[The Originals]

Next year finds acclaimed artist Dave Gibbons not only in front of his drawing table, but also in front of his word processor. Gibbons is hard at work on an original, 160-page hardcover graphic novel that he'll write and illustrate for DC/Vertigo called "The Originals" which will see print in 2003. This is his first major project as both writer and artist.

"I've been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the best creators in comics, from Alan Moore and Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, José Luis García-Lopéz and Steve Rude. It's hard to turn away from projects with the likes of them to concentrate on collaborating with, well, myself!" said Gibbons in a release.

"If I was going to spend a year or more on a single project, it was going to have to be something I had a real emotional investment in, something that related to the real world I've lived in," continued Gibbons. "Not a science fiction story, although 'The Originals' is not set in mundane reality. Not a tedious real-life autobiography or a thinly disguised philosophical treatise, but a piece that communicated aspects of life that had been overpoweringly important to me when I was growing up."

According to DC, "The Originals" features a culture that's as convincing as our own, but a very surreal version of it. DC says to expect the same attention to detail to be found in "The Originals" as can be found in the rest of Gibbons' work.

"Just as Dave did with 'Watchmen,' he is creating a distinctive world and art style for 'The Originals,'" said Vertigo VP - Executive Editor Karen Berger in a release. "Dave has already proven himself a writer to be reckoned with, and he's overdue to create a body of work all his own. 'The Originals' marks the beginning of that body of work."

"I wanted to come up with a visual style and presentation that are unique to 'The Originals' and I think I've succeeded," added Gibbons. "Actually, I'm having such a great time working on this that I really don't know why I waited so long!"