Batman: City of Madness writer Christian Ward and Department of Truth artist John J. Pearson are teaming up for The Patron, a new thriller set in the world of fine art. The story follows the sinister machinations of Mr. Cherish, who supports emerging artists and helps them build a career, then sees to it that they die young and spectacularly, boosting the value of their work and ensuring a massive profit. The system works until it doesn’t, when a prospective protégé/victim gets wise and turns the tables. The theme of the series is reinforced by Pearson’s painted artwork. Ignition Press will release the first issue on July 29, 2026, with two open-to-order covers by Ward and Pearson, a 1:10 retailer incentive variant cover by Anand RK, and an Ignition Exclusive cover by Tula Lutay.
“The Patron was born over a curry with John in Harrogate many years ago,” Ward said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Both ex-teachers and artists who have dabbled in fine art, myself and John were talking over our Sag Aloo about the art industry and joking that at least our work would be worth something when we were dead and PING! The spark that would become The Patron appeared in one of the purest light bulb moments I’ve ever had: An art dealer who killed artists so that their work would be worth more.”
“With The Patron, Christian has crafted a story that deals with multiple ideas effortlessly,” added Pearson. “On the one hand it is a murderous tale of art world exploitation, greed, love and loss. On the other hand, it reflects on the consumers and creators of artwork, the creative world of comics, art education and our own identities and desires within it all. For a story like this, there was no other option but for me to create the artwork traditionally, painting each page and trying to push the narrative through a visual approach that hopefully lets you experience it all in a very tactile way.”
Ward was recently announced as a contributor to the Three Worlds/Three Moons universe (see “‘The Foundations’ One-Shot Launches ‘Three Worlds/Three Moons’ Universe at Dark Horse“). Pearson and Zack Kaplan’s Mindset, published by Vault Comics, is being developed for television (see “Cheadle and Boat Rocker Developing ‘Mindset’“). And Ignition released a new edition of The Beauty Book One to coincide with the launch of the television adaptation of that series on FX and Hulu, which launched in January 2025 (see “‘The Beauty’ Gets New Edition“).
Click Gallery below for covers!
Source: ICv2
