The Ballad of Rory Hawkins and Storyville graphic novels arrive from
Caliber Comics

March 24, 2015. Caliber Comics is proud to announce the release of two new
graphic novels into the marketplace, The Ballad of Rory Hawkins by Ben
Sherrill and Rowel Roque, and Storyville: The Prostitute Murders by Gary
Reed and Wayne Reid.

The Ballad of Rory Hawkins is the story of Rory Hawkins, a struggling
novelist with a troubled past, and George Clayton, an out of work actor
who starred in the 1950s TV western series Outlaw Pass, as they
inadvertently come into contact with the infamous Manson Family and become
targets of its bloodlust in Los Angeles during the summer of 1969. While
the graphic novel is fiction many of the characters are real, and the
story is rooted in historical fact, specifically Manson's desire to target
celebrities for violence and his residence at the Spahn movie ranch. Also,
this story takes place during a very specific historical timeline
(Saturday, August 2 - Monday, August 11, 1969), and the events are
intertwined with the Sharon Tate and LaBianca family murders that took
place during those fateful days. It features meticulously research on the
Manson murders and the narrative has been developed in a way so that the
events in the story could be historically plausible and a resolution is
reached without contradicting any of the historical record.

Also from Caliber Comics is Storyville: The Prostitute Murders, another
realistic and historically approached graphic novel, as writer and creator
Gary Reed firmly drops readers into the world of 1910 New Orleans. More
specifically within the infamous legal red light district of New Orleans
known locally as Storyville where just about anything was permitted from
booze to girls to drugs and gambling. But then a number of prostitutes and
their clients end up being murdered…some would say butchered, local
authorities and corrupt politicians realize this was just going to be bad
for business. And as the police try desperately to deal with what may be a
new type of killer...a 'serial killer' that threatens to tear New Orleans
apart, Dr. Eric Trevor, a forward thinking psychiatrist, is brought in
from nearby Saint James Infirmary to act as a consultant. Trevor and
veteran Detective Brian Donahue, a Chicago transplant, must form an uneasy
alliance to hunt for a killer that seems to kill at random.

Storyville: The Prostitute Murders is at times a police procedural and
other times an excursion into the new field of psychotherapy. While the
backdrop of the brothels amid the diverse streets of New Orleans is one of
the settings, so is Saint James Infirmary where Dr. Trevor attempts to
strike a balance between the calculating criminal mind and the purely
insane.

The artist on Storyville is Wayne Reid, who teamed up with Reed on A
Murder of Scarecrows and IDW’s Sherlock Holmes as well as Zulunation,
which was named as one of the Seven Best Historical graphic novels by
World War Z’s Max Brooks.

Reed stated, “This is a culmination of two themes I’ve long wanted to do,
Storyville and an insane asylum. But I’ve always wanted to approach them
in realistic fashion rather than delve into anything supernatural. The
plan is to do a series of standalone graphic novels, just as one does with
novels. With this first one, I think it will appeal to anyone that
enjoyed some of my previous work such as Saint Germaine, Renfield, or Red
Diaries."

About Gary Reed:
Gary has written a number of comics and series, most notably Deadworld,
Baker Street, Red Diaries, and Saint Germaine. His work has been
published by Image, IDW, Caliber, Penguin, Simon and Shuster, and others.
He has been nominated for numerous industry awards and some of his graphic
novels are used in teaching at a couple of universities and colleges.

About Wayne Reid:
Wayne is known as one of the leading historical artists of independent
comics because of his attention to realistic detail and accuracy. He has
illustrated not only historical pieces such as El Cid, American
Revolution, westerns, etc. but also mysteries including Sherlock Holmes
and H.P. Lovecraft stories.

About Ben Sherrill:
Ben Sherrill is an adjunct lecturer at Parkland College in Champaign, IL.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from Auburn University and a
master's degree in English from Kansas State University. He has been
teaching writing and literature at the college level since 2001 and has
taught at numerous universities, such as the University of Memphis, Santa
Clara University, Kansas State University, and the University of
Alaska-Fairbanks.

About Rowel Roque:
Rowel Roque is both a penciller and inker based in the Philippines and has
worked on a number of projects including Sleepless and Binary Gray from
Assailant Comics. He was also the artist on Lethal: Death Squad Rising.
Rowel has also done animation work and was a contributor to titles such as
Winter’s Eye and Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror.

About Caliber Comics:
Caliber Comics re-launched in February of 2014 after a hiatus and is part
of Caliber Entertainment. During the 1990’s, Caliber Comics was one of the
leading independent comic companies that helped to launch the careers of
dozens of today’s top comic creators. Today, Caliber offers its vast
library of comics and graphic novels in both print and digital formats,
with new book releases rolling out that feature a wide diverse line of
subject genre with the emphasis on creator owned titles.

For more information please visit the Caliber Comic website at
www.calibercomics.com