The beginning of the end arrives in Image Comics' new Swan Songs

There’s something about the end of things that remains fascinating to storytellers and audiences alike — that sense of closure, and of finally arriving at a destination. Of course, not all endings provide either of those things; in fact, some just raise more questions than answers, which can be even more compelling, if we’re honest with ourselves. No wonder, then, that Ice Cream Man and Art Brut co-creator W. Maxwell Prince’s new project is just filled with endings.

The six-issue miniseries Swan Songs is an anthology title featuring multiple stories about the end of things, with all the implications that brings. Each story in the series is written by Prince, with art on the first issue coming from Martin Simmons. Future issues will feature artists including Filipe Andrade (The many Deaths of Leila Star) and Caspar Wijngaard (Home Sick Pilots), with more to be announced closer to publication. Simmonds also provides a cover for the first issue, with Nimit Malavia and Ice Cream Man team of Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran providing variants. You can see those covers in the gallery below.

If this all sounds a little… final… don’t be worried; Prince is seemingly in good spirits about the whole thing. Reached for comment about the project, he told Popverse, “It’s a shame that everything has to end, but dem’s the rules.”

There’s something to be said for a good attitude about such things, don’t you think…?

The first issue of Swan Songs — the beginning of the end, if you will — will hit stores July 5. Click into the gallery below for a preview.

Go back and revisit a preview of Prince and Morazzo last Image collaboration, Art Brut.