First Second Plans Prince of Persia Graphic Novels and More

This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on May 16, 2006 Sign up now!

by Calvin Reid, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 5/16/2006

Continuing to up the ante for comics at New York trade book houses, First Second editorial director Mark Siegel has reached an agreement with Jordan Mechner, creator of the enormously popular videogame Prince of Persia, to create a series of graphic novels based on the game. The first book of the three-volume series is slated tentatively to be published in 2008.

But that's not all. First Second has also announced another series of impressive acquisitions. Siegel has acquired two books by Italian cartoonist Gipi—including Notes for a War Story, named best book at this year's Angoulême Festival—as well as Lewis Trondheim's much praised children's book Tiny Tyrant. In the fall of 2007 First Second will also publish a graphic novel adaptation of acclaimed Native American author Joseph Bruchac's novel Dawn Land, written and drawn by noted illustrator Will Davis.

And as if he weren't busy enough, Siegel, a comics artist himself, has done the drawings for To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel written by his wife, Siena Cherson Siegel, which will be published by S&S Children's this October. The book is actually a memoir, presenting Siena, a former dancer, as a young girl with a passion for dance who grows up to perform under George Balanchine at the New York City Ballet.

The agreement to publish graphic novels based on Mechner's megaselling Prince of Persia videogame has the potential to be a commercial blockbuster for First Second. Not only has the house acquired a videogame property that has sold millions of copies, but there's a film based on the game— Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Mechner and Jeffrey Nachmanoff—currently in production and tentatively scheduled to be released next year.

Siegel is determined that the series will also be an artistic blockbuster. He says Mechner, considered a visionary game developer, will be working closely with the creative team Siegel has assembled to create the book series. The series will be written by Carla Jablonski, a noted author of TV-tie-in books and novels for young adults (in addition to being a prize-winning playwright) as well as the author of Books of Magic, a six-book prose series based on the Neil Gaiman comics. The artist, LeUyen Pham, chosen from among seven artists who auditioned, is a noted children's book illustrator as well as an author of children's books herself and has worked on numerous book projects.

There have been about six versions of Prince of Persia (now published by Ubisoft) since it was first released in 1989. Siegel says he played the original versions of the game as a teen, but had been unaware of the current popularity of the Prince of Persia franchise. "I loved the first two games, the 2-D graphics. It had cool effects for the time, and I thought it would make a good graphic novel." He contacted Mechner, who turned out to be a big fan of the kind of comics that Siegel, who grew up in France, knows something about.

"I've been a fan of European graphic novels for a long time," says Mechner. "Mark and First Second are doing something really unique by creating books with that style and level of quality for an American audience."

"We've got good chemistry," says Siegel of Mechner. "I'm not interested in just milking a franchise for sales, and he doesn't want to insult his fan base." Mechner says he's looking to do something different with First Second. "In the U.S., comics based on videogames are usually just vehicles to promote the games. We're taking POP and creating an original graphic novel that is not an adaptation of the videogame nor of the upcoming movie, but a totally new work that lets us go back to the roots of POP and draw inspiration from many sources, including history and myth."

Siegel says that while three Prince of Persia volumes are planned, "there is the potential for more. The material is there. We've already had a couple of brainstorming sessions with the whole team." Siegel did not disclose financial terms, but said both Holtzbrinck CEO John Sargent and Henry Holt president John Sterling, had to sign off on the deal. "It shows the executive support for this project and for comics at First Second," said Siegel.

The acquisition of the Gipi and Trondheim titles continues Siegel's efforts to offer comics from around the world to American readers. In addition to Notes for a War Story, First Second is also publishing Gipi's Garage Band, a character study of disaffected teens. He describes Trondheim's Tiny Tyrant as "his best work for kids, very funny and clever," the story of an all-powerful spoiled brat who rules his own kingdom until things begin to backfire.

"Right now we're defining our publishing program using talent from around the world," says Siegel. "But we will have an American presence on our list as well. It's all in development right now, but they're coming."

« Back | Print