, a graphic novel released in its original form by Image in 2005, to book and comic stores in January.  It will be released as both a hardcover ($75 MSRP) and a trade paperback ($35).  PCB Productions, which produced the book, had 500 copies of the hardcover at San Diego Comic-Con; it was leather case-bound, with debossing on the cover. 

The Image version, which was the #16 graphic novel for Diamond in January of 2005 (see 'Top 100 Graphic Novels -- January, 2005') and sold out its initial print run quickly, was 120 6' x 8' pages.  The IDW release will be 198 8.5' x 13.5' pages.  The Keith Arem story has been rewritten, and the Christopher Shy artwork 'remastered,' according to creator Arem. 

The storyline, an epic tale of angels who are banished to earth during a post-apocalyptic conflict between heaven and hell, will carry on in a videogame and a second graphic novel over the following year.  A film is also in early development, according to Arem. 

PCB, named in the tradition of industrial gothic bands Biohazard and Contagion (which included Arem), has produced a six minute Ascend animated episode, planned as one of a series of brief episodes. 

PCB has done sound production work for an impressive list of anime, videogame, television, and feature film productions.  Its work on Ascend is the furthest along of a move to become a concept/creative house for intellectual property development.  A number of additional graphic novels are planned.