Artist extraordinaire and former Comics Laureate Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead) teams up with award-
winning crime novelist Robbie Morrison (Edge of the Grave) for the forthcoming graphic novel titled, Heretic. This standalone black-and-white story can perhaps best be described as Sherlock Holmes meets The Name of the Rose and is set to hit shelves this October from Image Comics.
Belgium, 1529: The city of Antwerp is ravaged by a macabre series of killings. Forced to investigate by the all-powerful Inquisition, knight, doctor, lawyer and reputed Occultist Cornelius Agrippa and his young pupil Johan Weyer are plunged into a maelstrom of murder, madness and magic.
Agrippa was a contradictory and controversial 16th century Renaissance polymath, a soldier and a scholar whose books of occult philosophy were widely influential and added impetus to the study of magic. The first man to successfully defend a woman accused of witchcraft, he was condemned as heretical by the Inquisition, and also features as an influence on Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s classic novel. Heretic weaves this real-life character into a tapestry of thriller intrigue to create a pulse-pounding historical fiction story perfect for fans of Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian and The Alienist.
“It’s great to be working with my old writing friend Robbie again—like slipping into a warm bath of pure creativity! Surely that’s recommendation enough to read our wonderful book…” said Adlard.
Morrison added: “Heretic is a story I’ve wanted to tell for many years and Charlie is the perfect collaborator for this tale of murder, magic and madness. His art oozes atmosphere, beautifully conjuring up the Renaissance world, the larger-than-life Holmesian character of Cornelius Agrippa, the horrors of the Inquisition and a creeping sense of supernatural dread.”
“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Charlie in one way or another for over 25 years now, and it’s been incredible to see how he’s developed into one of comics’ most incredible visual storytellers,” said Eric Stephenson, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer at Image Comics. “His collaboration with Robbie on Heretic is a true feast for the eyes, and one of the most unique books we’ve published yet.”
Heretic (ISBN: 9781534340466) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, October 16 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo
Heretic will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
