'The Talisman' to debut this month

Del Rey Comics's adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's collaborative novel The Talisman debuts later this month.

The book is written by King's former research assistant Robin Furth, who also adapted the author's Dark Tower series for Marvel Comics. Illustrations will be provided by Final Crisis artist Tony Shasteen.

Its storyline revolves around a boy named Jack Sawyer who must embark on a perilous journey to an alternate dimension in order to locate a magical artefact with the power to heal his sick mother. The series is also being adapted for television by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy.

In an interview with Newsarama, both novelists confessed to a childhood love of comic books. "As a kid, I loved comics. They taught me to read," said Straub.

"Among my favourites were Superman, Captain Marvel, Batman, the Hawkeyes (I think - about a group of proto-fascist airmen who yelled 'Hawkaaa!' whenever they went into battle), Mary Jane, Henry, Nancy, Pogo, L'il Abner, and many others."

King added: "My favourite, by a country mile, was Plastic Man and his pal Woozy Winks. I dug Plaz's dark glasses! Uh... Peter probably means the Blackhawks. The really cool violence-oriented one was Combat Casey."

The Talisman #1 is released on October 21.