Dark Horse Books and T-Pub are releasing the first graphic novel published sa a result of their new partnership, The Many Deaths of Barnaby James. Brian Nathanson and Neil Gibson (Twisted Dark) bring us a gothic fantasy illustrated by Piotr Kowalski (Where Monsters Lie, All Eight Eyes), colored by Brad Simpson (All Eight Eyes), and lettered and designed by Saida Temofonte. Enter the world of The Black Top, where performers have been resurrected from the dead. “The Many Deaths of Barnaby James is a thrilling tale of love and innocence lost that answers the question: What are the fairy tales that monsters tell each other on sleepless nights? It’s exactly the type of soulful and subversive storytelling that I grew up loving in horror comic books,” stated Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Entertainment.
Phillip Kobylanski, President of Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment (The Walking Dead, The Youtube Effect), shepherded the development of the novel with T-Pub. Valhalla has also partnered with Dark Horse on an adaptation of the novel that will bring the story to the screen. We’re getting just a hint of Something Wicked This Way Comes vibes from that stellar cover art. Let’s take a look at the official synopsis.
Every year, the circus comes to town. However, “The Black Top” isn’t like any circus you’ve seen before—its performers were once dead. They’ve been resurrected by their fearsome ringmaster, Azlon, who commands that they do his every bidding. Among them, Barnaby James, a young gravedigger, requests that Azlon resurrect the love of his (former) life, Delilah. Time and time again, his pleas are rejected. Frustrated, Barnaby decides to steal Azlon’s magic wand and bring back Delilah himself. On his desperate journey to find her, Barnaby must overcome murderers, cannibals and sex slavers — not to mention the full fury of Azlon — or he might just find himself dead… again.
The Many Deaths of Barnaby James TPB (136 pages, 6.625 x 10.1875”) arrives in bookstores December 12 and comic shops December 13. It is now available to pre-order for $24.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop and indie bookstore.
