Director Ed Burns and Virgin Comics announce new series

By M&C News Jul 30, 2007, 15:17 GMT

New York filmmaker and actor, Ed Burns (Brothers McMullen, Saving Private Ryan) is creating a new series of comic books for Virgin Comics. The announcement was made by Burns at Comic-Con - the industry’s annual super-festival in San Diego.

The series, entitled Dock Walloper, debuts in comic shops and online comic retailers in November.  The complete 144 page Dock Walloper book will be available in May 2008 at all major book sellers.  A new site, DockWalloper.com will host additional information, previews and pre-orders of the comic art and books.

The comic series will be written by Burns, along with comic book legend, Jimmy Palmiotti (Painkiller Jane, Monolith). Cover and interior art for the series will be created by Virgin Comics’ in-house illustration studio and led by rising comic book star, Siju Thomas.

“As we are approaching the centennial of Prohibition in America, I wanted to re-imagine some of the characters and icons of that era with a mythic spin, in a story set in a stylized New York City of the 20's,” said Ed Burns. “The story takes the classic American gangster tale, and transposes it to this atmospheric landscape, where the characters and inhabitants possess exaggerated strength, ability and power, capturing a modern American mythology.”

“Ed Burns is one of New York City’s favorite sons and there is no one better to tell this story,” said Virgin Comics CEO Sharad Devarajan. “Dock Walloper is the perfect addition to our Director’s Cut line, which allows iconic filmmakers the creative freedom to develop new stories in the visual medium of graphic novels, akin to a movie with an unlimited budget.” 

Dock Walloper is the story that takes place in the roaring 20’s of New York City. America’s great metropolis has become the nexus of high society culture, cutting edge industry and perhaps the most shocking crime wave in our country’s history.  Known for its sinister and treacherous underworld, there’s a new power waking up the city that never sleeps.  It’s name... John "The Hand" Smith.

The Nickname is a given. An outcast and an orphan, Smith’s massive right hand is nearly twice as large as his left, and when push comes to shove, you’d pity anyone that’s gets in his way.  Smith’s only friends in the world are a fellow orphan and low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy, and a Asian femme fatale known as Ring–a-Ling.  In a world of crime, passion, and a touch of the fantastic, they will attempt to change organized crime…or die trying.

“From the first moment I sat down with Ed at an LA coffee shop and heard him talk about Dock Walloper, I knew we were gonna create something really cool and unique,” said Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comics Chief Creative Officer. “Ed's intensive involvement already up to this point in the development of that actual comic and now having Jimmy Palmiotti doing the writing on the series insures that the industry is about to change forever.”