Results tagged “the talisman”

The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1 is now on sale with two exciting covers to chose from. Cover A is by Massimo Carnevale and the ultra rare Cover B is by Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik. Both are available in comic book stores today!

If you happen to pick up a copy we would love to know what you think of it. Please email your thoughts or questions to delreycomics@randomhouse.com. We just might include your letter in a future issue.

Find a comic book retailer near you here.

Welcome to the Territories! Hope you enjoy the visit.

Newsarama posted the variant cover to The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1!

Here is the press release:

Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today Mike Krahulik, artist and half of the creative duo behind the hit gaming and geek culture-based webcomic Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com) as the variant cover artist for Issue 1 of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman, on sale in November.

“Penny Arcade is the online phenomenon which debuted in 1998 whose global readership generate over 50 million pageviews a month. Mike Krahulik is also known as Gabe, his online persona in the Penny Arcade comics. Krahulik has lent his distinctive art style to promotional comics for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia, Fallout 3, and other video games, as well as advertisements for the Entertainment Software Association.

“The epic saga of The Talisman debuts with Issue 0, a never-before-told prequel to the story, to be published by Del Rey Comics in October. The Talisman novel, originally published in 1984, is the story of a teen boy named Jack Sawyer, who can save his dying mother only by retrieving a magical talisman. To find it he must cross back and forth between our world and the frightening and dangerous landscape of its “twinner” counterpart. Issue 0 explores the separate lives of Jack’s father—in our world, and in the mysterious realm known as the Territories—and how evil scheming will forever change Jack’s peaceful life.

“The series is being adapted by Robin Furth and illustrated by Tony Shasteen, with regular cover art by Massimo Carnevale and coloring by Nei Ruffino. The Talisman Issue 0 will be available in comic book stores everywhere on October 21, 2009, and The Talisman Issue 1 will hit comics stands on November 18, 2009.

M-O-O-N! That spells badass adaptation!

It has been a number of years since I read The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I first read it when I was fourteen or fifteen and fell in love with the entire story—the premise, its style of writing, its characters and its magic. Semi-considered a part of the Dark Tower saga, The Talisman is one of those foundational pieces to my reading life.

It wasn’t until Black House published in 2001 that I read it for the second time. With adult eyes. And, happily, it held up to wiser eyes.

So when I found out Del Rey Books had snagged the rights to adapt the book into a comic book series, I was ecstatic. I’ve worked with Del Rey on various projects for years and the people there are dedicated to seeing all projects done correctly and with passion. When I learned editor-in-chief Betsy Mitchell would be overseeing the project, I knew it would be in good hands. When I learned that Robin Furth would be involved as adapting writer—Stephen King’s former research assistant and plotter of the Dark Tower comic book series—I grew more excited as she could be utterly trusted with the material. And when I saw the artwork for Tony Shasteen and Nei Ruffino, I could not wait to see the first issue.

Well, now I have! And I am happy to report I enjoyed it immensely.

Here is the cover to The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1. The Talisman is the comic book adaptation of the bestselling Stephen King and Peter Straub novel.

The cover was painted by the incredibly talented and fan favorite Massimo Carnevale (Y: The Last Man and Northlanders).

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Issue #0 will be published in October, with #1 following in November!

Forthcoming: My review of Issue #0.

As readers of Suvudu know, we are proud to launch Del Rey Comics with the adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s THE TALISMAN. The comic will be adapted from the novel by Robin Furth with pencils and inks by Tony Shasteen, colors by Nei Ruffino, and cover paintings by Massimo Carnevale.

We’re so excited about this book that we have created a special black and white preview edition of issue 0 that we will give away for FREE at San Diego Comic Con. Come by the Del Rey booth, #1129, and ask for your copy.

Not going to comic con? The full color issue 0 will be available in comic shops around the country on October, 21 for $1.00. Find your local comic book shop at comicshoplocator.com.

We also want to know what you think of it. Please email us at delreycomics@randomhouse.com

Robin Furth is one of the more interesting people I have met.

I mean, how could she not be having once been Stephen King’s personal assistant!

I bet she has stories galore!

Being an expert on all things King-related, Robin has been tapped to fulfill some of King’s creative endeavors. She has plotted four Dark Tower comic book series, bridging the time period between Wizard & Glass with The Gunslinger. She has also been hired by Del Rey Books to write the comic book adaptation to the Stephen King and Peter Straub novel The Talisman, which I am really excited about since that is one of my favorite books!

I sent Robin a short interview a few weeks ago, just to get her initial thoughts on the new project and how it was going.

M-O-O-N! That spells interview!

Suvudu: Where are you at in The Talisman project?

Robin Furth: So far I’ve written a prequel, which we call Issue 0, a detailed overview of Talisman Graphic Novel Volume I (that’s issues 1-6 of the comics, and Parts I and II of the novel), as well as the panel by panel breakdown and the script for the first issue. I’m working on the script for the second issue now. I’m really enjoying this adaptation, though I must say I bite my fingernails every time I hand in a script. In some ways Issue 0 was the scariest. As you can imagine, it isn’t every day you’re asked to write the backstory for a novel that you love! And to make the whole thing even scarier, I wrote the script and then—after the editors had gone over it and given their very helpful feedback—it was sent directly to Steve King and Peter Straub to get their approval. They gave it the thumbs up, and I think I nearly passed out with relief. I won’t tell you what happens in Issue 0, except that it takes place while Jack’s dad is still alive. Since in the actual novel Phil Sawyer’s memory is a big influence on Jack, I thought it was really important for new readers to learn a little bit more about him. It was also a great way to bring in all the flashbacks that we’re told about in the book but which we would have a very difficult time fitting into the comic books.

My overview for the first six issues took a LONG time. I think I had the editors a little scared! I can work quickly when I have to (and in comics, your back is often up against the wall since deadlines are all-important) but sometimes I really feel that to do the story justice I have to take my time and think things through. Since in comics the old adage show, don’t tell really holds true, I had to spend a lot of time deciding which scenes were crucial, and then how I could get additional information into those scenes, so that readers of the comics would get the ambiance of the original novel. Then, as the editor Betsy Mitchell can attest, after the dialogue was written, we had to go back through and chop half of it away, since I had the characters talking so much that the letterer would have had a heart attack!

S: What have you liked so far about adapting Steve’s and Peter’s book?

I cannot believe we are already in June! It seems just yesterday when I was at the February NY Comic Con and had the chance to meet, interview and hang out with Stephen King comic book writer Robin Furth and The Talisman artist Tony Shasteen!

Remember the NYCC Suvudu videos?

- Robin Furth
- Tony Shasteen

Well, since February, Robin and Tony have been hard at work on The Talisman, the comic book adaptation to the long-time bestselling novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub!

The Talisman #0 will launch the series on October 21, 2009, but those who are attending the San Diego Comic Con will get the true first look at the comic book series, where Del Rey Books will be giving away FREE black and white copies of Issue #0!

We also now know who will be supplying the comic book adaptation cover artwork and who will be supplying the interior coloring! Thanks to the Official June 16th Press Release, we know Massimo Carnevale (Y: The Last Man) will be supplying the cover artwork! He is an extremely talented artist and makes an excellent and award-winning addition to the creative team. And coloring the black and white artwork supplied by Tony Shasteen will be Nei Ruffino, who is currently working on Supergirl and Green Lantern for DC Comics!

The exclusive Comic Con The Talisman #0 can be found at the Del Rey booth (#1129) this July 22-26! To get it, you will have to attend the convention!

Or know someone who is going!

More to come soon!

M-O-O-N! That spells adaptation!

As reported HERE in February, Del Rey Books will be adapting The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub into a monthly comic book series, to start releasing at the end of the year!

And since it was announced the project has been moving forward!

The Talisman is definitely one of those foundational books that make up who I am as a whole. I first read it after I had read the first two Dark Tower books and the connection between them could not be ignored. And like the Dark Tower series The Talisman is filled with great characters—both good, evil and in between—and the settings are wondrous. The kid who still lives within me and who yearns to visit the Territories is excited to see the tale of Jack Sawyer come to life!

Tony Shasteen, the artist Del Rey tapped for the project, produced character sketches before the first page of the comic book was produced, each one of them sanctioned by King and Straub. In February we showed you Morgan Sloat and Speedy Parker.

Well, Tony, Del Rey, and StephenKing.com have released the next three!

Visit HERE to view the character sketches for Lily Cavanaugh, Jack Sawyer and Phil Sawyer!

A lot more will be coming in the next few months concerning the adaptation of The Talisman, so stay tuned!

M-O-O-N!

I am at NY Comic Con. Where cool things happen.

The convention is busy, as a con of this size usually is, and it is only Friday. Saturday the real rush will come and with it most of the celebrities, authors, panels, interviews and buying masses (hopefully)—but I think my my entire weekend has already been made complete.

Because today I spoke for half an hour with Stephen King comic book plotter/writer Robin Furth and comic book artist Tony Shasteen!

And that means good news for Stephen King fans!

Who are they, you may ask?

Robin Furth is the plotter of the Dark Tower comic book series published by Marvel. She was Stephen King’s research assistant from 2000-2004 as he finished up the final three volumes in the Dark Tower saga and it was her efforts that helped King keep all the details of that opus straight.

Tony Shasteen is a comic book artist They are the creative team responsible for the comic book adaptation of The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.

And that is cool!