ISLAND 731 Comic Book!

island-comic-headerThanks to the fantastic reception for the PROJECT NEMESIS comic book, and the amazing people at American Gothic Press (Famous Monsters of Filmland) we will be adapting ISLAND 731 into a six issue mini-series. Those of you who are fans of both novels undoubtedly know that the stories converge in PROJECT MAIGO. So we are on course to continue the Nemesis storyline, bringing together characters and monsters from both novels…IF the comics continue to sell well.

godzilla__rulrs_of_earth__15_cover_by_zornow-d7whc9lFor ISLAND 731, I’ll be splitting the writing duties with frequent badass collaborator, Kane Gilmour, and the story will be penciled and inked by the amazing Jeff Zornow, whose work can be seen on several Godzilla comics, including Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. Jeff has already done some character and monster sketches, as well as a few sample pages, and they’re killer…which is appropriate for this story, which Publisher’s Weekly called, “one of the best Jurassic Park successors.”

ISLAND 731 is one of my most successful novels, and it’s full of monsters, both human and very not human.  And in the visual medium of comic books, it’s going to be freakishly frightening and super cool. If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty pumped for this. Check out some of these preliminary sketches, and I think you’ll see why. It’s going to be awesome. Coming to Comic Book Stores in Late Spring, 2016!

 

Character and Creature Sketches

731 character designs1 731 character designs2

 

 

 

 

 

 

731 creature design1 731 creature design2

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those not familiar with the story, here’s the summary:

Mark Hawkins, former park ranger and expert tracker, is out of his element, working on board the Magellan, a research vessel studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Surrounded by thirty miles of refuse, a series of strange malfunctions plague the ship’s high tech systems, while a raging storm batters the craft and its crew.

When the storm fades and the sun rises, the beaten crew awaken to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island…and no one knows how they got there. Even worse, the ship has been sabotaged, one crewman is dead and another is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man on shore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they quickly discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the Island’s former occupants: Unit 731, Japan’s ruthless World War II human experimentation program. Mass graves and military fortifications dot the island, along with a decades-old laboratory housing the remains of hideous experiments.

As crew members start to disappear, Hawkins realizes that they are not alone. In fact, they were brought to this strange and horrible island. The crew is taken one-by-one, and while Hawkins fights to save his friends, he learns the horrible truth: Island 731 was never decommissioned, and the person taking his crewmates may not be a person at all—not anymore.

“Robinson (Secondworld) puts his distinctive mark on Michael Crichton territory with this terrifying present-day riff on The Island of Dr. Moreau. Action and scientific explanation are appropriately proportioned, making this one of the best Jurassic Park successors.” — Publisher’s Weekly – Starred Review

“Take a traditional haunted-house tale and throw in a little [of] The Island of Dr. Moreau and a touch of Clash of the Titans, and you wind up with this scary and grotesque novel. Robinson, a skilled blender of the thriller and horror genres, has another winner on his hands.” — Booklist

“[Island 731’s] premise is reminiscent of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, but the author adds a World War II back story…vivisection, genetic engineering, Black Ops, animal husbandry and mayhem. This is the stuff that comic books, video games and successful genre franchises are made of.” — Kirkus Reviews

“A book full of adventure and suspense that shows ‘science’ in a whole new horrific light. This is one creepy tale that will keep you up all night! And it is so well written you will think twice before taking a vacation to any so-called ‘Island Paradise!’” — Suspense Magazine

And the Book Trailer!

 

8 Comments

  1. Frank Parr

    Have you ever considered attending or even setting up a table at G-Fest ?
    Set up a table between Matt and Jeff in Artist Alley maybe ?

    • JRobinson

      Considered many times, but it’s typically on the weekend of my daughter’s birthday. Some day, though.

  2. Ike Carr

    Can’t wait to see the four color debut of Kaiju.

    • JRobinson

      Me too!

  3. Sean

    Just discovered your novels, I’m so pissed I didn’t discover them sooner. I’m in the middle of project 731 right now, island 731 is still my favorite. And to know that it’s going to be a graphic novel excites me to no end. I love comics and that story just begs to be put on a visual medium, not that you didn’t do a good job at conveying what was going on. Just would love to see it brought to life. Look forward to reading more of your works, thank you.

    • JRobinson

      Discovering me now just means you don’t have to worry about what to read for the next…few years. Depending on how fast you read. I tend to finish writing novels faster than I read them. 🙂 And yeah, the 731 comic pages I’ve seen so far are amazing.

  4. Ricardo Nishiyama

    I just discovered your work too. I am really excited about it. I read the comic Project Nemesis and now I am looking for more. Have you released them already ?

  5. Alex Martin

    Dude love your work have you considered getting your kaiju work animated would be fucking epic.

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