Image Comics has announced the August release of the first issue of Black Kiss II, a new six-issue miniseries based the groundbreaking series Chaykin created in the late 1980s that mixed eroticism, religion, and hardboiled action.  The original Black Kiss series was set in 1980s Los Angeles (and the Vatican), while the new Black Kiss II series from Image will go back in time to New York City in the early years of the 20th Century and will provide the background for the 1980s Black Kiss series.

 

Chaykin noted that the original series surpassed his expectations, "and generated far more attention, notoriety, and frankly, income, than I ever expected.  That said, after fielding offers and requests for a follow up, it wasn't until I was listening to Stephen Sondheim's Follies, specifically the anthem that closes act one, 'I'm Still Here,'  that I had any idea how or what to do with a sequel.  So thanks to Image for being there at the right time, and blame Stephen Sondheim."

 

The new series will be rated "Mature" because of its erotic content, and will be published (as was the original) in Chaykin’s finely drafted black-and-white.