News and Media

Published: Oct 13, 2009

SAVANNAH, Ga.–October 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of “The Twilight Zone.” The Savannah College of Art and Design is celebrating this anniversary of the pop culture phenomenon with the publication of the final two books, “The Big Tall Wish” and “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up” in a series of eight graphic novels based on the legendary show.

The eight-book series—the only one of its kind—is based on the original and unedited scripts, in their entirety, written by Rod Serling. Artists from SCAD’s renowned sequential art program partnered with Walker Books to create this new series that allows fans of all ages to make the journey from black-and-white videotape into the full-color world of the graphic novel.

“I suspect my husband, Rod Serling, father of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ would heartily approve of this ‘new dimension’ of his stories,” said Carol Serling. “The adaptations and fine graphic pictures in this grand new series have truly caught the feeling and climate of that wondrous world of imagination.”

SCAD students, faculty and alumni created all of the original artwork for the novels, as well as the title treatments on the covers. Sequential art professor Mark Kneece adapted the scripts to the artists’ panels for the two latest novels, and professor Devin O’Bryan completed the series title treatments.

Anna Burgard, SCAD director of industry partnerships, began developing the idea for a new series based on the iconic television show in 2003. To her surprise, she found no one had made the creative leap to graphic novelization for “The Twilight Zone” yet, and she knew that artists in the SCAD sequential art program would be up to the task. After approaching the Serling estate and receiving the stamp of approval from Carol Serling, the new journey began.

Emily Easton, publisher of Walker Books for Young Readers, said she is a lifelong fan of the series and was thrilled to introduce a new generation of fans to “The Twilight Zone.” “I went to college in Rod Serling’s hometown of Binghamton, where we all hunkered down in the dorm lounge for midnight showings of the classic episodes as a way to wind down. It’s been particularly gratifying to see the maniacal gleam that comes into most people’s eyes as I tell them we’re launching this graphic novel series—the passion that still exists for this groundbreaking piece of television history is palpable.”

The graphic novel series includes eight books: “Walking Distance,” “The After Hours,” “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” “Deaths-Head Revisited,” “The Midnight Sun,” “The Big Tall Wish” and “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up.”

Rod Serling

Rod Serling worked as a writer and producer throughout his career in television, and has won the most Emmy awards for dramatic writing in the history of television. Serling wrote more than 75 episodes of “The Twilight Zone” series, for which he won three Emmys. He was also the show’s creator, host and narrator.

Walker Books for Young Readers

Walker Books for Young Readers, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing USA, began publishing children’s books in the early 1960s and was acquired by Bloomsbury in 2005. The imprint publishes such acclaimed books as the Caldecott Honor winner “Gone Wild” written and illustrated by David McLimans; “The Signers” by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Michael McCurdy; the deGranville trilogy by K.M. Grant; the “Lily Dale” series by Wendy Corsi Staub; the perennial favorite “The Period Book” by Karen Gravelle; and the ever-popular “Miss Malarkey” picture book series by Judy Finchler and Kevin O’Malley.