Another digital to print success story—Alex De Campi and Christine Larsen’s VALENTINE, which made headlines as a digital only comic that was translated into multiple languages. As noted below it was a true digital pioneer, with more than 350,000 downloads.
And now…you can hold it in your hand.
In September, Image Comics will bring the first volume of VALENTINE, Alex de Campi’s acclaimed digital comic, to print as a 352-page trade paperback.
The year is 1812, and Valentine is one of the few soldiers left of Napoleon’s once-mighty army felled by the Russian winter. Given a mysterious package by a dying general with orders to see it safely back to France, Valentine finds himself pursued through the snow by blood-eyed monsters who intent on stopping him.
In an epic tale of war, love, and unexpected journeys, an unlikely hero discovers that fairy tales are true. Humans share the earth with other beings, trapped here while the world is drained of the magic that sustains them. They want only one thing: to return home. And their only way back is through Valentine.
“It’s been an unbelievable amount of fun to write a cliffhangerrific supernatural thriller, with twist upon twist to keep readers on the edge of their seat,” said the Eisner-nominated de Campi (Smoke). “I grew up reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, and suddenly finding myself elbow-deep in the fantasy toybox has been a delight. I’ve really enjoyed grabbing the beloved tropes and expectations of the genre and both respecting them and twisting/subverting them at the same time. If you think this is a historical thriller, for example, you are so, so wrong. The book is a wild ride.”
VALENTINE was originally distributed digitally through comiXology, RobotComics, and Amazon’s Kindle. With more than 350,000 downloads worldwide, the series is a pioneering work in the ever-growing digital comics market.
Of the book’s success in the digital realm, de Campi commented, “In download form, this is a series which — despite being a very shonen-style male fight/action book — has had a huge appeal to women readers and to teens around the world.”
Collecting the first ten chapters of the work, with full-color art by Christine Larsen and Tim Durning, a 42-page exclusive bonus story with art by Cassandra James, and a painted cover by Steven Belledin, VALENTINE, VOL. 1: THE ICE DEATH (JUL120391) will be in stores on September 5 and is available for order now.
Calling to mind the first Valentine series from Chance Wolf and Murphy Anderson, one of the very first Image titles announced but never released.
This looks stellar though.
It is quite good, spinning off in unexpected directions. Sadly it is also incomplete as De Campi ran out of cash to pay the artist. Ah, cruel economy! Fingers crossed that this collection can start that wheel turning again.
Hi Jeremy — we’re hoping that this trade collection plus a forthcoming Kickstarter will be enough for us to make the rest of the series! So if you’d like to see Valentine continue, please consider buying this trade.