Recently, I sold my second novel, Pariah, to Tor. I am thrilled (and relieved) beyond belief. It's a story that I've yearned to get out there for many, many years. I first conceived of it as a graphic novel (before my ambitions led me to write the regular kind), back in the mid-'90s. Fortunately (though I didn't feel that way at the time), it didn't come to pass in that format. I finally wrote it as a novel and the end result is much better.
The interesting thing is that part of my deal with Tor is to provide the book with some original interior art (I might do the cover, too, but that is pending). My approach is not to do illustrations of any scenes or characters in the book. I prefer to let the readers picture that for themselves. Instead, one of the characters is an artist and he does studies of the undead to pass the time (no more TV or Internet, so one must pass the time doing something). The conceit of the accompanying art will be that these are his drawings. I don't want any of the art to be typical EC-tinged stuff. The approach is to do sensitive, objective drawings. The zombies didn't ask to be this way. They're not evil.
To whet your appetites, here is one of the drawings. I might post some of the rejects here as the months go on, but here's a sample:
Pariah is due out July 2010.
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7 comments:
Congrats, duder. That's awesome. Nice drawing too. It seems to be in a somewhat more realistic style, which is interesting. Enjoyed the most recent Inkstuds interview as well. Those fellows can be painfully awkward, though endearing.
Love that zombie, Bob! You really caught the horrible pathos of the thing. Beautiful work.
--Walter
It's a challenge. Zombies always get portrayed as snarling, bloodthirsty beasts. I just think of them as misbegotten.
I agree - not that I always mind the snarling zombies, but I've always preferred the lost, aimless, shambling zombies, whether flesh-eating or old school voodoo created. There's a sad, lost quality to them, as though they'll be eternally searching for something they'll never find.
That's funny.....moi 'tis Tor and am a pariah who digs really rapid zombies - ZOOMBIES.
Love the illustration--it really has a classic "book illustration" feel as opposed to a comics feel, if you know what I mean.
Thanks, Robert. I actually drew these "in character," at the work on of of the characters, so my approach was different than my usual.
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