Fallen Heroes

AFTER SELLING out in several branches of Waterstones and enjoying a growing cult status, Barry Nugent's stylish supernatural thriller novel Fallen Heroes is now entering the realm of comic books.

Insomnia Publications has licensed Fallen Heroes for a graphic novel adaptation with a predicted release date of 2010. Nic Wilkinson, Insomnia's creative director was more than happy to share her reasons behind the decision to adapt the novel.

"I didn't so much read the first scene of Fallen Heroes back in 2008, as see it come to life out of the page, so visually arresting is the writing.

"With the sharp, multi-layered plot and slick characters of modern crime writing juxtaposed against the shadowy agencies, ancient magic and bold dynamic characters of pulp adventure Fallen Heroes is going to be a truly striking comic."

When she sat down with Barry to plan out the adaptation Nic already had a clear vision about the project.

"We all agreed that finding the best writer for the job was crucial. Given the book's increasing cult status I had a lot of very good pitches from both known and new writers hoping to get this gig.

"Fallen Heroes will be a very complex adaptation, as those who have read it will know, and there is huge amount of work to be done on the structure and coaxing the characters over to a new medium before the writing even begins."

The person they choose is Martin Conaghan, who is working on a Burke and Hare graphic novel for Insomnia.

"Martin is a very experienced writer and researcher and is making a welcome return to comics after a 10 year absence.

Martin's background as a journalist, his incredibly deep knowledge of comics, their creators and their history, and his ability to deftly re-structure disparate historical sources into gripping stories with vibrant, vital characters all make him the perfect person for the job."

"Fallen Heroes is jam-packed full of fantastic ideas and thrilling set-pieces." Martin said.

"I'm looking forward to finding out where I can take Barry's rich characters when I translate them on to the comic-book page; from the reluctant hero Jason Chen to the ruthless demon stalker Napoleon Stone.

"It has everything; a great blend of mythology, science-fiction, action and the supernatural - all told in a very visual style - it's perfect for the graphic novel format."

So what's next for Fallen Heroes?

"A Fallen Heroes TV show or movie adaptation would be nice," admits Barry. "Hey, a guy can dream right?"

In the meantime, Barry is working on the second book in the Fallen Heroes trilogy.

For more information visit www.unseenshadows.co.uk