Return of the Dapper Men Gets a Dapper Cover by Todd Klein

In what's gearing up to be potentially the "it" book of the New York Comic Con, Archaia unveiled the cover to Return of the Dapper Men today, written by Jim McCann along with art by Janet Lee. For the cover, Archaia solicited the talents of Eisner award winning letterer and designer Todd Klein, who's whimsical style that has been enjoyed on modern stories such as Sandman lends itself perfectly to this modern fairy tale dreamed up by McCann and Lee.

This original graphic novel clocks in at 128 pages in what's seeming like a beautiful hardcover format, selling for $24.95.  After seeing Janet Lee's work on the pages at various cons this year, I can honestly say that this book looks to be one of the most original and stunning graphic novels I've seen in a really long time.  The decoupage style of art that Lee has used for this book is unlike anything I've ever seen before.  The images from the various pages that we've seen glimpses of are absolutely wild and I personally can't wait to see them joined with the story that Jim McCann has drafted for this. 

Jim McCann posted the cover on his blog and had this to say:

 “We wanted to go for a timeless feel, given both the importance that time plays in the story and the fact that this is a sort of classic fairy tale of old with some modern twists"

Janet Lee said:
"I love the look of books from the turn-of-the-century and classic children’s fiction. I love how they incorporate filigree and natural elements with illustrations that are now iconic, Todd was able to reference that feel and yet make it very today.”

Limited copies of Return of the Dapper Men will be available at the New York Comic Con for sale in the Archaia booth, with the book getting  a wide release to stores in November.  I know where my first stop at NYCC will be. If you can't make it to the New York Comic Con, you can pre-order the book at Amazon: