From Renegade Arts Entertainment:
Award winning independent publisher Renegade Arts Entertainment is excited to be travelling back in time with comic writer/artist and WCMA nominee Ben Rankel to produce FRANK, a historical-fiction graphic novel set around Canada’s most devastating natural disaster.
The Frank Slide was a rockslide that buried part of the mining town of Frank, Alberta, Canada, on the morning of April 29, 1903. Over 82 million tonnes (90 million tons) of limestone rock slid down Turtle Mountain covering the eastern side of Frank, the Canadian Pacific Railway line and the coal mine. It was one of the largest landslides in Canadian history and remains the deadliest, as between 70 and 90 of the town's residents were killed, most of whom remain buried in the rubble.
Cartoonist Ben Rankel says, “We’ve really got some huge historical events that have happened here in Alberta and I’m very excited to be working with Renegade Arts Entertainment to share an exciting and engaging story in an epic setting. I’m proud to be able to share my passion for Alberta history and comics with the world.”
While set during the actual events of the Frank Slide tragedy, the story and main characters will be fictional. Renegade Arts Entertainment Publisher Alexander Finbow says, “We want to inspire people to be interested in the history of Alberta and learn more about this terrible and avoidable disaster at Turtle Mountain but still allow ourselves narrative freedom to tell a compelling and engaging story that will bring in more readers. That’s why we’ve chosen to use fictional characters and plot entwined with the real history. We continue to only publish stories that truly convince us they need to be told. That’s what FRANK is—a story that demands to be shared.”
FRANK, written and drawn by Ben Rankel, is scheduled to be published by Renegade Arts Entertainment in late 2017.
Renegade Arts Entertainment is an award winning Canadian graphic novel publisher established in 2009. Founded as a creator owned company, Renegade publishes 3-5 titles a year. Renegade’s mission is to bring stories to life that we are passionate about and believe others will be too. Renegade operates from Canmore, Alberta and works with creators from many different countries.