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    —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
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    —Jackie Cantor, Diana's first editor

THE EXILE – graphic novel is DONE!



Great news! The artwork for the graphic novel is done (bar little tweaks here and there) and it looks terrific! We don’t have a specific pub date for this yet—sometime in 2010—but we do at least have a title. This is called THE EXILE (An OUTLANDER graphic novel).

I took some of the artwork with me to DragonCon last weekend (I did the Decatur Book Festival and DragonCon more or less simultaneously, which made for an interesting time all round), and was very pleased that everyone who saw it raved about it.

In celebration, here are two more sample pages, to show off Hoang’s mastery of color and light (and anatomy). One small note: Please don’t nab these pictures and go posting them all over the net. I don’t own the copyright; that belongs to the artist, Hoang Nguyen, and these are posted here by his kind permission and that of the Ballantine editor. If you’d like to share these with your friends—and I’m all for it [g]—please just send them a link to this page.

88 Responses »

  1. Dear Midge (et al)–

    No, feel free to say anything you like; I'm interested to hear what y'all think. The brown eyes are one of those things that gets tweaked in the later phases. [g] (Meaning I did notice them, and will be including it in the detailed commentary on the artwork that I'm working on this week. If you notice anything else, of course do point it out–I _probably_ saw it, but I imagine it's like typos; no matter how many people look at a page, some tiny thing sneaks by.)

  2. Dear Rashi–

    Well, as you might guess from the name [g], Hoang is Vietnamese-American. The characters' faces flex from page to page, and in a few of them, they do look faintly Asiatic. As I said, there'll be a few tweaks to the artwork prior to publication–just as there's a revision phase to a completed manuscript.

    Even so, the first reaching of The End is an achievement to be celebrated!

  3. These are great. You certainly picked a good artist. You are right about how he handles light – it's amazing, especially the water pics. I see what you mean about requiring a little more tweaking on the faces, but this really is great – I am very much looking forward to getting a copy! AND getting a copy of Echo in TEN DAYS! :) I have a few more Outlanders to give away in that time – I had better get crackin'! (I am one of your big box o' books distributors!)

  4. Just incredible. Some of the best graphic novel art I have seen – and I look at a lot since I am (sort of) working in that media myself. Well, it is sort of a hobby. The characters are lovely.

  5. Love the artwork of Jamie! I do miss his chest hair and it looks like his eyes are brown. Otherwise it is great.

  6. ooooooooooooooooh i LOVE them, thank you thank you for sharing them :)

  7. Looks amazing, cannot wait!!!

  8. Are those Jamie's mother's fresh water pearls?

  9. Really beautiful artwork, I can't wait to see the finished project!:) Other than his eyes, I think Jamie looks fabulous. I picture Claire with rounder and softer facial features and a slimmer face shape, but that's just me! It still looks wonderful.

  10. I love his way with colors. Boy, does Jamie have abs or what? *g* Reminds me of that photo of Ryan Reynolds on EW a few months back.
    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHGRRxGGGdE/SjqhEWjGyGI/AAAAAAAAAA0/0P5LeUFx3tU/s320/Ryan+Reynolds+Entertainment+Weekly.jpg

  11. I love his way with colors. Boy, does Jamie have abs or what? *g* Reminds me of that photo of Ryan Reynolds on EW a few months back.
    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHGRRxGGGdE/SjqhEWjGyGI/AAAAAAAAAA0/0P5LeUFx3tU/s320/Ryan+Reynolds+Entertainment+Weekly.jpg

  12. These are great. I can't wait to see the entire thing.
    I have been looking for the Novel Red Ant's Head and haven't had any luck at the book store or the library. Where can I find this Novel? Thank you.

  13. Dear Janessa–

    Well, once I finish _writing_ it, it should be fairly widely available. [g] With luck, I hope to finish it sometime next year, meaning it might be out in 2011.

  14. Dear Diana,

    It has been great to watch the development of this project. The colors and textures are far away from the comic books, and there are also much small nuances, which will take its time to be perceived.

    Some small notions:
    Hawkins was young and beefy faced (not at all relevant, but < g > ) and Murtaugh's nose looks to change quite a bit.

  15. I am drooling right now. I cannot wait for this graphic novel! I am itching to pre-order on Amazon :)

  16. Absolutely amazing. Just one small comment…in the Jamie scene, shouldn't he have some chest hair? He doesn't seem to have any body hair at all.

  17. Can't wait to put my hands on the graphic novel!
    Jamie…*sigh*.

  18. Is it possible to get some chest hair? That and the blue eyes and he will be perfect! Can't wait until it comes out.

  19. Yay!!! I can't wait until it's published!!!!! This will be the first graphic novel I've ever read, and I can't wait!

  20. Really Excited about putting faces to my favorite characters ..only a tad bit disappointed in the way Claire is potrayed….she looks much older.The first artwork with her in the nurse uniform was so much better!

    Looking forward to final tweaks!

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