BOOM! Studios announced their acquisition of a graphic novel publishing license for Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. The book series and successful SYFY television show is coming to comic books, starting with Alice.
The Magicians introduces readers to Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy; think of Hogwarts if populated by college age kids who were drinking and swearing. In this magical world, real danger is everywhere. The first release of the partnership will be The Magicians: Alice’s Story. The handcover graphic novel will be written by Lilah Sturges and drawn by Pius Bak. It will premiere in July 2019.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Alice is manifestly brilliant, and she’s always known that magic is real. During her years at Brakebills Alice rises to the top of her class, falls in love with Quentin Coldwater, and witnesses a horrifically powerful magical creature called the Beast invade their dimension. Soon after graduation, Alice and Quentin set their sights on the idyllic setting from their favorite children’s books, Fillory. In Fillory, magic flows like a river but even with talking animals, enchanted items, and the chance to become king and queen of a magical land in the offing, nothing is what it seems and something far darker lies in wait behind the spellbinding facade. Now fans will learn untold secrets of Alice’s journey, the world of THE MAGICIANS, and will find answers to some of their biggest questions.
“Usually when your work is being adapted, you just hope you’ll end up with something reasonably faithful to your vision,” said novelist Lev Grossman. “You never expect to have that vision turned around and expanded to reveal incredible new things you never even knew were there. But that’s what happened with ALICE’S STORY.”
For fans of the TV show, this is awesome news. Both the writer and artist are definitely fans:
“Working on THE MAGICIANS has been a complete joy for me from beginning to end,” said writer Lilah Sturges. “The original novel is so good. It’s just so good. Like, have you read this thing? And it really speaks to me, being as it is the emotional biography of basically every sensitive gifted-and-talented kid. The best part for me was getting to adapt it in a way that presents the events of the novel in an entirely new context, by focusing on Alice rather than Quentin. It’s a change that, perhaps not coincidentally, makes it one of the most effortless jobs I’ve ever had; in real life I’m only a hair’s breadth away from Alice personality-wise, for better or worse.”
“What I enjoy most about drawing is that it allows me to create things that are not real by building worlds and exploring them in my art. So I feel very lucky to get to be working onTHE MAGICIANS, because drawing Fillory and the magical world surrounding it is so much fun!” said artist Pius Bak. “The original novel is incredible and Lilah’s adaptation of it . . . is just perfect. This feels like the best work of my career and I can’t wait for fans to see the final graphic novel in 2019.”
