PR: King, Hill, and Matheson Experience Road Rage, Out This Week in Hardcover

(Note: I reviewed this back in June.)

First collaboration by father and son presented in graphic novel form, along with the original inspirational source material San Diego, CA (August 7, 2012) – IDW Publishing is proud to release the hardcover comic book collection of ROAD RAGE, available tomorrow in comic book stores throughout North America. Renowned author Stephen King and Eisner-winner Joe Hill collaborated for the first time in Throttle, a story that paid tribute to RichardMatheson’s classic tale of suspense Duel. Now, ROAD RAGE presents the four-issue compilation of the comic-book tellings of both stories. Adapting the story alongside Hill and King is Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer, and editor of Hill’s New York Times best-selling graphic novel series, Locke & Key. The respective artists on the two stories wereNelson Daniel and Rafa Garres. Available on Wednesday, ROAD RAGE will feature all-new introductions by King and Hill, as well as an all-new wraparound cover by Zach Howard and Daniel, and additional sketches and character designs from Daniel. “Talk about ‘riding with kings’,” said Chris Ryall, “getting to work directly with Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Richard Matheson was enough of a thrill, but then to have the finished stories so beautifully illustrated by talents like Nelson and Rafa made this all even more of a special project for me, and hopefully for readers, too.” The first part of the series, Throttle, tells the story of a motorcycle gang pursued by an unseen assailant in a big rig, but as might be expected knowing the talent involved, things aren’t exactly as they seem.Daniel, whose own collaboration with Hill and artist Howard, THE CAPE, was nominated for a 2011 Eisner Award, handles full art and colors for this portion. Afterwards, Duel presents the adaptation of the Matheson story that inspired Throttle, with artist Garra providing visuals for this thrilling conclusion. Road Rage has received much acclaim thus far. Geeks of Doom praised issue #1 saying, “Full of suspense, with the appropriate touch of horror-style gore, a bit of action, and a whole load of drama, it is a damn entertaining read, and an absolute page turner.” Comic Book Resources commended the final issue saying, “At their best, Ryall and Garres wonderfully put to the comic book medium to great use.” ROAD RAGE ($24.99, 120 pages, full color) will be available August 8, 2012 in comic stores throughout North America. Visit IDWPublishing.com to sign up for updates and learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

About IDW Publishing IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coasts Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio. IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, while Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony are bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.

Comic review: Road Rage by Stephen King

Title: Road Rage
Authors: Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Joe Hill
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: 07/31/2012
ISBN: 1613772823





Disclaimer: I have only read the first issue of this comic, so my review will be limited in its scope of the series as a whole. 

Stephen King is no stranger to the graphic novel world, with his books Dark Tower, The Stand being adapted into comic format. Add onto this the American Vampire series and you know that you've got an experienced writer coming into this series. For the most part King shows that he knows what he's doing, but I can't help but feel that I'm missing out on something.


Road Rage unites Richard Matheson's classic Duel and the contemporary work it inspired...two power-packed short stories by three of the genre's most acclaimed authors.

Duel, an unforgettable tale about a driver menaced by a semi truck, was the source for Stephen Spielberg's acclaimed first film of the same name. Throttle, by Stephen King and Joe Hill, is a duel of a different kind, pitting a faceless trucker against a tribe of motorcycle outlaws, in the simmering Nevada desert. Their battle is fought out on 20 miles of the most lonely road in the country, a place where the only thing worse than not knowing what you're up against is slowing down.

I've never read/listened to the short stories that comprised the audiobook version of Road Rage, which brought together Matheson's Duel with Stephen King and Joe Hill's Throttle. Both stories deal with a person or persons dealing with a psychotic trucker, and maybe if I'd heard those stories first I'd have a better idea of the various characters. The first issue of Road Rage focuses on King and Hill's story, and while it's fairly clear as to what the basic storyline is, we're given such a brief introduction to everything and everyone that I just didn't feel as connected to the characters as I wanted to be. We have characters getting killed off in the first issue that have to be re-introduced as they die- that's how little we're told about them, that the artists/writers felt that they needed to have their names flashed twice so we don't forget who they were. 


The artwork does fit the feel of the story, though. We have this wonderful "pulp comic" feel to the panels, something that will either completely thrill the readers or drive them batty. I kind of wavered between which side I was on, ultimately deciding that I loved how the book was illustrated. It just plain works and is one of the strong points of the volume. In my first issue I also got to see some beautiful cover artwork as well as some illustrations that were thrown in for good measure, which is what pushed me into the "love it" category. 


I really can't fault this first issue for anything other than the slow pacing, as going into the secondary Tribe members would probably have been unnecessary and only bogged the story down. I do wish that I could shake the feeling that I'd understand more if I'd have listened to the audiobook, but I would imagine that the story will be more fully developed as the book goes on. 


Stephen King fans will no doubt snap this graphic novel up in a heartbeat, but for those who are a little hesitant I recommend picking up the audiobook before this is released or looking for this in your local library. It's something that does look to be worth reading and I'll look for the full version when it hits the shelves of my local stores.

3 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)