IDW Publishing To Bring Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s to Comics


Douglas Adams might be best known for requiring travelers bring their towel with them wherever they traveled. And that the answer to the ultimate question is 42. He's also known for a character he created in Dirk Gently, who appeared in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Dirk Gently’s Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul and the unfinished Dirk Gently fragment that Douglas was writing at the time of his death The Salmon of Doubt. In partnership with Ideate Media, IDW Publishing is proud to announce that Dirk Gently will be appearing in his first-ever comic-book series in 2015, helping to prove the interconnectedness of all things, the precept by which Dirk Gently, Adams’ beloved fictional “holistic detective” lives. Following the recent announcement that Gently will be developed for television by IDW Entertainment and Ideate Media with Circle of Confusion as Executive Producers and Max Landis as showrunner, IDW will also launch an ongoing series of all-new Dirk Gently adventures as comic books.

“I know that an American writing Dirk comics is going to get a certain segment of British Adams fans a bit brassed off,” said Ryall, “but, much like in the case of the oft-referenced Schrödinger’s cat in the Dirk novels, we can all agree that until the world opens these comics, they are both good and not good, right? And certainly Adams’ writing transcends all borders and has rightfully earned him a worldwide following. I can’t wait to bring Dirk into the world of comics.”

Dirk Gently is a charismatic, mysterious, troubled, brilliant, figure—cursed with a relentless intellect, psychic powers he doesn’t fully understand or want, a gift for self-mythologizing, and a supernatural ability to detect disturbances in the fabric of reality. Dirk has found a strange calling as a private detective for impossible crimes, the likes of which will take many forms in the comics. The series launching in spring 2015, will be written by Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. The series artist will be Tony Akins and Chew co-creator Rob Guillory has contributed a first cover image, too.

“Douglas was best known for Hitchhiker, but his real creative passion was always Dirk. Of the two series, this was his secret favourite. I know he would have smiled upon its re-incarnation as a comic book,” said Ed Victor, Douglas Adams’ longtime agent and friend.

Full press release below.

IDW Publishing To Bring
Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s to Comics

The “Thumping Good Detective-Ghost-Horror-Whodunnit-Time Travel-Romantic-Musical-Comedy-Epic” Will Get His Own Comic Series in 2015
In partnership with Ideate Media, IDW Publishing is proud to announce that Dirk Gently will be appearing in his first-ever comic-book series in 2015, helping to prove the interconnectedness of all things, the precept by which Dirk Gently, Douglas Adams’ beloved fictional “holistic detective” lives.
Following the recent announcement that Gently will be developed for television by IDW Entertainment and Ideate Media with Circle of Confusion as Executive Producers and Max Landis as showrunner, IDW will also launch an ongoing series of all-new Dirk Gently adventures as comic books.
The series launching in spring 2015, will be written by Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief and creator/writer of series such as Zombies vs Robots, Groom Lake, and The Hollows. The series artist will be Tony Akins (Fables), and Chew co-creator Rob Guillory has contributed a first cover image, too. Full story details and release information will follow soon.
“I know that an American writing Dirk comics is going to get a certain segment of British Adams fans a bit brassed off,” said Ryall, “but, much like in the case of the oft-referenced Schrödinger’s cat in the Dirk novels, we can all agree that until the world opens these comics, they are both good and not good, right? And certainly Adams’ writing transcends all borders and has rightfully earned him a worldwide following. I can’t wait to bring Dirk into the world of comics.”
“Douglas was best known for Hitchhiker, but his real creative passion was always Dirk. Of the two series, this was his secret favourite.  I know he would have smiled upon its re-incarnation as a comic book,” said Ed Victor, Douglas Adams’ longtime agent and friend.
Adams’ Dirk Gently, who appeared in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Dirk Gently’s Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul, and the unfinished Dirk Gently fragment that Douglas was writing at the time of his death The Salmon of Doubt, is a charismatic, mysterious, troubled, brilliant, figure—cursed with a relentless intellect, psychic powers he doesn’t fully understand or want, a gift for self-mythologizing, and a supernatural ability to detect disturbances in the fabric of reality. Dirk has found a strange calling as a private detective for impossible crimes, the likes of which will take many forms in the comics.
Follow IDW Publishing on Facebook and Twitter for updates on this title and more. If you’d like to fundamentally interconnect with Chris Ryall on Twitter, he can be found at @chris_ryall.

About Ideate Media Entertainment
Ideate Media was established in April 2013 by Khazanah Nasional Berhad (the strategic investment arm of the Government of Malaysia) and Astro Overseas Limited (the international division of Malaysia’s leading integrated media entertainment group). Our mission is to develop, produce and commercialize high quality content for global audiences, working across multiple formats and genres.
Ideate develops and seeks out stories, talent and properties suitable to engage global audiences, especially, though not exclusively, stories with Asian elements, settings and themes.
Ideate’s first production is Bubble Bath Bay – a 52 X 11 min children’s animated television series, commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and launched at MipCom. Ideate Media is headquartered in Technology Park Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, under the leadership of CEO Zainir Aminulah; the US operations are headed by Arvind Ethan David.

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