NEIL GAIMAN TEAMS UP WITH MARC BERNARDIN AND SHAWN MARTINBROUGH TO ADAPT “ANANSI BOYS” INTO COMICS

“The story of American Gods is approaching 20 years since it was first brought to the world, and this comic demonstrates that it can still capture the attention of audiences to this day.”—Comic Crusaders

Neil Gaiman’s Locus- and British Fantasy Award-winning novel, Anansi Boys, will soon be presented in a new comic adaptation from Dark Horse Comics. Adapted by Eisner-nominated writer Marc Bernardin (Adora and the Distance, Star Wars: Mace Windu, Census), the series will also feature art by Shawn Martinbrough (Thief of Thieves, Luke Cage, Hellboy), colors by Chris Sotomayor, and letters by Jim Campbell. The first issue will have a main cover illustrated by David Mack and two variants by Martinbrough and Denys Cowan, respectively.

“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,” says Bernardin. “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,” added Martinbrough. “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 (of 8) arrives in comic shops on June 26, 2024. It is now available to pre-order at your local comic shop for $3.99.

About Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author and creator of books, graphic novels, short stories, film and television for all ages, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and The View from the Cheap Seats. His fiction has received many awards and honours, including the Newbery and Carnegie Medals, and the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. Gaiman was the writer and showrunner for the mini-series adaptation of Good Omens, based on the book he co-authored with Sir Terry Pratchett, and for which he won the Hugo Award and Ray Bradbury Award for Screenwriting. His novel American Gods has been adapted to a critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated TV series, and the Netflix adaptation of his comic series The Sandman was released to popular and critical acclaim. In 2017, he became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

About Marc Bernardin

Marc Bernardin is a WGA Award-winning television writer-producer who has worked on Star Trek: Picard, Batman: Caped Crusader, The Continental, Carnival Row, Treadstone, Castle Rock, Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina, Masters of the Universe: Revelations, and Alphas. In 2023, he made his directorial debut with the award-winning short film, Splinter. In comics, he’s an Eisner-nominated writer of Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali, Adora and the Distance, Census, Peter Parker: The Amazing Shutterbug, and Genius. In an earlier life, he was a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Playboy, and Entertainment Weekly. He also cohosts the Fatman Beyond pop-culture podcast with Kevin Smith.

About Shawn Martinbrough

Shawn Martinbrough is the author of “How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling” by Penguin Random House and an Eisner Award nominated artist whose comic book projects include; “Batman: Detective Comics”, “Luke Cage Noir”, “The Black Panther: Man Without Fear” and “Hellboy”. Shawn illustrated “Thief of Thieves”, the graphic novel series co-created with Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead”, “INVINCIBLE”) and the Eisner nominated “Prométhée 13:13”, published by Éditions Delcourt-Soleil and ABLAZE. He is a co-author of “Judge Kim and the Kids’ Court” by Simon & Schuster and the artist of “Like Lava in My Veins”, the 2024 NAACP Image Award nominated, best-selling kid’s book written by Derrick D. Barnes and published by Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Kids. Shawn is a Vanity Fair contributor, the writer of “Red Hood: The Hill” for DC Comics and currently writing and illustrating “The HEAVY”, an original graphic novel for Megascope/ Abrams Books.

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!