IDW To Publish Hardcover ‘Parker’ Novels Illustrated by Darwyn Cooke

Darwyn Cooke just can't get enough of Richard Stark's Parker.

The writer/artist has already adapted four (five, if you consider that one adaptation, The Outfit, is a combination of two) of the novels author Donald Westlake wrote under the name Richard Stark. Now, Cooke is teaming up with IDW to illustrate new, deluxe editions of those novels starting in June with the first in the series, The Hunter. Attendees at the Toronto Comics and Art Festival next week will have the opportunity to grab The Hunter a bit early, in the form of a super-fancy limited edition.

Each book in the series--and they're being released in chronological order--will include 10 painted Cooke illustrations. He's also overseeing the typography. The TCAF edition of The Hunter will come with a special dust jacket and have a signature plate. Cooke will be a special guest at the convention.

In an IDW press release, Cooke said:

Adapting Donald Westlake's novels into graphic novel form has been incredible, a dream come true, and providing paintings that illustrate this seminal crime classic…well, it scratches a completely different kind of itch, but one just as creatively fulfilling.

This marks the first time the Parker books have been released in deluxe, hardcover editions. Since the series' debut in 1962, the books have always been published in paperback.

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The Hunter will be available in bookstores June 10.