"We're proud to be the comic book home for Xena: Warrior Princess, now and for the future," says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite. "The fit is perfect: between our library of licensed fantasy (A Game of Thrones, Warlord of Mars, Army of Darkness, Wheel of Time, etc.) and penchant for strong, charismatic female protagonists (Sheena, Vampirella, Red Sonja, Barbarella, and more), Dynamite is the perfect arena for the continuing adventures of Xena and Gabrielle. Expect to see much more of these warriors in action, leaping into battle with chakram and staff in hand!"

Xena: Warrior Princess was an hour-long action-adventure series created by John Schulian and Robert Tapert, a spin-off of the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys television series. Produced by Renaissance Pictures, the series followed the titular character's quest to redeem herself from past sins, as she dedicates her fighting prowess to the defense of the oppressed alongside the loyal farmer-turned-warrior Gabrielle. The Xena: Warrior Princess television series, filmed in New Zealand, premiered in September 1995 and concluded in June 2001, and ranked as one of the top syndicated drama series on American television.

The Xena: Warrior Princess franchise first expanded into comic books in 1997 with several series published by Topps Comics, including crossovers with their Hercules: The Legendary Journeys comics. Two years later, Dark Horse acquired the rights and published a fourteen-issue series. In 2006, Dynamite Entertainment acquired the rights, publishing Xena: Warrior Princess #1-4 (the "Contest of Pantheons" storyline) and a second series, subtitled Dark Xena. Also, two tongue-in-cheek crossover series materialized with Dynamite's long-running Army of Darkness series, as both Xena and AOD had roots at Renaissance Pictures and featured actor and cult film hero Bruce Campbell. In 2015, Dynamite reacquired the Xena license, publishing a new core series, an additional AOD crossover (subtitled Forever and a Day), and high-quality reprints of classic Xena comic books from the 1990s and early 2000s.

 

New Xena: Warrior Princess projects will be solicited in an upcoming edition of Diamond Comic Distributors' Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies with their local comic book retailers. Xena will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, Madefire, and Dark Horse Digital.

Fans and retailers are encouraged to follow Dynamite Entertainment's official social media channels for the latest updates regarding project development and release dates.

About Dynamite Entertainment:

Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more.  Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt.  In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, Neil Gaiman, Andy Diggle, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner, Gail Simone, Steve Niles, James Robinson, and a host of up-and-coming new talent.  Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles - including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's Project Superpowers - have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors.  In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011.  The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.