THE EXILE
1) What is THE EXILE, and where can I find it?
THE EXILE is an OUTLANDER graphic novel, written by Diana Gabaldon and illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. It was published on September 21, 2010 in the U.S. and Canada. The Amazon page is here.
2) I'm not familiar with graphic novels. What is this, a comic book? A kid's book?
THE EXILE is definitely not a kid's book! (See the unexpurgated artwork from the wedding-night scene for evidence of that!) It's intended for adults, but the artwork is an integral part of the book. For more information about graphic novels, look here.
3) Is this just OUTLANDER in graphic-novel form, or is there more to it?
THE EXILE is not a straight re-telling of OUTLANDER, nor is it intended to be. It's being marketed as "Jamie's side of the story", but it is also told from Murtagh's point of view. THE EXILE covers the time period of approximately the first third of OUTLANDER, intersecting with the events of OUTLANDER at certain points, but it is also a completely new story, woven around the events of OUTLANDER, showing us things that Claire wasn't aware of or didn't understand.
4) How can I get an autographed copy of THE EXILE?
You can order autographed copies of all of Diana Gabaldon's books, including THE EXILE, from the Poisoned Pen bookstore, in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is Diana's local bookstore, and they ship all over the world. Their staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about Diana's books.
5) Will there be more graphic novels based on the OUTLANDER books?
That depends in part on how well THE EXILE sells. (If you like it, buy more copies! <g>) But when I asked on Compuserve if Diana would be interested in doing further graphic novels, here is what she said:
Currently, the book is only available in English. If you're interested in seeing THE EXILE translated into another language, please contact the foreign-language publisher. If there is enough demand, maybe they will consider it.
7) That's not what I think Jamie (or Claire, or Murtagh, or whoever) looks like!
Diana worked very closely with the artist, Hoang Nguyen, to get the characters as close as possible to her own mental image of what they look like. You may or may not agree with the results, but even if you don't like the artwork, you can still enjoy the story.
8) Why is Claire wearing a blue dress on the cover? Wasn't she wearing a floral print dress when she came through the stones in OUTLANDER?
Yes, she WAS wearing a floral print dress in OUTLANDER. They made a deliberate decision to change it for the graphic novel, due to artistic considerations. As Diana explains in the "Making of THE EXILE" section at the end of the book (well worth reading, if you haven't already!):
Here's what she had to say on Compuserve:
THE EXILE is an OUTLANDER graphic novel, written by Diana Gabaldon and illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. It was published on September 21, 2010 in the U.S. and Canada. The Amazon page is here.
2) I'm not familiar with graphic novels. What is this, a comic book? A kid's book?
THE EXILE is definitely not a kid's book! (See the unexpurgated artwork from the wedding-night scene for evidence of that!) It's intended for adults, but the artwork is an integral part of the book. For more information about graphic novels, look here.
3) Is this just OUTLANDER in graphic-novel form, or is there more to it?
THE EXILE is not a straight re-telling of OUTLANDER, nor is it intended to be. It's being marketed as "Jamie's side of the story", but it is also told from Murtagh's point of view. THE EXILE covers the time period of approximately the first third of OUTLANDER, intersecting with the events of OUTLANDER at certain points, but it is also a completely new story, woven around the events of OUTLANDER, showing us things that Claire wasn't aware of or didn't understand.
4) How can I get an autographed copy of THE EXILE?
You can order autographed copies of all of Diana Gabaldon's books, including THE EXILE, from the Poisoned Pen bookstore, in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is Diana's local bookstore, and they ship all over the world. Their staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about Diana's books.
5) Will there be more graphic novels based on the OUTLANDER books?
That depends in part on how well THE EXILE sells. (If you like it, buy more copies! <g>) But when I asked on Compuserve if Diana would be interested in doing further graphic novels, here is what she said:
Oh, sure I would. Beyond the thrill of seeing what Hoang (assuming we could get him again, or another talented artist, if not) would make of the script, there's that continuing challenge, of including storylines that _weren't_ in the original novel (but were, of course, _there_; just not in the novel <g>), coiled around the ones that were. And I do know one Very Important Thing that needs to be in the DIA graphic novel, should we get that far...6) Will THE EXILE be translated into any other languages?
Currently, the book is only available in English. If you're interested in seeing THE EXILE translated into another language, please contact the foreign-language publisher. If there is enough demand, maybe they will consider it.
7) That's not what I think Jamie (or Claire, or Murtagh, or whoever) looks like!
Diana worked very closely with the artist, Hoang Nguyen, to get the characters as close as possible to her own mental image of what they look like. You may or may not agree with the results, but even if you don't like the artwork, you can still enjoy the story.
8) Why is Claire wearing a blue dress on the cover? Wasn't she wearing a floral print dress when she came through the stones in OUTLANDER?
Yes, she WAS wearing a floral print dress in OUTLANDER. They made a deliberate decision to change it for the graphic novel, due to artistic considerations. As Diana explains in the "Making of THE EXILE" section at the end of the book (well worth reading, if you haven't already!):
The style of the dress is exactly what she would have been wearing, but using a solid coor instead of a print makes the composition of the panels more striking.9) Why did Diana decide to do a graphic novel in the first place?
Here's what she had to say on Compuserve:
I've never written fiction for anything save love of the story I was telling, or fascination with the challenge of trying something I haven't done before. I didn't write OUTLANDER with any intent of getting it published--or having it read, by anyone. Having written a book with that sort of total freedeom, I wasn't about to give it up, no matter whether the results were profitable or not. So--while I do generally _know_ how the audience at large may take something I write <g>--I really don't consider "the audience" at all when I'm working.
THE EXILE is sort of a combination--the challenge of telling a "new" version of OUTLANDER, mingled with the interest of collaborating with an artist on a visual script. Don't get me wrong--I'm _thrilled_ if people like it--but I didn't write it with any thought at all of the readers. I just did it because it seemed like fun.
