America’s Fabulous Freelance (Cyber) Insurance Investigator Is Back, Taking on Ransomware Attacks, Insider Threats and More in ‘Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 1’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oct. 16, 2023 – Green Archer Comics, an independent comic book publishing company, today released the first installment of a brand-new comic book series, “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.” Written by Allan Liska, the comic is based on CBS Radio’s popular serialized drama of the same name that ran from 1949 through 1962. Known as “the man with the action-packed expense account,” Johnny Dollar has been reimagined and brought into the digital age to fight ransomware as a hard-nosed cyber insurance investigator.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 1: The Flood City Matter
Story written by Allan Liska
Art by Marc Oliver with Shawn Decker
Letters by Saida Temofonte
Cover art by Shawn Decker
Variant cover art by Rachel Distler
Edited by Brandon T. Crowther
In this first issue, Johnny Dollar is called to Johnstown, Pennsylvania to investigate a ransomware attack against Gotham Steel. The insurance company is concerned that there may be a company insider helping the ransomware group. Johnny quickly realizes something is off with this case and must race to find the insider, while avoiding attacks from Russian thugs, before the company caves in and pays the ransom.
“Growing up, I would listen to reruns of the great radio serials from the 30s, 40s and 50s on our local NPR station. It was there that I first became familiar with Johnny Dollar – a main character who wasn’t a cop or a superhero; he was just a good guy trying to do the right thing against the bad guys,” said Allan Liska, writer of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar #1 and owner of Green Archer Comics. “With ‘Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar’ now in the public domain, we’ve been able to reimagine him for a more modern setting and a new generation, while keeping the noir aesthetic of the original drama.”
Allan Liska works as a full-time ransomware researcher and – similarly to Johnny Dollar himself – has done ransomware incident response in the past. When writing the first installment of the new series, Liska based Johnny’s ransomware cases on real-life cases, lending unique authenticity to the story.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar #1 was funded in large part by a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year. After intending to raise $3,500, the project ultimately received nearly three times that amount across more than 70 individual backers. The resulting first issue is a 32-page, full-color comic book, with additional issues of the series currently in production.
Liska continued, “I’m so grateful for the support and backing we’ve witnessed for this project, especially the response we received from the Kickstarter community. It’s been incredible to see the first issue of Johnny Dollar come to life. We’ve assembled an amazing team of artists, letterers and other contributors, and we are excited to continue producing the next installments of Johnny Dollar’s four-part story arc.”
Purchase your copy today at: https://www.greenarcher.io/
About Green Archer Comics
Green Archer Comics is an independent comic book publishing company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by Allan Liska, Green Archer Comics is the creator of the “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” series, based on CBS Radio’s popular serialized drama of the same name that ran from 1949 through 1962. Inspired by the 1920s novel “The Green Archer” by Edgar Wallace, Green Archer Comics aims to champion the stories of underdogs and anti-heroes fighting against systems of injustice and bad guys operating with impunity. To learn more about Green Archer Comics, please visit: www.greenarcher.io
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Supporting Quotes:
Shawn Decker, Art:
“When approached about doing some painting work for ‘Johnny Dollar,’ I was excited to lend my talents to this project. I absolutely love pulp- and noir-style work, and have focused on developing that aesthetic in my own art in recent years. So, the chance to contribute to a book with a genre that perfectly fits my style like a glove was a fantastic opportunity, and I’m happy to be part of this team.”
Rachel Distler, Art:
“When Allan approached me with the concept and story behind Johnny Dollar, that being an old radio show he’s loved for decades updated to place the character in the world of cybersecurity, of course it was immediately interesting. I think updating a series to encapsulate technology invented long after it ran is both challenging and entertaining – I’ve seen the concept pass and fail, but Johnny Dollar felt surprisingly natural. As a variant cover artist, I wanted to capture the feeling of classic noir alongside the personalities of the characters, and I thought it was important to draw in the reader with that aspect, because cybersecurity is absolutely critical in our era.”
Marc Oliver, Art:
“I felt honored to work on this project because it is about a long-known character, as well as being charismatic and with very moving stories. Besides, I really like the investigation and detective genre. It is certainly important and impactful because it is a well-known and beloved character from the past, being brought into the current era and maintaining his personality and classic elements. We are doing everything with great care for longtime fans and also to reach those who didn’t know Johnny Dollar yet.”
Saida Temofonte, Letters:
“I work with the biggest comic book companies and all I see is superhero themes. I’m intrigued by the uniqueness of this story; however, I wasn’t familiar with the radio serial. There are gems to be found in independent publishers.”
Anjuli R. K. Shere, Script Writer, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 2:
“The news that Allan was reviving Johnny Dollar for a visual medium was so exciting because it combines three of my great loves: cyber security, investigations, and comic books. This (ad)venture reminded me of ‘Superman Smashes The Klan,’ which similarly began as a radio serial, and its adaptation into a comic book brought a timeless and important story to a new audience. I am so grateful that Allan included me in his team to do the same for ‘The Man with the Action-Packed Expense Account.’”
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Media Contact:
Andrew Smith
Starship Public Relations for Green Archer Comics