DABEL BROTHERS INVITE
READERS TO EXPLORE ROBERT SILVERBERG'S THE SEVENTH
SHRINE
 Sci-fi
detective story by master writer Robert Silverberg
retold in haunting painted style.
Dabel Brothers Production (DB Pro) opted early
on not to give Robert Silverberg's short story
"The Seventh Shrine" the comic book
treatment.
They went with an incredible painted storybook
format instead.
"When we started the project, I scripted
the story out into comic book form, and it was
fine," said Sean J. Jordan, project editor
for The Seventh Shrine. "The problem was
that the story has a slower, more deliberate pace
than most comic books, and the artist was being
asked to draw a lot of people talking about a
murder rather than showing the murder itself.
And since Mr. Silverberg's wonderful writing was
getting lost in the process, we racked our brains
trying to figure out how we could adapt the story
in a new and different way."
"Around the same time, our art director
discovered a European artist named Anders Finér
whose work had an incredible, ethereal painted
style to it. After seeing what he could do with
a few of the characters and gaining Mr. Silverberg's
enthusiastic approval, we decided to try a storybook
format, allowing the strengths of Mr. Silverberg's
writing and Anders's painting to meld together
into an incredible volume."
The Seventh Shrine is a science fiction story
set on the celebrated planet of Majipoor, a larger-than-life
world where many alien races co-exist with the
aboriginal Piurivars, better known as the "Metamorphs"
or "Shapeshifters." When a Metamorph
archaeologist is murdered at the ancient ruins
of Velalisier, Majipoor's highest authority, the
Pontifex Valentine, travels to the site to investigate
the murder personally. As he delves into understanding
the motivation for the murder, he uncovers strange
new secrets about the history of the Shapeshifters
and the mystery of the sealed-up Seventh Shrine.
"The great thing about this story is that
even though it technically takes place at the
end of the Majipoor series, it was written to
introduce new readers to the characters,"
said Les Dabel, New Business Director and Vice
President of DB Pro. "It's an entry point
into the series so that readers will be able to
head right into Lord Valentine's Castle, the first
book in the novel series. And, visually speaking,
it offers some incredible scenes. The Shapeshifters,
in particular, give the story an eerie, alien
feel, and you can understand why the other races
of Majipoor despise and even fear them at certain
points."
"And the art." Dabel started, pausing
for a moment. "Wow. It's breathtaking, it's
amazing, it's absolutely stunning. Going with
the storybook format was a great idea because
it offered Anders the chance to paint dramatic
scenes instead of sequential action. And, since
this is a story heavy in drama and suspense, the
images match up perfectly with the text. This
is a book I would buy not just to read the story,
but also just to stare at the pictures."
The Seventh Shrine is a double-sized, two-part
miniseries being developed by DB Pro and released
through Devil's Due Publishing. The book is scheduled
hit shelves in May, 2004. It is currently available
for solicitation through Diamond Comic Distributors,
Inc. in the Devil's Due section of Previews. http://www.devilsdue.net
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