Thief of Thieves

Thief of Thieves
Cover of Thief of Thieves 1. Art by Shawn Martinbrough and Felix Serrano.
Publication information
Publisher	Image Comics/Skybound
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Publication date(s)	February 2012 – present
No. of issues	37
Creative team
Created by	Robert Kirkman
Written by	Robert Kirkman Nick Spencer James Asmus Andy Diggle
Artist(s)	Shawn Martinbrough
Letterer(s)	Rus Wooton
Colorist(s)	Felix Serrano

Thief of Thieves is a monthly comic book series published by Image Comics' Skybound imprint which premiered in 2012. Created by Robert Kirkman, the comic centers on Conrad Paulson, a highly successful thief who quits the business and begins a new life stealing from other thieves. The series will feature a rotation of writers, including Nick Spencer on the first story arc, and art by Shawn Martinbrough. The first three issues sold out upon release, and a television series based on the comic is in development at AMC.

At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, Thief of Thieves was announced as one of the titles that would help launch Robert Kirkman's Skybound, an imprint of Image Comics. A year later, Kirkman told USA Today that working on AMC's The Walking Dead television series influenced his approach on co-writing Thief of Thieves: "Having worked on the Walking Dead TV show, I've really fallen in love with the way that TV shows are written, where a bunch of people get together and they plot stuff and people split off into their own little splinter groups and write episodes," he said. "I think that's a really neat way to tell stories and something that could be utilized in comics more often." Kirkman put together a team of four other writers, beginning with Nick Spencer, to rotate different story arcs. The second arc, which begins with the eighth issue, will be written by James Asmus. Shawn Martinbrough is the book's permanent artist. Kirkman wanted Spencer to write the first arc because of his "knack for good and interesting dialogue," and liked Martinbrough's "cinematic flare" and ability to "portray characters realistically." The series debuted on February 8, 2012.

Redmond is a master thief who decides to quit just before attempting what would be his biggest heist yet. He then begins a new career of stealing from other thieves in an effort to make up for all his previous mistakes, but finds himself on the run from people on both sides of the law. Kirkman explained, "He's got this compulsion where he has to steal or he doesn't feel like he's living, but he doesn't want to break the law anymore."Thief of Thieves depicts both sides of Redmond's life: one as the thief along with his young apprentice, Celia; and the other as his real name, Conrad Paulson, who has an estranged wife and adult son.