Castle Graphic Novel Adapts Derrick Storm Story

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May 16, 2011

When news broke last week, based on a discovered Amazon listing, that September would bring a Castle graphic novel, many fans of the show wondered when we’d hear more about it.

We didn’t have long to wait. Marvel today sent out a press release titled “Marvel and ABC Team Up for Castle Graphic Novel”. Note the combination — both ABC and Marvel Comics are Disney companies, so this is a nice example of corporate synergy. Unlike the earlier Castle prose novels, though, this story isn’t about the Castle character, or a thinly disguised version of same named “Jameson Rook”, but the character Richard Castle wrote about (and killed of) before he met Beckett: Derrick Storm.

Castle: Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm (what a corporate title!) will be a 112-page hardcover priced at $19.99 US and available on September 28. In another use of company cross-promotion, the cover by Carlo Pagulayan will be shown by Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) on the show’s season finale, airing tonight in about an hour.

Strangely, the fictional author is quoted in the press release. “I am honored and humbled to see Derrick Storm join the ranks of some of the greatest heroes of all-time,” said Richard Castle. “Being a part of the Marvel family is a childhood fantasy come true for me.” He’s also labeled a “New York Times best-selling author” — I wonder what the paper thinks about that?

The mystery graphic novel will be co-written by Brian Michael Bendis and Kelly Sue DeConnick and illustrated by Lan Medina. I’m curious to see if the adventures of what sounds like a generic action hero will appeal to fans of the romantic comedy and mystery of Castle. Hopefully, DeConnick’s influence will win out and bring more of that approach, since Marvel Entertainment Editor in Chief Axel Alonso promises the comic will have something for everyone, calling it “the kind of book that reaffirms Marvel’s commitment to creating new fans of comic books.”

7 Responses

Chris Collins writes:

May 17, 2011 at 2:46 PM

This should be interesting…as for the NYTimes…the spin off prose novels did make it onto their best seller list and they were credited to him. So, technically, it’s true that he’s New York Times Best Seller–in the same way that, say, Lemon Snicket was?

Johanna writes:

May 17, 2011 at 3:08 PM

Oh, good point! I’d forgotten that those books did so well. Thanks!

Matthew Jeske writes:

May 17, 2011 at 3:38 PM

This makes me think of another comic book that was authored by a fictional character from another fictional world. DC Comics published a project called “Under a Yellow Sun” that was ‘written’ by Clark Kent. It was supposed to be a action-adventure novel that he wrote.

Castle Graphic Novel to Have Same-Day Release for Digital and Print » DVDs Worth Watching writes:

September 19, 2011 at 8:02 PM

[...] behind is the first graphic novel, although since it stars not Castle, but Castle’s character Derrick Storm, I’m not as [...]

Good Comics Out September 28: A Whole Bunch of Reviews » Comics Worth Reading writes:

September 28, 2011 at 8:35 AM

[...] in case you haven’t heard, what with the TV show mention and the goofy title to make the point and all, Marvel’s putting out a tie-in: Castle: Richard Castle’s [...]

chris writes:

June 4, 2012 at 12:17 AM

best book ever i hope they make more!!! please castle( nathan fillion) people of castle please make more!

Castle Season 3 » DVDs Worth Watching writes:

June 8, 2012 at 10:58 PM

[...] Brian Michael Bendis. Turns out that this feature exists to heavily promote the then-upcoming Castle graphic novel, which is why he’s there, since he co-wrote it. (It’s Disney, so no bonus can exist [...]