IDW is honored to announce The Hunger and the Dusk, a comic book series brought to life by G. Willow Wilson – yes, the Hugo and World Fantasy Award winning writer who has also worked on the likes of Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman, Poison Ivy – with art by the amazing Chris Wildgoose of Batgirl: Rebirth, Batman: Nightwalker. Dropping in July, the author’s “dream project” encompasses high fantasy, nail-biting drama, scintillating romance, breathtaking world-building, and blood drench action, you know, a little something for everyone!
The world has seen better days, humans and orcs have become the remaining dominant species and they do not like each other. It’s a never-ending war over land and power that is disturbed when a third group joins the fray. The Vangol are formidable humanoids, primeval in their origins, who have crossed the sea and pose a very real threat to both species. Naturally, orcs and humans have little choice but to align if they have any hope of defeating this new foe.
In an effort to prove his loyalty in the alliance the top orc overlord, Troth Icemane, sends his dear cousin Tara – a gifted healer – to assist the foolhardy human commander Callum Battlechild and his troop of soldier. Can these two overcome their ingrained hatred for one another? What about the pain of heartbreak? The continuation of each of their species depends on it.
“During the pandemic, I thought a lot about the many different times in history when the world has come to an end. I was also revisiting the science fiction and fantasy comfort food that I grew up with, and bit by bit, almost like a bedtime story, this saga—with orcs and humans banding together in a world that is slowly becoming uninhabitable, with enemies facing the choice to stand together or die separately—began to take shape,” says Wilson. “Ordinarily, high fantasy is not something I write a lot of, but coming out of the pandemic, I thought, ‘To hell with it. Death is coming for us all. Do what you love. Write the hot orc saga.’ And here we are!”
“My emotions are running high as The Hunger and the Dusk gets closer to finally being out into the wild,” says Wildgoose. “From the start, Willow handed me this lovely, detailed lore bible of the orc dynasties, their marriage ceremonies, what animals the different tribes hunt, bits of their folklore, where they migrate in the winter. Then we have the humans. Again, she gave me their history, details on some of the cities we may or may not even see in the first series. It was everything I’d hoped for as a starting point, and from there, Willow has let me work in my own high-fantasy tastes. It feels like a seamless union of two nerdy fantasy fans, and I’ve loved every second of the collaboration so far.”
On their collaboration, Wilson says, “Chris is incredibly meticulous. There’s a reason for every little bit of decoration on every costume. He’s figured out how the armor fits over the clothing underneath. I try to avoid riding scenes when possible because horses tend to be difficult and annoying for artists to draw, but he went all-in and came up with entirely new types of riding animals. It’s just unreal. It’s a fully developed universe. His work on this book is on another level.”
MsassyK will be handling colors for The Hunger and the Dusk, while Simon Bowland takes care of lettering. On the final product, Wildgoose says, “Hoo boy! It is just everything I have ever wanted one of my books to look like.”
“I burned through superlatives to describe The Hunger and the Dusk halfway through development, and nothing I say can match the experience of witnessing the work speak for itself,” says senior editor Maggie Howell. “The amount of thought and love that went into each page is loud and clear and almost unbelievable. This series is a passion project from a creative team at the top of their game, who have poured their hearts into telling a story both urgent and addictive and making Cal, Tara, Troth, and Faran every reader’s new favorite characters. IDW is immensely proud to be its home.”
Each issue of The Hunger and the Dusk will drop with multiple variant covers for fans and retailers to relish. Cover A highlights series regular Chris Wildgoose’s art. Cover B focuses on art by Cliff Chiang, who has worked on series like Wonder Woman, and Paper Girls. Cover C will see a rotating roster of guest artists – the first three of which will be InHyuk Lee (Mighty Morphin, The Flash), Nick Robles (The Dreaming: Waking Hours), and Jessica Fong (Poison Ivy).
