Dabel Brothers Publishing announced today the acquisition of an original story by Dean Koontz which they will develop in comic book and graphic novel form. Dean Koontz's Nevermore, written by Keith Champagne based on an outline by Koontz and illustrated by Andy Smith, will be published in five comic-book issues between February and June 2009.

Nevermore's hero is 35-year-old multibillionaire Robert Godric. In a desperate attempt to bring back his wife, Nora, who died at 33 of an aggressive brain cancer, Godric invents cross-time travel and searches for a living Nora on the infinity of parallel Earths. Inadvertently, he and his team encounter an alien hivelike race—the Hydra—that is conquering Earth after Earth after Earth. If the Hydra find our version by following Godric back to it, our civilization will not survive the invasion.

Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, will distribute a graphic-novel collected edition of the individual comics.

"We are very excited about doing an original never-before-seen story by Dean Koontz," said Ernst Dabel, president. "To put it plainly, Dean is a storyteller of the highest caliber."

Dean Koontz has said, "I love working with the Dabels for their style and exuberance."

Dean Koontz is the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers. He lives with his wife, Gerda, in Southern California. Previous comics and graphic novels based on his work include In Odd We Trust, a Publishers Weekly comics bestseller, and Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, currently being published in comic form by the Dabel Brothers. For more information about Dean Koontz, go to www.deankoontz.com.

Keith Champagne began his career working for Marvel Comics in 1993. He quickly found a professional home at rival DC Comics as an artist/inker and writer. His writing work has been featured in titles such as World War III, Arena, Flash, and Superman. Aside from Nevermore, his current projects include reviving The Ghostbusters for publishing company IDW, and launching his creator-owned title, The Mighty, at DC.

Andy Smith has been a comic book artist for over 17 years, having worked for Marvel, DC, Acclaim, Image, and Cross Generation Entertainment. Titles illustrated by Andy include Stormwatch PHD, 52, World War 3, Claw, Red Sonja/Claw, Weapon X, Hawkman, Legion, Green Lantern, The First, Crux, Negation, X-O Man-o-War, Deadly Duo, Aquaman, Spiderman, Blade, Gen X, X-men, and his creator-owned Firstman, to name but a few. Andy is also the author of the books Drawing Dynamic Comics and Drawing American Manga Superheroes.