James Tynion IV & Elsa Charretier Announce Grindhouse Thriller THE CITY BENEATH HER FEET

The Love Letter to Yesteryear NYC stars a writer unraveling the mystery of her former lover’s disappearance 

LOS ANGELES, CA / NEW YORK, NY—August 20, 2024— DSTLRY, the next-generation publisher redefining creator-owned comic books and collectibles, is thrilled to announce THE CITY BENEATH HER FEET, a hyper-kinetic, stylish action romance co-created by acclaimed creators James Tynion IV (Spectregraph, Something is Killing the Children) and Elsa Charretier (Room Service, Love Everlasting) debuting this November. Eisner Award-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Aditya Bidikar round out the creative team. 

THE CITY BENEATH HER FEET is a blood-splattered love letter to New York City. The street-level blockbuster revolves around a writer named Zara who is thrust back into the orbit of Jasper Jayne—the mysterious and distant love of her life, the inspiration and muse for her writing in the years that followed their meeting—after Zara learns she was left as Jasper’s emergency contact. Zara quickly discovers the reason for Jasper’s mysterious life: she was one of the most dangerous assassins in the world, and now the people who came for her are pursuing Zara, suspecting she has intimate knowledge of their forbidden secrets. Pursued by Jasper’s lethal fellow assassins, Zara must navigate a labyrinth of double crosses, insidious secrets, and gloriously orchestrated fight ballets to unravel the mystery of Jasper's life.

The City Beneath Her Feet Cover A (Header Image) by Elsa Charretier; Cover B (Above) by Anwita Citriya 

“This is a story about the people you fall in love with who change your life forever, and realizing all the things you thought you knew about them were wrong. It’s also one of the most viscerally fun, violent, and sexy comics I’ve ever had the opportunity to write,” says co-creator and writer James Tynion IV. “More than that, it’s also my chance to write a real love letter to New York City, where I was born and where I’ve spent the majority of my adult life, and tell that story in the language I learned watching Tarantino movies and romantic comedies on loop as a young man. And I get to do it with Elsa, Jordie, and Aditya—three of my favorite creators working in comics today.”

“This vibrant, dangerous underbelly of New York City is so remote from my life as a French artist living by cows and sheep that it's been exhilarating to come up with my own buzzing, fantasized, high-octane version,” explains co-creator and artist Elsa Charretier. “James' energetic scripts are perfect to combine my experience of drawing emotional depth and unlock new levels of gravity-halting action scenes. I've already fallen head over heels with Jasper's cat-like va-va-voom and Zara's true New Yorker personality, and I know you will too.”

Each issue of THE CITY BENEATH HER FEET is presented in DSTLRY’s perfect-bound Prestige format, featuring wraparound covers with spot gloss on robust cover stock, complemented by 48 pages of exquisite interior stock. “It’s the DSTLRY difference,” says DSTLRY CCO & Co-Founder Chip Mosher.

“James and Elsa are absolute masters of their craft, and their collaboration on THE CITY BENEATH HER FEET is exhilarating,” say DSTLRY co-founder and CCO Chip Mosher. “It’s a relentless barrage of color, motion, and hormones. November can’t come soon enough,” added DSTLRY co-founder and CEO David Steinberger.

For more information on THE CITY BENEATH HER FEET and to keep up with DSTLRY's upcoming releases, visit www.dstlry.co and follow DSTLRY on social media at @DSTLRY_Media.

Jasper Jayne Concept Art by Elsa Charretier

Zara Concept Art by Elsa Charretier

Liz Concept Art by Elsa Charretier