James Patterson partners with IDW

IDW Publishing is thrilled to announce an exclusive partnership with worldwide bestselling author James Patterson to publish original comic stories and graphic novel adaptations of his top-selling novels. This groundbreaking alliance launches in May 2010 with a spellbinding, five-part story spinning out of Patterson’s acclaimed young adult novel, Witch & Wizard.

“Graphic story-telling is a compelling and unique way to experience a story, and I look forward to working with IDW to introduce new stories and transform my existing novels into this medium,” said Patterson. “With the brand-new material, adaptations and related stories, we will offer fans of reading a whole new way to enjoy my books.”

Under this partnership, Patterson will develop completely new, page-turning comic book stories, exclusively with IDW. IDW will also create and publish gripping comics and adaptations based on Patterson’s chart-topping books. “James is an incredibly creative, successful, and prolific writer and we are honored to partner with him,” said Greg Goldstein, chief operating officer of IDW. “There aren’t many writers who hold a Guinness World Record, and we’re looking forward to adding a few bestsellers to his title.”

Beginning in May and based on Patterson’s bestselling first young adult novel, Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland takes the beleaguered siblings, Whit and Wisty Allgood, on an all-new, exciting adventure in their struggle against the magic-hating New World Order. Comics mainstay writer Dara Naraghi brings all the action Patterson fans love to this new story of magical powers and inter-dimensional evil, under careful direction of the famed author himself. Artist Victor Santos brings the incredible adventure to life and provides eye-catching covers. Fan-favorite artist J.K. Woodward also contributes a painted cover for the debut issue of this five-part comic series in May.

A comic adaptation of Patterson’s smash hit, non-fiction book, The Murder of King Tut, begins in June with fellow novelist and comic writer Alexander Irvine (Daredevil: Noir) and features two acclaimed comics artists dividing the interior art. Christopher Mitten (Wasteland) will transport readers back to ancient Egypt in the time of the Boy King, while Ron Randall will depict the 1920’s search for Tut’s tomb, conducted by archeologist Howard Carter. The award-winning artist Darwyn Cooke will provide covers.

Witch & Wizard #1 (of 5, 32 pages, full color, $3.99) will be available in stores in May. The Murder of King Tut #1 (of 4, 32 pages, full color, $3.99) will be available in stores in June. Visit IDWPublishing.com to sign up for updates and learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

BOOM Studios announces BOOM Town

BOOM! Studios has announced a new imprint that will focus on “literary comics”, merchandising deals as well as selective reissues of out-of-print works. So far this new line has projects lined up with legendary comics publisher Denis Kitchen and creator of Too Much Coffee Man, cartoonist Shannon Wheeler.

BOOM Town’s releases begin with a set of 36 trading cards by R. Crumb, a Too Much Coffee Man coffee mug and a collection of cartoons by Wheeler originally created for the New Yorker magazine entitled, I Thought You Would be Funnier. For more information on this new line, BOOM Kids and other projects please visit the homepage for BOOM Studios.

Darwyn Cooke to appear at the Smithsonian

On Saturday, January 30th at 4 PM, award-winning creator Darwyn Cooke will read from his much-lauded graphic novel, The Hunter, which is based on the groundbreaking Richard Stark (a.k.a Donald Westlake) novel, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. One of the most acclaimed books of 2009, The Hunter has been included on over 50 “best of” lists, including NPR, Publisher’s Weekly, and Aint it Cool News. Cooke’s defining work has also been named best graphic novel of 2009 by over 15 outlets, such as The Village Voice, IGN and MTV.

Cooke will read from Stark’s novel while presenting images from his adaptation, demonstrating how creatively and accurately he interpreted Stark’s tale.  A limited number of tickets are available for this exclusive event through the Museum. “I am incredibly honored that the Smithsonian American Art Museum is giving me this opportunity to discuss my work and that of the late, great Donald Westlake,” said Cooke.

Released by IDW Publishing in July 2009, The Hunter quickly became a commercial hit and critical success. The Hunter remained on The New York Times best-seller list until it was sold out. A second printing of The Hunter is now available wherever graphic novels are sold. The Hunter is the first in a series of four graphic novels based on Stark’s character Parker from Cooke and IDW. The second book, The Outfit, will be released in October. Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

Disney Completes Marvel Acquisition

image by J Chris CampbellAdvancing its strategy of delivering great branded content to people around the world, Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company announced today that Disney has completed its acquisition of renowned character franchise company, Marvel Entertainment Inc.

“We’re thrilled to welcome to the Disney family the talented team at Marvel,” said Iger. “We believe the creative and business potential of this combination is substantial and can help us grow both our top and bottom line, leading to a significant increase in long-term shareholder value.”

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on Thursday, December 31, Marvel shareholders will receive a total of $30 a share in cash, plus approximately 0.7452 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. Marvel’s assets include a library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over 70 years and businesses, including licensing, movie production and publishing.

Indy Comic Book Week

The Organizers of Indy Comic Book Week see an opportunity this Wednesday for not only an event but for a call to creative action. As you might be aware, Diamond Comic Distributors announced to comic shops that they would not be shipping new comics for the last week of December. While most shops will have DC’s Blackest Night #6 to offer as “the” new comic of the week, most of the main stream portion of the industry will be taking an off-week.

The ICBW is a challenge to writers and artists to self publish new material for this week, and offer it to their local stores. While asking for retailers to take this as an opportunity to showcase local independent talent on the new release shelves they are also encouraging fans to break from their buying habits and try something new.

You can find out more about this event including the creators and shops involved on their production blog and at the official site for Indy Comic Book Week. Even if your local shop is not offering any of the comics mentioned on those sites, you still might find something from one of the creators taking part you can order online. Or this might just inspire you to give something new a chance at your local shop this week.