Bullets: The Fade Out "Trailer," The Final Fatale Trade, and Brubaker's Rewrite of Maniac Cop, and More.

...and this is what happens when I don't blog frequently enough:  a pile-up of great news with no one story getting all the attention.

The big news is that The Fade Out has been confirmed for August, with an extra-sized "movie magazine" variant that isn't a million miles from the "pulp cover variant" for the first issue of Incognito: Bad Influences.

The ACB Bulletin for Thursday, May 15th.

• Three-Page "Trailer" Released Today for The Fade Out, On Sale in August.  Today's big news is that Image Comics has just put out a news release about The Fade Out, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' next collaboration which we first covered at the beginning of the year.  The release includes a three-page "trailer" that has become a staple in promoting their works (along with Brubaker and Epting's Velvet).

The preview has already been posted elsewhere online, including Comic Book Resources and Bleeding Cool.  The news release also includes the first hints of the story...

An intricate and groundbreaking crime story on a level Brubaker and Phillips have never tackled before, THE FADE OUT weaves a tangled web through the underbelly of a 1948 Hollywood... A noir film stuck in endless reshoots. A writer plagued with nightmares from the war and a dangerous secret. An up-and-coming starlet's suspicious death. And a maniacal studio mogul and his security chief who will do anything to keep the cameras rolling before the Post-War boom days come crashing down. THE FADE OUT is the most ambitious series yet from the award-winning Noir Masters.

...and a lot of details about the series' debut.

The Fade Out #1 is scheduled to be released on August 20.  The 40-page first issue includes exclusive back-page articles, and it maintains Fatale's cover price of $3.50.

As mentioned above, there will also be "an oversized 'movie magazine replica' variant edition with 8 extra pages of behind-the-scenes art and articles."

The cover for the "movie magazine" version is posted above, and both versions are available for pre-order through Diamond.

• The Fade Out #1, Diamond Code JUN140463
• The Fade Out #1 Movie Magazine Variant, Diamond Code JUN140464

On Twitter, Brubaker confirms that only the first issue will include feature the oversized variant, and this variant will NOT sell at the same price as the standard issue.

UPDATE, 4:00 pm:  Apparently, CBR's preview originally listed the price for the oversized variant, but their page has since been updated.  A cached copy of the page lists a price of $5.99 for the variant.

It's not clear how rare the variant will be, so interested fans would be wise to pre-order.

• Cover Art and Title for Final Fatale TPB.  A new title's coming, and we still haven't quite reached the Fatale finale.  Over at his blog, Sean Phillips recently posted cover art for the fifth and final trade paperback, revealing the title of "Curse the Demon."

We would not be surprised that this finale trade collection is released the same time as The Fade Out #1.

• Brubaker Writing Screenplay for Maniac Cop Remake.  I don't believe there have been any subsequent interviews, but there was big news announced with the lineup for the 2014 Cannes International Film Festival.  The original story at Screen Daily is behind a pay wall, but Badass Digest summarizes it.

Ed Brubaker is writing the screenplay for the remake of Maniac Cop, a 1988 cult thriller about an urban serial killer posing as a police officer.  The director is producing the remake, and from a Twitter exchange with BD, Brubaker relays that they have a great director lined up, to be announced at Cannes.

• Brubaker and Phillips, from Toronto.  There were a lot of reasons I wish I could have made the Toronto Comics Arts Festival.  Darwyn Cooke was offering TCAF-exclusives for a new hardcover of Richard Stark's The Hunter, illustrated by Cooke -- an exclusive dust jacket and signature plate combination, an exclusive print, and special editions of his Parker graphic novels.  Tom Scioli was also there, and I would have liked to have met him, so thoroughly I enjoyed the FCBD issue #0 of his new Transformers vs. G.I. Joe series.

And, it's a rare thing that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are in the same room on any continent.  The Toronto Star has a brief interview with Brubaker, who talks about his detour into superhero comics and his enjoyment of writing for what may be "the last generation who still likes print."

Brubaker and Phillips also took time for a quick Mother's Day photo, which turned out far too cute for creators of such moody work.

My mom with @brubaker and @seanpphillips ! Super nice guys who made her special day even more special. pic.twitter.com/0Bd6vCTYue
— Morgan (@riotcake) May 11, 2014

Preview of Fatale #22, Out Wednesday.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' horror-noir series continues to hurdle toward its dark conclusion with Fatale #22, in stores this week.  The issue focuses on The Bishop, the story's otherworldly antagonist, and a six-page preview of the new issue is in a few places online, including Comic Book Resources, Comicosity, and Comic Book Realm.

The largest single-page look at the preview is probably at the horror comic site Comic Monsters.