George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards anthology series is becoming a Marvel comic
George R.R. Martin is best known as the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, the inspiration for Game of Thrones, but he's also edited (alongside Melinda M. Snodgrass) a literary anthology series called Wild Cards. Far from the epic fantasy of Westeros, Wild Cards is firmly in the superhero genre — and it will now be joining one of the biggest superhero universes of all. Marvel announced on Friday that it will be publishing a comic adaptation of the first Wild Cards novel this summer.
Spanning more than 25 novels, 20 short stories, and written by more than 40 authors over three decades, Wild Cards is about an alternate Earth that is home to superpowered individuals. The title comes from the alien "Wild Card" virus, which infects humans and either kills them (this is called "drawing the black queen"), turns them into mutated monsters ("jokers"), or gives them superpowers ("aces").
"As my fans may already know, the Wild Cards world holds a special place in my heart, so to have the privilege of announcing that an industry titan like Marvel is going to produce the narrative from the beginning as a comic book brings me no end of joy," Martin said in a statement.
The Marvel comic limited series Wild Cards: The Drawing of the Cards will be done by writer Paul Cornell and artist Mike Hawthorne. According to Marvel's announcement, it should serve as both an entry point for newcomers and a reimagining for longtime fans.
"Wild Cards is still a unique take on superheroes, a creation story that's influenced everything since, but still maintains its power," Cornell said in the announcement. "It's an honor and a pleasure to bring all these wonderful stories to their natural home at Marvel, and I hope to give George, Melinda and the rest of the Wild Cards Collective the credit they deserve for making the superhero myth new again. Plus: just look at that art!"
That's not even the only Martin news for the day: He also announced the end of filming on season 1 of House of the Dragon, HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off.
Wild Cards: The Drawing of the Cards #1 (of 4) hits stores on June 1. Check out the cover by Steve Morris above.
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