Neil Gaiman‘s award-winning 2005 fantasy novel Anansi Boys is getting a comic book adaptation, courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
Dark Horse‘s Anansi Boys launches late this coming June as an eight-issue limited series. Writer Marc Bernardin adapts Gaiman’s novel, with Shawn Martinbrough providing art. Colorist Chris Sotomayor and letterer Jim Campbell round out the comic’s creative team. The debut issue features a main cover by David Mack, as well as variant covers by Martinbrough and Denys Cowan. Dark Horse’s announcement comes ahead of Prime Video’s live-action series adaptation of Anansi Boys.
Check out the covers for Anansi Boys #1 below:
What is Anansi Boys about?
Anansi Boys originally hit shelves in September 2005 as a follow-up to Gaiman’s 2001 novel American Gods (which itself got a television adaptation at Starz in 2017). An official synopsis for Dark Horse’s comic adaptation reads as follows: “‘Fat’ Charlie Nancy leads a boring life as a boring Londoner until he discovers two things: That his recently deceased father was, in fact, Anansi, the trickster god of African folklore, and that he has a twin brother he’s never met. All of this kicks off a reality-spanning odyssey of sibling rivalry, jealous deities, and one poor soul who’ll realize that being a god is more trouble than it’s worth.”
“To say that I’ve been a fan of Neil’s work for decades would be the understatement of all understatements,” Bernardin said. “So to have the opportunity to help transmute his wonderful Anansi Boys to comics is a gobsmacking honor. I hope readers who love the novel encounter those moments they adore as well as discover some fresh madness to keep them on their toes.”
“Despite having many Neil Gaiman collections on my bookshelf, surprisingly I had never read The Anansi Boys,” Martinbrough added. “When Dark Horse approached me to illustrate this adaptation, I jumped at the chance to tell this funny, fantastical story full of rich and charming characters. Designing the larger than life figures of Papa Nancy and Spider has been a delight, but my favorite by far, was capturing the endearing quirks and idiosyncrasies of Fat Charlie.”
Anansi Boys #1 goes on sale Wednesday, June 26 from Dark Horse Comics.
