Matt Meyer
Dark Horse Books presents The Many Deaths of Barnaby James, the first graphic novel to be published from a new partnership with T-Pub. The gothic fantasy was written by Brian Nathanson and Neil Gibson (Twisted Dark), illustrated by Piotr Kowalski (Where Monsters Lie, All Eight Eyes), colored by Brad Simpson (All Eight Eyes), and lettered and designed by Saida Temofonte.
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 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.
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.
“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.
The Many Deaths of Barnaby James TPB (136 pages, 6.625 x 10.1875”) arrives in bookstores December 12, 2023 and into comic shops December 13, 2023. It is now available to pre-order for $24.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop and indie bookstore.
Praise for Neil Gibson and Piotr Kowalski:
“A refreshing change of pace from rote horror comics, Gibson’s work scores on the strength of its relatable humanity, much of which casts a dour reflection on its audience.”—Publishers Weekly, Twisted Dark
“Piotr Kowalski brings Starks’ script to life with an appropriate level of grit. The monsters are all visually distinctive and the action of the story is well-paced, with even the simple scenes of characters speaking to one another conveying a dark undercurrent of menace.” —Kabooooom, Where Monsters Lie
“Kowalski has a wonderfully unique and visually thrilling art style that drew me in and kept me invested in the world and these characters.”—The Super Powered Fancast, Where Monsters Lie
