Lastman: Why Skybound's Robert Kirkman Is 'Absolutely Obsessed With' This Acclaimed French Comic
Skybound's latest comic book announcement is a bit different from the norm. Rather than debuting a brand new series, the publisher is bringing the complete run of acclaimed French comic Lastman to the English language market for the first time. As it turns out, Skybound founder Robert Kirkman is "absolutely obsessed with" the series.
Lastman was created by Bastien Vivès, Yves "Balak" Bigerel and Michaël Sanlaville. This heavily manga-influenced series is set in a fantasy world called Valley of Kings, where each year the king and queen hold a tournament of magicians. The series' protagonist, 12-year-old Adrian Velba, dreams of winning the tournament. But when his partner falls ill, Velba has no choice but to team up with the brutish Richard Aldana, a fighter who prefers his hands to magical spells.
Lastman was originally published in 12 volumes (or "Tomes") between 2013 and 2019. First Second Books originally acquired the rights to publish English language translations of the series, but only the first six Tomes ever saw release in the US. Skybound has now taken over distribution rights to the full series and will begin releasing new graphic novel collections of Lastman in Fall 2022. Each graphic novel will collect two Tomes and will feature revised translations more faithful to the original French text.
Publishing Lastman in English is a bit of a passion project for Kirkman, who will also be writing the foreword for the first graphic novel.
“LASTMAN is a revelation of immense creativity, thrilling as a fan and humbling as a creator," said Kirkman in Skybound's press release. "Balak, Sanlaville, and Vivès have combined to create an evolving story, each volume advancing the story in an entertaining and engaging way, while
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