"Cross was originally conceived of as a series of mass-market paperbacks," said Vachss, who co-authored the novels with James Colbert. "But none of the deals we were offered was acceptable to us. So we went a different route."
Vachss showed the novels to Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson, who proposed adapting the stories to the comic-book format. "Normally a property originates as a book, is translated to film, and then it becomes a comic," continued Vachss. "Dark Horse has reversed the stream, and this is not the first time they have done so. Dark Horse continues to break new ground, and writers and artists published by Dark Horse continue to benefit from the company's ingenuity." Vachss' short story collection, Born Bad, in its eighth printing after fewer than two years, features prose originally written for adaptation in Dark Horse's Hard Looks comic-book series.
"This illustrates the power of comics as a storytelling medium," said Richardson. "The visual aspect of comics enables Hollywood to `see' how a film could be sequenced -- the development and storyboarding is already done. And now, with a movie attached, you can bet Andrew and Jim will get the book-publishing deal they sought in the first place -- a deal the material well deserves."
The deal for Cross was brokered by New Line chief exec Mike De Luca and director of development Brian Witten. The film will be produced by Lloyd Segan, and the first script was written by Vachss and Colbert.
Andrew Vachss is an attorney and author whose work in both fields focuses on the protection of children. He has thirteen books in print, including Another Chance to Get it Right and Predator: Race War -- which features the first published appearance of Cross -- through Dark Horse and such best-selling novels as Flood and Footsteps of the Hawk. His fourteenth book, False Allegations, is due out this fall.
James Colbert has published five books, including All I Have is Blue and the nonfiction God Bless the Child. He teaches composition at the University of Arkansas.