Pinnacle Entertainment Group and Visionary Comics have reached agreement with Tor Books for the publication of all-new, original prose novels set in the world of the popular roleplaying game Deadlands. The deal calls for three novels, with an initial lineup of authors that includes New York Times bestselling, award-winning Jonathan Maberry and Jeff Mariotte.

The novel line is an exciting step in the expansion of the Deadlands world. Visionary Comics has already successfully launched the property as digital comics available at DriveThruComics.com, and C. Edward Sellner, chief creative officer for Visionary, said, “We’re very excited to be bringing Deadlands to such a publishing powerhouse. It’s our first move into non-comics media, and the people at Tor have been fantastic to work with. I have no doubt the fans will enjoy the results.”

As a consulting editor, Jeff Mariotte made the deal with Tor and will be spearheading the novels for Visionary. The author of Season of the Wolf and other novels and writer/creator of the longrunning horror western comic book Desperadoes, Mariotte added, “Deadlands is a terrific universe, rich with story possibilities and right up my alley. Getting to write short fiction and comics based on Deadlands was a treat; getting to be part of the process of bringing that world to life in novels for the first time–as a writer, and behind the scenes–is an honor and a fantastic pleasure.”

Shane Hensley, the creator of Deadlands and president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, said, “It’s been such a joy watching Visionary play in our sandbox. We truly consider them partners in growing and expanding the Deadlands universe. Now Jonathan Maberry and Jeff Mariotte get to really dig deep and explore the world in the kind of depth you only get with full-length novels, and we’re as excited as anyone else to see what they do.”

Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker award-winning author of the Joe Ledger series and many more novels and comics, said, “I’m really excited about writing Deadlands: Ghostwalkers, a balls-to-the-walls alt-history steampunk supernatural shoot-‘em-up action western. With zombies. I think I was genetically designed to write this kind of book.”

Deadlands was created by Shane Lacy Hensley. Deadlands, as well as the Weird West, the Pinnacle logo, and the Weird West logo are all trademarks of the Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.

About Visionary Comics Studio: Since their debut in 2006, Visionary Comics Studio has carved a name for itself in the comics industry. One of the first and largest digital exclusive publishers, and a full-service packaging and production studio, Visionary has come to be a name known for its quality. With their expansion into licensed material in 2011, and now a move into the prose market, Visionary continues to show itself a vital part of the industry. www.visionarycomics.com

About Tor Books: Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books. Founded in 1980, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. In 2002, Tor launched Starscape, an imprint dedicated to publishing quality science fiction and fantasy for young readers, including books by critically acclaimed and award winning authors such as Cory Doctorow, Orson Scott Card, and David Lubar. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperbacks, books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields. In addition, Tor Books has been named Best Publisher 26 years in a row in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.

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