Birdking is one of the best dark fantasy comics to come out in ages. Created by writer Daniel Freedman and artist Crom, it tells the story of a young smith named Bianca and her quest to escape a war. She is joined in her journey by a massive wraith known as the Birdking
Fans of works as diverse as the films of Hayao Miyazaki, the comics of Mike Mignola, and The Witcherwill find much to enjoy in this series. Birdking was previously released in four softcovers, but The Beat can exclusively reveal that it will soon be released in a hardcover Library Edition from Dark Horse Comics
See the Birdking Library Edition cover art below
In conjunction with the announcement, Freedman spoke with The Beat about the story’s origins and influences, as well as collaborating with the artist Crom
D. Morris for The Beat: First off, I want to say that Birdking is a very special book and that comes across through every page. How long have you had this story in your head?
Daniel Freedman: It’s been a six year journey for us to get here and we couldn’t be more excited for readers to experience the story the way it was always meant to be as one long form graphic novel. The individual volumes were just us releasing the story in chunks as we finished it but now that the Library Edition is coming, readers will finally have the entire complete 500 page graphic novel in one giant beautiful hardcover.
Morris: What were some of the influences on your writing the story? There’s definitely Lord of the Rings (especially in book 2) but what might be some of the less obvious ones for readers?
Freedman: The LOTR reference was an accidental homage that we decided to lean into than try to avoid. The mines of Moria section is one of my favorites and when we found our heroes descending under a mountain, there was no escaping the comparison
But I must say that LOTR was never one of our influences. Crom and I will often cite the two Miyazakis (Hayao Miyazaki and Hidetaka Miyazaki) as our guiding lights. Dark Souls meets Princess Mononoke. Whimsical dark fantasy. For me personally, the works of Glen Cook and Gene Wolfe are always heavy influences. Namely The Black Company and Book of the New Sun.
Morris: While the lead character Bianca loves to fight, at her core she is a smith. Someone who builds and loves reading. What was the impetus for that?
Freedman: Crom’s designs informed so much of her character. She was always a smith at heart. In the beginning, her voracious reading is an attempt to understand the world around her. She’s been raised in isolation and is hungry for information
But the books she’s reading are full of half truths and even lies, and it’s not until she goes out on her own and experiences the real world that she truly learns anything, both about herself and the wider landscape. In that way, the books in Birdking represent the narratives society and ruling powers tell us to believe.
Morris: Something I love about the book is, like all great fantasy stories, how we get to discover the world and how big it is alongside Bianca. I have to know if you have notebooks filled with histories and maps of this place?
Freedman: We do and many of them are going to be included exclusively in this Library Edition, including a new fully illustrated inventory of all the weapons, items, books, and even food with accompanying lore.
Morris: One of the big draws ofBirdking is Crom’s incredible Mignola meets Manga artwork. Can you talk about the beginning of your creative partnership?
Freedman: I’d been following Crom’s art for a number of years before reaching out to collaborate on what would become our first Dark Horse title, Raiders. He’d been approached by many writers but none had a story that excited him. Thankfully, he liked my pitch
But before we even finished Raiders, Crom revealed he’d been designing the Birdking character and some of the central cast, including Bianca, and asked if I’d write their story. We had such a good experience working together on Raiders that doing another project, one that was five times bigger in scope and ambition, was a no brainer.
Morris: How closely do you both collaborate?
Freedman: Quite closely while also respecting what we each do. We talk out the story before I write anything and then we workshop the layouts together before I step back and let him do his thing. It’s a very healthy partnership built on admiration and trust.
Morris: Something I loved in the book were the sometimes literal sound effects. Whose idea was that?
Freedman: I write them into the scripts and Crom expertly executes them into the art. It’s a way of verbally telegraphing action visually.
Morris: I loved that the scripts, roughs and design process appeared at the end of every volume of Birdking. What was the reasoning behind that?
Freedman: We put so much love into the book and had so much fun developing every detail that we wanted to share that with the reader. Crom also has a long history of sharing his sketchbooks with his followers so including them was an extension of that. Plus they’re just awesome to see
Morris: Finally, I have to ask.Birdking ends pretty definitively but there’s still a whole world out there. Is the last we’ve seen of Bianca or does she still have some more adventures in other lands?
DF: Bianca certainly has many adventures ahead of her. Whether we’ll see any of them, you never know…
The Library Edition of Birdking can be purchased
