Kel McDonald (Misfits of Avalon, Cautionary Fables and Fairytales) and Tyler Crook (Harrow County) will debut a new coming-of-age fantasy comic this Wednesday on ComiXology Originals, and today the publisher has released an advanced preview.
The Stone King #1 is the first of a four-part story about “a rock giant, a flying dog, and a young teenage thief who must learn to take responsibility for her mistakes,” via the press release. That all sounds great, and the preview pages (see below) look forlorn and gorgeous. It’s also a female-led adolescent fantasy story with a flawed protagonist, something writer McDonald talked about the importance of:
“As a kid, I always craved adventure stories about girls and fantastical worlds. I think right now the world needs more adventure stories about girls who’re flawed people. We are seeing more stories centered around girls, but mostly the focus has been on women/girls who are good role models. And it’s important to me to have more adventure fantasy stories where the main character is a girl, but also a flawed individual.”
This marks the latest addition to ComiXology Original’s growing line of comics.
Art and full PR follows:
On November 14, ComiXology, Amazon’s premier digital comics service, debuts issue #1 of the 4-part miniseries, The Stone King, a coming-of-age fantasy adventure written by Kel McDonald (Misfits of Avalon, Cautionary Fables and Fairytales) with gorgeous art by Tyler Crook (Harrow County). The highly anticipated series features a rock giant, a flying dog, and a young teenage thief who must learn to take responsibility for her mistakes.
“As a kid, I always craved adventure stories about girls and fantastical worlds,” said The Stone King writer, Kel McDonald. “I think right now the world needs more adventure stories about girls who’re flawed people. We are seeing more stories centered around girls, but mostly the focus has been on women/girls who are good role models. And it’s important to me to have more adventure fantasy stories where the main character is a girl, but also a flawed individual.”
The Stone King is a fantasy story about Ave, a young woman who is trapped in a life of petty crime. In an attempt to advance the life she desires, the young thief often steals magic moss from the Stone King. One day, she steals a bit more than magical moss and things very quickly go awry. The Stone King goes on a rampage, threatening Stoneport, the fishing and trading city Ave calls home. In order to save the city, Ave must track down the rare gem and return it to its rightful owner to make things right.
“I don’t know if I’m remembering this right, but I think I had a dream about climbing on giants and kept thinking I should come up with a story about them,” said The Stone King artist, Tyler Crook, who is illustrating and watercoloring each issue. “Then Kel and I were talking about how we should do a project together and I said ‘Let’s do something with giants!’ A few weeks later, she showed me the first outline for The Stone King. Our goal is to make a story that will engage the reader emotionally. We want to make sure the book can get into the hands of a kid and they will read it over and over.”
Announced earlier this year at a press conference during Comic-Con International San Diego, The Stone King is part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive digital content. Starting with the first issue debuting November 14, each subsequent monthly issue will be available to members of Prime Reading, Kindle Unlimited, and comiXology Unlimited at no additional cost, and available for sale on comiXology and Kindle for $2.99. The collected edition will be available via Print-on-Demand exclusively on Amazon.com.
The Stone King joins other comiXology Originals including, Superfreaks by Elsa Charretier, Pierrick Colinet and Margaux Saltel, Elephantmen 2261: Death of Shorty by Richard Starkings, Axel Medellin and Boo Cook, Ask For Mercy by Richard Starkings and Abigail Jill Harding, Savage Game by Ryan Kalil, Shawn Kittelsen and Chris B. Murray, Grave Danger by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, Goliath Girls by Sam Humphries and Alti Firmansyah, Teenage Wasteland by Magdalene Visaggio and Jen Vaughn, Hit Reblog by Megan Kearney and curated by Hope Nicholson, and more.
