Press Release
In a brand-new limited series that will serve as a prequel to his New York Times bestselling novel, NOS4A2, Joe Hill will be taking readers on a dark plunge into the dizzying world of Christmasland. The first comic that Hill has written since the stunning conclusion of his award-winning masterpiece Locke & Key, Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland is equal parts mystery and horror.
According to Hill, “The world of NOS4A2 is very, very big, and I only had a chance to explore a part of it in the course of the novel. I told the story I wanted to tell, but I also feel there’s a lot more to discover. In NOS4A2, we learn about Charles Talent Manx the iii, who has kept himself alive for over a century by draining an essential life force out of children, warping them into giddy monsters. When he’s done with them—when Charlie has what he wants—he takes them to Christmasland, where they live forever and ever in an eternal Christmas Day. They live for fun and are good at having it, whether they’re playing a game of tag… or a bloody game of scissors for the drifter. In Wraith, we’re going back to Christmasland at an earlier time, to find out what happens when some unlucky grown-ups find themselves on Gumdrop Lane, and Charlie’s children decide to have some fun with them. It’s very much a standalone story, and it’s my intention to craft something that can be loved by people who have never cracked the cover of NOS4A2, while hopefully giving those who liked the book a new Charlie Manx tale to enjoy.”
In Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland, Hill is joined by illustrator Charles Paul Wilson III (Stuff of Legend), who provides interior art and creepy Christmasland-themed covers, as well as by his Locke & Key partner Gabriel Rodriguez, who is providing covers for each issue. Issue 1 (re)introduces the reader to Charlie Manx, his world, and his car, a vintage 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith that runs on human souls instead of gasoline. When a luckless child falls into Charlie’s grasp, her new best friend soothes her with a story: his story. From there, the series introduces a new cast of characters to Christmasland, and fully delves into its wonderfully devilish delights, as the sound of sleigh-bells ring in the background…
“NOS4A2 was Joe Hill’s most accomplished novel to date, and its memorable villain Charlie Manx deserves the additional focus this series will bring,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer. “Joe and CP Wilson III have some nightmarishly clever things planned for this series, from an advent calendar-style cover to some bloody good fun on the interiors as well. The readers are really gonna get taken for a ride in this one.”
Joe Hill has made a name for himself as both a successful novelist and comic book author. Frequently publishing short stories and appearing in anthologies, Hill has rapidly become a literary force. His first novel Heart-Shaped Box won the Bram Stoker award for “Best First Novel.” His critically acclaimed comic series from IDW, Locke & Key, was recently optioned for a film by Universal Pictures, and won Hill an Eisner award for “Best Writer.”
About IDW
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE and MY LITTLE PONY; Paramount’s Star Trek; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; 2000AD’s Judge Dredd; The Rocketeer; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; HBO’s True Blood; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.
IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Warner Brothers and Barry Sonnenfeld are attached to adapt LORE into a feature film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, with Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.
