When you're adapting a popular series of novels to comics, especially a series that has legions of dedicated fans like P. C. and Kristin Cast's House of Night, choosing a style of art to bring this well-loved world to life is a daunting task. Editor Sierra Hahn and I began compiling lists of every single artist we could think of that might do justice to the Casts' rich world and expansive cast of interesting characters. No single artist seemed to capture every aspect of the House of Night universe we wanted to provide for fans—I mean, this is a series with rich history and mythology as well as mysticism, magic, and high-school drama. When we couldn't find a single talent that best exemplified each aspect of House of Night, we—thankfully—thought, "Well, why not hire a series of artists?!" It turned out to be just the spark needed to fill out a roster for the series and, we believe, best bring the Casts' world to life. We hope you agree.
Here's a bit of insight into why we chose each artist whose work you'll find within the pages of House of Night: Legacy—on sale in bookstores this week! (Click Images to Embiggen)
Joëlle Jones: A supremely talented artist, Jones is best known for her attractive and emotive characters from books like Spell Checkers and Troublemaker. While reading the House of Night novels for research, Sierra and I often talked about how our favorite parts involved the core cast goofing around, gossiping, and just generally acting like charming, engaging young people. Jones seemed like an artist who could really bring these characters to life. Add her knack for gorgeous scenery to the mix and she was an obvious choice for the main artist of this series.
Karl Kerschl: Sierra and I knew that scripter Kent Dalian would be weaving a historical tale into each chapter of House of Night: Legacy, and we wanted to select a series of artists who could bring each story uniquely to life while also showcasing a very different style of art compared to Jones's modern-day sequences with Zoey and her buddies. Kerschl's webcomic The Abominable Charles Christopher (http://www.abominable.cc/) is packed full of awesome animal illustration, making him our first choice for bringing Freya's Norsk skogkatts to life. Oh, right—Kerschl is adept at drawing badass Viking warriors and beautiful women, as well.
Joshua Covey: Finding an artist to illustrate the most emotionally difficult historical sequence in Legacy was a delicate matter. We needed an artist that could give us a fearless and vicious warrior in Boudicca and yet also showcase a range of emotion and expression as Boudicca and her daughters, Mirain and Una, dealt with trauma and tragedy few of us can even imagine. Covey won us over with his ability to illustrate beautiful, strong, and dynamic women who "acted" well on the comics page. He blew us away with his ability to deliver some amazing character work in his art in such a delicate story.
Daniel Krall: I took a number of Greek mythology and ancient literature courses in college, so the tale of Circe and Odysseus was one I was particularly excited to see on the comics page. Krall has an awesome series of epic illustrations called Collapsible Mythology (http://www.danielkrall.com/post/6464383504/collapsible-mythology-pt-4), which caught my eye prior to working on HoN. Somewhere along the line, the two wires crossed and, though his style was vastly different from any we'd featured in the book, I was sure Krall could provide an amazing take on this classic tale through the lens of the House of Night universe. Sierra agreed, Krall signed on, and then the gorgeous, outlandish art started to roll in. Definitely a change of pace, the Circe and Odysseus tale is such a classic and one full of monsters and magic. Krall's distinct art made for a very memorable take on this sequence!
Jonathan Case: The House of Night retelling of the romance between Cleopatra and Mark Antony is a flashback that closely resembles the true history between these two characters known for their real-life romance. We needed an artist who could tell an epic love story in a short number of pages and hit every little acting beat along the way. Jonathan Case, who's recently received a number of accolades for his whimsical Dear Creature and stark and evocative work on Green River Killer, seemed like a natural choice. We needed romance and the horrors of war, and Jonathan's classic style worked to a tee—I doubt you'll disagree after seeing the final image from his story. Gorgeous!
Eric Canete: The final historical flashback from the Fledgling Handbook was definitely the most action-packed, but what else would you expect from a meeting between legendary badass Herakles and the imposing Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons?! Eric Canete is known for his explosive and kinetic style, so he seemed particularly well suited for these combative lovers. Plus, having yet to do a more traditional superhero take on this world full of very powerful vampyres, it only seemed natural to really showcase the other end of the spectrum. As any HoN fan knows, and as many of you are getting ready to learn, this is a very versatile world. Canete was a perfect choice to contrast Jones's art and really show the brutal side of the HoN world.
Of course, in the end, these are just some of the reasons we chose these very talented artists. The main reason was that after P. C. and Kent Dalian—two folks who know more about House of Night than anyone—saw samples of these artists' work, they went gaga for how great it looked and how well it would work in the House of Night universe.
Hopefully, after giving the book a read and perusing the gorgeous interiors, you agree!
Jim Gibbons
Assistant Editor