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The Escapists
The Escapists is a 6-part mini-series written by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) with art contributions from Steve Rolston,Jason Shawn Alexander, Philip Bond, and Eduardo Barreto with Dave Stewart, Matthew Hollingsworth, Paul Hornschemeter, and Dan Jackson as colorists. The mini-series is based off of the character, The Escapist, which was created by Michael Chabon.

The story follows the adventures of Max Roth, Case Weaver, and Denny Jones as they try to revive an old comic book super hero in order to break into the comic book industry. The comic has a lot of meta-commentary on the comic book industry as a whole.

Plot Summary
The story begins with Max Roth reflecting on his childhood. He recalls his father’s funeral which prompted the discovery of his late father’s collection of Escapist memorabilia. This discovery would spark an interest within young Max that would leave him enthralled with the character The Escapist. Flashing forward to his teenage years, Max recounts being tormented by bullies, but is saved by Denny Jones. The two gradually become good friends.

The story is no longer told through flash back sequences and is now focused on the present day Max, who works as an elevator repair man. During the job, Max is able to meet Case Weaver, who happens to be stuck in an elevator. Due to being stuck in an elevator, Case is late for an appointment and leaves behind a sample of her artwork with her contact information.

Max returns home to find that his mother has passed away. Her life insurance policy leaves Max with a considerable sum of money, money he readily spends on the creative rights to The Escapist.

Once Max has acquired the rights to the Escapist, he decides to create a new rendition of the classic super hero. His first act is to hire Denny Jones as the letterer, and contacts Casse to be the artist. Casse is reluctant, but then sees Max’s secret plan for creating buzz around the comic.

Additional Collaborations
The art for the jacket cover of the collected hardcover is done by Alex Ross.

The back matter has art contributions by Brian Bolland, Frank Miller, James Jean, John Cassaday, Jason Shawn Alexander, Paul Pope, and Steve Rolston.

Relation to the Original Escapist Series
The Escapists borrows heavily from the origins of the original series. The comic book that Max, Casse, and Denny create uses the same motifs for the enemies.

Related Links
The Escapist