EXCLUSIVE: "The Only Living Boy" Comes to Print at Papercutz

CBR

By Albert Ching

Published May 5, 2015

Webcomic veterans David Gallaher and Steve Ellis will bring their collaboration "The Only Living Boy" to print at Papercutz in March 2016.

Writer David Gallaher and artist Steve Ellis are set to bring their webcomic "The Only Living Boy" back to print, and CBR has the exclusive first details. The series will be collected courtesy of all-ages publisher Papercutz, in a series of six paperback and hardcover volumes starting with a 72-page first installment, titled "Prisoners of the Patchwork Plan" and scheduled for release in March 2016.

"There's something exciting about partnering with others who are just as excited about creating tomorrow's readers as we are," Ellis said in a statement to CBR. "Papercutz really understands the bookstore market, and we feel that this can help bring OLB to a whole new range of readers."

"The Only Living Boy" started in 2012 as a successfully funded Kickstarter project, leading to a print publication before moving to the web last year. The fantasy story stars 12-year-old protagonist Erik Farrell, who ends up stranded on a planet populated by unusual characters. "Our story has dragons, an insect princess, a mermaid warrior, dangerous and exotic creatures and a boy who just might be the last human alive," Ellis describes in the official press release.

"The story draws its inspiration, from all the books I read as a kid -- 'Bridge to Terabithia,' 'Where The Wild Things Are,' 'The Black Cauldron,' 'Lord of The Rings,' those sorts of epic stories about adventure and personal discovery," Gallaher added in a statement to CBR.

The current Papercutz roster includes fellow kid-friendly fare, including "The Smurfs," licensed LEGO and Disney comics, "Classics Illustrated" and more. "'The Only Living Boy' is a timeless tale that combines all the best elements of classic adventure fiction with a modern sensibility," Papercutz Editor-in Chief Jim Salicrup said in the press release. "Erik and his predicament are something any kid can identify with. Everyone has felt like 'the different one.'"

Gallaher and Ellis have worked together for years in both print and digital comics, including "High Moon," "Box 13" and Marvel's "Darkstar & The Winter Guard." Most recently, they've collaborated on DC Comics' two-part "Convergence: Green Lantern Corps," scheduled for release on May 20.