ISSUE4

RAFFOIMAN

SIROIS

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US $3.99 | RATED T+ | www.darbypop.com

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MEET THE TEAMTROY PETERI—Letters Troy has been lettering comics, seemingly, since paper was first invented by Sir Aloysius Paper Inventor back in the day. He’s worked on innumerable titles from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN to WITCHBLADE, and all points between. He also writes comics, including the Radical Comics mini-series ABATTOIR and some upcoming work for Mark Waid’s digital comics website, Thrillbent. He has the mutant ability to NEVER be able to arrive at a traffic light when it is green and has yet to master the art of the “selfie.”

Sexy-but-sadistic cyborg Superfecta 5 intends to lead an attack on the legendary desert city of ZenZion — and take control of its plentiful resources at the behest of a despotic warlord named Kavanaugh. When the leader of ZenZion is killed in the initial attack, his daughter Kathleen turns to ex-soldier and mercenary Daniel Cray for assistance. Kathleen offers Cray a deal; if he trains her “volunteer” army, she will pay for Cray’s return to Earth. Though Cray believes there is no way the city will avoid complete annihilation, he introduces a room of hapless students to the way of his fabled blade — the Malathane. Only six Swordsmen will make the cut. Even fewer will survive the battle.

Now, word has come that Kavana-ugh will be arriving with even greater firepower than originally anticipated. In response, Kathleen opts to activate a secret weapon, despite Cray’s warnings that the Hammerhead mechanoid could just as well destroy Zenzion itself. But when the choice is possible death by mech or certain death by Kavanaugh’s forces...

PresidentJEFF KLINE

Editor In ChiefDAVID WOHL

Managing EditorRENAE GEERLINGS

VP of Business Development

MARK WHEELER

Marketing DirectorJOSHUA COZINE

Legal Counsel TOM COLLIER

Comptroller LOIS M. BOTCHETT

Editorial Assistant KRISTINE CHESTER

DARBY POP PUBLISHING

COVER:ANDREW ROBINSON

Created and Written byJOHN RAFFO

Layouts byDOUGLAS A. SIROIS

Pencils and Inks byNUR “POPIA” IMAN

Colors byDOUGLAS A. SIROIS

Letters byTROY PETERI

Story Edited byRENAE GEERLINGS

Design bySTEVE BLACKWELL

IDW Publishing Edits bySARAH GAYDOS

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THE 7TH SWORD #4. AUGUST 2014. FIRST PRINTING. © 2014 Darby Pop Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and DesignWorks, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Any similarities topersons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprintedwithout the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea. IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

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Ted Adams, CEO & PublisherGreg Goldstein, President & COORobbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic ArtistChris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-ChiefMatthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial OfficerAlan Payne, VP of SalesDirk Wood, VP of MarketingLorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital ServicesJeff Webber, VP of Digital Publishing & Business DevelopmentIDW founded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins