I don’t think there’s another artist alive who could have pulled this off. His attention to detail, his dogged determination to capture the look and feel of the English countryside, the care with which he designed the characters we know and love, are all expressions of his dedication to the craft, his respect for Adams’s tale, and his towering talent. I’ve walked the real Watership Down, wandered through the churchyard, and stood at the river where Hazel and Fiver and their company escaped-and I can honestly say the next best thing to being there is savoring every frame of art Sutphin crafted for this story. Translating a great story like Watership Down into a great graphic novel would require a truly great illustrator, and I believe Joe Sutphin has proven to be just that. I read a blurb on the back that said, ‘I announce, with trembling pleasure, the arrival of a great story.’ I was immediately hooked, and as I turned the last page and sat in the glow of Richard Adams’s masterpiece, I heartily agreed. “I’ll never forget the first time I picked up a copy of Watership Down. And our own proprietor Andrew Peterson has already taken a look and loved what he saw. You can check out the new cover below and pre-order the book here from the Rabbit Room store.

Today is the official cover reveal for the book and it makes us even more excited to see the final work in full. The classic adventure novel by Richard Adams has been an important read for 50 years, and now we’re excited to see the book receive a beautiful new graphic novel adaptation featuring the work of a two-time Eisner Award-winning cartoonist James Sturm and our good friend and illustrator Joe Sutphin. If you’re like us, then you’ve got a weathered copy of Watership Down somewhere on your shelves.

Watership down novel