Courtesy of the artist
Local writer and artist Bobby Ray Akers Jr. has always loved Irving Washingon’s short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Who hasn’t gotten a thrill from hearing the story of the Headless Horseman and the hapless Ichabod Crane? For Akers, the original story just wasn’t enough. He’s released a new graphic novel that goes deeper into the story behind the classic tale: The Vengeance of Sleepy Hollow: Origins.
Akers’ story goes back to a time before Ichabod Crane. Told through the eyes of the horseman, the story exposes that the town itself is less friendly and innocent than one would first believe.
“Actually, the town is all sorts of evil and the townspeople betray him,” explains Akers. "That is part of the reason that [the horseman] becomes this vengeful, malevolent character.”
Akers assures us that the story doesn’t end with the early American history, however. Another character, Kat Crane, lives in the present day and finds traces of the horseman in all time periods. Akers even hints that the horseman may have had something to do with the Civil War.
The art in the graphic novel is also a newer take on the traditional graphic novel. Another artist, Dennis Willman, worked with Akers to create lifelike characters based on photographs of real–life actors. Willman took photos of the actors, and using a combination of graphite and digital painting in Photoshop, created the characters for the graphic novel. “I always wanted to picture this like a movie in a book form,” says Akers.
The graphic novel is just the first installment in Akers re-imagined story. The second book will be more of an illustrated novelization than a graphic novel. There will be more text and fewer illustrations. The novelization will be available in February 2014. In fact, the release date for the rest of the chilling tale is set for February 14.
“It comes out on Valentines Day,” Akers says with a laugh. “I figure the monsters in it could take your heart.”
