Actor Wesley Snipes is taking up writing duties to co-pen an original graphic novel that will blend classic murder mystery with high-concept sci-fi. In an exclusive announcement with Deadline, Snipes and his co-creators Keith Arem and Adam Lawson revealed details on their upcoming story, The Exiled. Set for a campaign on Kickstarter, Snipes and his fellow writers hope to put out a highly ambitious comic.
Wesley Snipes is, of course, no stranger to comic book fandom, noted for his portrayal of Marvel's vampire hunter, Blade, in the self-titled franchise from New Line Cinema. Snipes has also had prominent roles in other films such as New Jack City, Passenger 57, and White Men Can't Jump. Snipes was also in Demolition Man and is in the process of creating a video game adaptation with writing partner, Keith Arem.
Arem and Snipes are continuing their partnership with the creation of The Exiled along with Adam Lawson, Gabriel "Eskivo" Santos and Valentina Bianconi. Deadline revealed that the graphic novel tells the story of Detective Niles "Roach" Washington and his mission to track down a serial killer after a deadly gas attack. Roach finds himself isolated for his theories on the killer, who removes the spines of his victims with ancient tools. The detective's pursuit will find him questioning everyone and everything and lead Roach to discovering "Earth's darkest secret." In addition to story details, Deadline revealed the cover to the upcoming graphic novel, showing Roach and the grim world he inhabits.
Curious readers will have to wait a bit as The Exiled has a Kickstarter campaign set for June 21st. Fans will have the chance to receive exclusive merchandise such as a 140-page Collector's Edition and a "Go Version" which will be manga-sized. Other exclusives will be an additional story set in the world of The Exiled and a 120mm Detective Washington figurine for day-one backers. Should the crowdfunding effort be successful, publishing of the graphic novel will commence under Adam Lawson's company Gifted Rebels.
If physical goodies weren't enough, fans will have another opportunity to discover digital exclusives through the pages of The Exiled itself. According to Deadline, "Among The Exiled's unique features are hidden codes, which will be interspersed throughout the graphic novel, offering access to digital collectibles and exclusive events." The Exiled clearly has a number of ambitious plans to engage and retain readers, right down to its innovative synopsis. Snipes notes his excitement with the new book and how his work on Blade helped satisfy his desires on character creation saying, “Now, I get to build “Roach” as a character from the ground up and I dig that.”
While the book still has to get through its crowdfunding effort first, Wesley Snipes, Keith Arem and Adam Lawson's The Exiled aims to come out swinging should it get a chance at publication.
Source: Deadline