Motor and Armory Films Team For "THE DARK AGE" Comic Series

MOTOR AND ARMORY FILMS TEAM  FOR “THE DARK AGE” COMIC SERIES

Comic will make its debut during Free Comic Book Day on May 4th


Los Angeles, CA (March 26, 2019) - Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros (Arctic, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Mudbound) have teamed with Don Handfield (The Founder, Kill the Messenger) and his production company, Motor, on THE DARK AGE, a new comic book penned by Handfield.

With plans to adapt into a television series, Red 5 Comics (AFTERBURN, soon to be seen on the big screen starring Gerard Butler) will publish the comic, following the success of their collaboration on Handfield’s first comic series THE RIFT. The book features art by Leo Rodrigues, colors by Ringo-nominee Dijjo Lima and letters by Eisner-nominee DC Hopkins.

In the near future, every piece of workable metal on earth suddenly turns to worthless piles of rust and dust. With no technology, no guns, no computers, humanity reverts to a violent feudal system with each pocket of civilization ruled by knights of wood & plastic & concrete... This is the new DARK AGE.

The story begins with Ethen Riker, an archeology professor at Cornell, his pregnant wife, Helen and his daughter Jonnie, enjoying a quiet lunch at a campus cafe. When his stirring spoon, then the table, then the metal foundations of the building itself suddenly crumble, Ethen rushes his family outside to witness the world quite literally coming to end. We flash forward thirteen years post-metal as he struggles to protect his family in this new paleo-plastic world and unravel the dark mystery of why metal disappeared.

Handfield said, “THE DARK AGE was inspired by how dependent we as a society are on technology, computers and metal to survive and asking, 'what if' it all disappeared? I wanted to create a post-apocalyptic world that wasn't a radioactive wasteland, but more of a lush “World After People” where as a storyteller I could explore how cultures would crumble and reform based on primitive technologies. All of this of course wrapped inside a strong drama about a family trying to survive.”

Chris Lemole and Tim Zajaros from Armory added: “We could not be more excited for our first foray into the comic universe. We have been talking to Don for a while about doing something in the comic book space.  We're very much looking forward to collaborating with him on THE DARK AGE and help build this universe from pen to screen.”

THE DARK AGE was one of a select number of titles chosen to have a preview of the comic given away at stores nationwide during Free Comic Book Day on May 4, 2019. Issue #1 of the actual comic series will launch in July, with both a regular and a variant cover -- just in time for Comic-Con 2019 in San Diego.

Armory Films slate includes: Joe Penna’s Arctic, starring Mads Mikkelsen, which is currently in theatres; The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Dakota Johnson and Bruce Dern, which received rave reviews and the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award out of its SXSW premiere earlier this month; Dee Rees’ lauded feature Mudbound, starring Carey Mulligan and Garrett Hedlund; and Charlie Day’s directorial debut El Tonto starring Day, Kate Beckinsale, Jason Sudeikis, which is currently in post-production.

Handfield, the co-creator of History Channel’s “Knightfall,” sold his first comic series, THE RIFT, to Amblin/Steven Spielberg, which was produced as an episode of the upcoming “Amazing Stories” reboot on Apple. His second comic series THE MALL was just optioned for television by Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Pictures.

Consulting on the book is archeology professor Dr. Bill Schindler; director of the Eastern Shore Food Lab, an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and the co-star of the National Geographic series, “The Great Human Race.”  As an experimental archaeologist, primitive technologist, and chef, his research and teaching revolve around a comprehensive understanding of prehistoric and traditional technologies as they relate to food acquisition, processing, storage, and consumption.  Also consulting on the project is Jay Handfield, PhD, Dr. John Lucas, MD, and PhD Candidate in Medieval Studies at Cornell University, Patrick Naeve.

Motor and Armory Films plan this as the first in a slate of comic books, to be penned by Handfield as well as additional writers to be announced.  Handfield is repped by The Cartel and Dale De La Torre of Jacobson, Russell, Saltz, Nassim & De La Torre.

ABOUT ARMORY:
Founded in 2013 by Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros, Armory Films is a film finance and production company that creates, develops, produces, and finances high concept and commercially viable content. With the ability to finance projects from initial creative inception through production and release, Armory has amassed an impressive slate spanning numerous genres and styles, nurturing distinctive stories into groundbreaking films.

Armory recently wrapped production in Los Angeles on Charlie Day’s directorial debut El Tonto starring Day, Kate Beckinsale, Jason Sudeikis, John Malkovich, Edie Falco, Jillian Bell, Ken Jeong, Adrien Brody, Ray Liotta and Travis Fimmel. They produced Joe Penna’s Arctic, starring Mads Mikkelsen which made its world premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival where it was acquired by Bleeker Street for North American distribution. The film released in the US on February 1, 2019.

They also produced and financed Dee Rees’ lauded feature Mudbound, starring Carey Mulligan and Garrett Hedlund, which rose to critical success since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. After being acquired by Netflix, the film went on to receive a record breaking four Academy Award Nominations, making the film a milestone in Netflix’s history in the awards race.

Additional recent productions include: The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Dakota Johnson and Bruce Dern, which received rave reviews when it premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, and Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair’s latest horror/thriller Mom and Dad, which premiered in the midnight madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival.

ABOUT MOTOR
Motor is a content production company focused on Film, TV and the creation of Intellectual Property. On the film side, the company is producing Switched On at Focus with Emma Frost (White Queen) adapting the best-selling memoir by John Elder Robison, as well as the US remake of the #1 grossing horror film in Vietnam The Housemaid being adapted by Academy-Award winner Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious).