AfterShock Comics announced this morning that it will publish Midnight Rose, by former Marvel writer Jim Starlin and artist Nikkol Jelenic.  In statements accompanying the announcement, Jelenic described the story as “a homicidal flower enthusiast searching for a purpose when being born into and constantly thrown into a half full glass,” and Starlin said it was partly inspired by Jelenic’s other job, creating flower arrangements.  “The bonding of women with flowers has usually been a benign tale, with some exceptions such as Poison Ivy,” he said.  “I wanted to take that union to a real horror level.”

The 64-page one-shot will be released on April 13 with an MSRP of $8.99.  The main cover is by Jelenic and there will be an incentive cover by Starlin.

During his long tenure at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, Starlin created a number of memorable characters, including Thanos, Gamora, and Dreadstar, but in the statement he made a pointed comment about what he liked best about working with AfterShock: “The freedom of doing what I want with a story without having to lie to the editor. I also know Joe (the editor) won’t sabotage the tale, as happened with my last work for Marvel.”  Starlin left Marvel in 2017, shortly before the release of the movie Avengers: Infinity War, in which Thanos was a major character.  At the time, he posted on Facebook that he was leaving because of a dispute with editor Tom Brevoort (see “Starlin Leaving Marvel on Eve of ‘Infinity War’”).