Darwyn Cooke to Appear at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Reading and signing for acclaimed graphic novel, The Hunter

January 30th, 4:00 PM



San Diego, CA (January 18, 2010) – On Saturday, January 30th at 4 PM, award-winning creator Darwyn Cooke will read from his much-lauded graphic novel, The Hunter, which is based on the groundbreaking Richard Stark (a.k.a Donald Westlake) novel, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. One of the most acclaimed books of 2009, The Hunter has been included on over 50 “best of” lists, including NPR, Publisher’s Weekly, and Aint it Cool News. Cooke’s defining work has also been named best graphic novel of 2009 by over 15 outlets, such as The Village Voice, IGN and MTV.



Cooke will read from Stark’s novel while presenting images from his adaptation, demonstrating how creatively and accurately he interpreted Stark’s tale. A limited number of tickets are available for this exclusive event through the Museum.



“I am incredibly honored that the Smithsonian American Art Museum is giving me this opportunity to discuss my work and that of the late, great Donald Westlake,” said Cooke.



Released by IDW Publishing in July 2009, The Hunter quickly became a commercial hit and critical success. The Hunter remained on The New York Times best-seller list until it was sold out. A second printing of The Hunter is now available wherever graphic novels are sold.



The Hunter is the first in a series of four graphic novels based on Stark’s character Parker from Cooke and IDW. The second book, The Outfit, will be released in October.





The Hunter (144 pages, hardcover) is now available in stores. ISBN 978-1600104930.



The Outfit will be available in stores in October 2010.





Visit IDWPublishing.com to 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. Renown 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; Fox's Angel; the BBC's Doctor Who; and television's #1 prime time series CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for ComicMix.



IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.