The small Georgia-based comics packager the Dabel Brothers has inked a deal with Marvel to release a line of comics adaptations based on bestselling fantasy, SF and horror novels. Through the deal, Marvel becomes the exclusive publisher of Dabel's titles in the line, handling the marketing, printing and distribution end while Dabel will continue to oversee the packaging of the titles.

The Dabel Brothers—there are four of them: Ed, Les, Pascal and David—who launched the company in 2002 initially found success with their comics take on George R.R. Martin's The Hedge Knight. The 2003 release became a surprise hit for the startup; according to Les Dabel, it's sold 25,000 copies in trade paper in less than two years. Despite the success, the brothers had trouble fulfilling large print runs and getting the titles into mainstream bookstores.

The Marvel deal will bring something valuable to both players. For Dabel, Marvel offers marketing and distribution muscle to get its titles to a wider audience on a consistent basis. For Marvel, the Dabels bring cachet. Known for their high-quality comics adaptations of literate SF, the Dabels give Marvel a critically successful line with crossover promise. According to Jim McCann, assistant manager of sales and communication at Marvel, the goal is to have the series attract SF fans to comics titles and comics fans to SF-themed books in their preferred format.

Marvel and Dabel will initially do four titles annually with, according to McCann, the possibility for six down the line. The books will be co-branded with the Marvel and Dabel Brothers logos. Titles Dabel launched on its own will all have their existing issues re-released under the deal. This month Marvel and Dabel will also release their first joint project: an adaptation of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels. The first title in the series, Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter in Guilty Pleasures, adapted by Brett Booth, will, like the others, follow a comics model, with issues being released individually, followed by a trade collection of six titles.