RAT QUEEN Creator Develops New Fantasy Series With ONI PRESS

Family Drama Takes A Turn for the Strange in This Genre-Bending Fantasy Series, Coming Spring 2020

PORTLAND, OR: Best-selling writer Kurtis Wiebe (Rat Queens), newcomer artist Justin Osterling, and Oni Press are pleased to announce the launch of a new ongoing fantasy series, Dryad. The first issue will be available March 2020.  From creator Kurtis Wiebe, “Dryad is a story that I've been working on in one form or another since I became a father five years ago. I wanted to tell a story about a couple whose lives were irrevocably changed by becoming parents, and I wanted to set it against a backdrop where I'd never really found a slice of life, family drama to be set: a fantasy world.”  An elf and a human find solace in the sleepy forest settlement of Frostbrook where they plant their roots. But thirteen years later, their twins, Griffon and Rana are inexplicably drawn to an ancient door and discover more than they bargained for, inadvertently turning their world upside down. Now, they'll have to answer for their parents' mistakes and find that the past has a way of finding you, no matter where you hide.  “While Dryad is a deep study of family, it's primarily a story about what parents do to protect their children and what lengths they would go to keep them safe. Dryad is also equal parts mystery and action with a few sizable twists and turns to keep readers on their toes,” says Kurtis. Dryad is artist Justin Osterling’s first published work, and he sees working on the series as an opportunity to take the fantasy genre in a different direction. “When Kurtis came to me about Dryad, it was a breath of fresh air for me in terms of fantasy. There was a lot of research on my side, pulling from the art so many classic traditional fantasy illustrators but I also wanted to explore influences not traditionally associated with it like Hayao Miyazaki and Masamune Shirow; but also into First Nations and Latin symbology and architecture. While a lot of fantasy is set with European influences, we really wanted something that was reflected in the Americas and it’s many cultures.”  The first issue of Dryad will be available in stores and online March 4, 2020.  About the Creators Kurtis Wiebe is a writer based in Calgary, Alberta. He is a two-time Joe Shuster Award winner, including an Outstanding Comic Book Writer award for his contribution to the critically acclaimed Green Wake. He is the creator the Eisner-nominated series Rat Queens with Image Comics.  Justin Osterling is a Latinx comic artist and fantasy illustrator based out of Savannah, Georgia. He is an alum of the Savannah College or Art and Design where he studied sequential art and story boarding. He’s best known for his character work with Roll20 and character design work for actual play tabletop RPG podcast. Justin can be found on Twitter and Instagram.