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Novelists continue to write for comic book publishers

General response, initially publicized by blogs and articles, to the acclaimed authors’ crossover has spurred a mild boil of conversation. Considered an unlikely marriage of two mediums, comic publishers and novelists reverberate their confident intent to produce quality reading. Their plans looked good on paper. So good, that a fair number of the works earned award nominations.

 

Even as comics cross the threshold into the ongoing genre and literature debate, some novelists had already penned aspects of comic books into prose fiction. Jodi Picoult, author of “My Sister’s Keeper”, which had been adapted to film that releases in June, wrote the “The Tenth Circle”. The novel focuses on a New England comic book writer brought to a horrific precipice of battling inner demons of revenge after his daughter is assaulted. Picoult wrote a story arc for Wonder Woman, being only the second female writer to work on that title. Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer novel “The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay” revolves about an early 20^th century period story of two cousins who are comic book writers. Chabon transitioned one of the book’s fictional superhero comic books into a solo series known as The Escapist for Dark Horse Comics. “The Book of Lies” by Brad Meltzer integrates a true account from the background of one of the Superman creators and pairs it with a fictional murder in the 90’s as the impetus for a mystery thriller. Meltzer rocketed to comics’ recognition after he wrote a murder mystery surrounding superheroes of DC Comics. His seven-issue series is titled Identity Crisis.

 

Adjudicating time to write novels, screenplays, articles, and now comic books has the increasing number of modern day raconteurs’ expansion broadening the market for comic readers. Top-notch comic writers such as Warren Ellis, Brian Michael Bendis, and Grant Morrison have kept the shelves stocked with multiple titles. Their works for ongoing series and limited issues have been at the forefront of sales and awards. The addition of novelists has benefitted the medium as a whole.

 

Greg Rucka, of the famed Atticus Kodiak mystery novels, has worked on several comic book titles. But when Rucka crafted his well-received “Queen and Country” novels into a comics branch he lent an open-window effect to clear the stifled costume hero theme. Rucka’s contribution added the surge of crime drama titles being printed. Stephen King gathered new fans as he worked with Marvel Comics and his adulated “Dark Tower” novels were published for comics. Well-known comics’ writer Peter David penned King’s novels into a comic adaptation. As the writer of internationally extolled Inspector Rebus books, Ian Rankin took the reigns of the UK thaumaturgical detective John Constantine and wrote a graphic novel for the Hellblazer character titled Dark Entries. The release is set for September 2009.

 

This past week, an interview from Marvel with Gregg Hurwitz ceded the author’s genuine regard for his favorite comics. Hurwitz and other novelists have announced in personal blogs or media interviews a previous interest in comic books that had an early influence in their writing. The alliance of comic publishers and writers is still gaining speed. The continuance of such a merger could morph into products unfathomed at this early juncture. During the current trend, what novelists and publishers seem to be receiving is buyers’ popularity.

 

The scheduled release of Hurwitz’s Punisher will is August 2^nd.