Dynamite Entertainment recently announced an agreement with Mistborn and Stormlight Archive author Brandon Sanderson for a new project titled White Sand. The project will be produced as a series of three original graphic novels, the first of which is forthcoming in 2015. We can expect more details later this year.
“White Sand” will sound familiar to some Sanderson fans. Sanderson has occasionally mentioned this as-yet-unvisited Shardworld, an unexplored part of his larger Cosmere, but has been cagey with specifics. The announcement describes White Sand as a world “split into two halves,” Darkside and Dayside, each half having its own culture and magical abilities. You can find more information on Brandon’s blog.
Ugh. Now I’ll have to read my first graphic novel.
Maybe Sanderson will be better with graphic novels. His works kind of fit the medium so far. Actually… I think I’d have liked every single one of his books better as a comic. Hmmm….
This does have the interesting implication of potentially the first time we get to actually see what Hoid looks like…
@2, you may have a point. His interest in super-precise systems does seem to sit more cleanly in the comics/graphic novel format. (Honestly I’ve had moments where I’ve wondered if he missed his real calling in sci-fi. Have you read “Firstborn”? And Stormlight has always struck me as a less cliched version of Avatar, with the same pleasure in fictional biology.
@2,4: I think I see what you’re saying. But I don’t there there’s much wrong with an author writing visually and cinematically. His books are all so visual that there’s clear potential to turn them into comics. I never made the connection between Stormlight and Avatar, but I think the parallel stops with the biology. Sanderson attempting straight-up sci-fi would be a nice treat–I think (so far) he’s mainly stuck with narratives that are intelligent but based around action/adventure more than hard ideas, but I don’t see why he couldn’t one day expand his horizons or bend the genres together.
All that said, @3, my very first thought after reading this was, “What’ll Hoid look like.” Second thought: “I hope we’ll get a chance to see a Shardblade.” Shardblade and Plate has always been visually resplendent in my head, and I’d love to see a Sanderson-commissioned artist’s interpretation (in full color, I know we have sketches in the books).
@5 He has plans to write 2 more Mistborn trilogies, one with technology somewhat the same as what we have now and one futuristic with space travel using allomancy.
I think the most intriguing thing about this project is that Sanderson won’t be writing it, at least not alone. In the press release on his blog (I followed the link in the above article) there is a quote by Sanderson that mentions he’s chosen an artist and a writer to work on the project. It’s not clear whether or not he will be taking a part in writing White Sand or if it’s just based on his manuscripts. Certainly he’ll be involved as a consultant or a co-writer in some capacity but i’m only speculating on the information already provided.
As someone who’s recently discovered Sanderson’s work (i’ve known of him for a long time, I just never read anything) this is an exciting announcement.
If you want scifi by Sanderson, read Legion. It’s a novella set in the modern day or near future and is about trying to get a camera that can take pictures of any past event. Light scifi, but still scifi.
The presser specifically said it would be based on his unpublished manuscript.
The problem with this is that Brandon is not even writing the story. He is just giving them the source material (which he has claimed is still “problematic”).
@10″
I’m not sure why that is a problem. Whoever they hired to write the graphic novel is also being hired to fix the structural problems. Sanderson just doesn’t have the time to do it himself he’s already 4 years behind on his “master” plan.
I really hope this doesn’t mean that the novel White Sand will never get released–I read the manuscript not too long ago, and I really enjoyed it.
@12: I’m pretty sure it does mean that, unfortunately. Or maybe fortunately. If he doesn’t think its up t his standards, it means he has time to write something that will be.
I just got a response from Peter Ahlstrom over twitter that it will ONLY be released as a graphic novel. Not what I would have chosen, but I suppose it will mean we will get the rest of the Cosmere sooner.
Cool! This is something to keep an eye out for.
@1: no interest in V for Vendetta, Watchmen, or Gaiman’s Sandman series?
I have never been able to get into comics before either. They are just too short. Too little bang for my buck. I would much rather have a book I can sink my teeth into for days or even weeks.
That said, I did just buy my first graphic novel because I have been binging on the Dresden Files, and one of his stories is purely graphic novel. We will see how it compares with the books.
I am a bit worried this is going to degrade the reading experience.
I second the recommendations from Tiornys above and add these incredible titles which will definitely give you plenty of bang for your buck, pings for your pound and euphoria for your euro !
Love & Rockets (fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez will eat the books up !)
Action Philosophers for philosophy buffs
Top Ten, Alan Moore’s take on a Steve Bochco cop show
Promethea, Alan Moore’s treatise on fiction. magic and the magic of fiction
One Soul, which uses the comic format to great effect in telling the stories of individuals from different times in history. Tricky to describe this one, but easy to read (and love)
Strikeforce: Morituri, a sci-fi twist on superheroes which looks at the price of heroism and what one will sacrifice for their beliefs
Anything by Aussie artist Bruce Mutard, especially The Silence (what value does art have ?) and The Sacrifice (a pacifist is confronted by the realities of WWI).
Kabuki, which starts as a noir-ish cyberpunk story and becomes a musing on life and creation.
These are all available as graphic novels ( or “trade paperbacks” for the comic purists like me) and will be easy to find at your local comic shop, decent book shop or online.
Apologies for going on like this, I just love the graphic novel form and am always happy to promote it !
@14
Dang…I wonder how much I’d have to beg Brandon to give me a copy of Lord Mastrell (the sequel to White Sand Prime that he’s never distributed–I think it was his 3rd or 4th novel ever written)
@15, 16:
The medium doesn’t work well for me. Never has. Even for properties I loved. I was an older boy in the 80s when xmen and Spiderman cartoons were on. I loved them, tried to read the comics and just couldn’t do it. Didn’t ever finish a single one. In spite of demolishing LOTR as a ten year old.
So, I love Buffy and Angel, and Firefly, but haven’t bothered to continue the story with the graphic novels. The Cosmere is another story however. If you’ll pardon the pun…