Sony have recently had a bit of a rethink about their Spider-Man plans, but that doesn't mean they've been put off comics altogether. The studio has just emerged triumphant from a bidding war for the rights to **The Sculptor{
The hefty book, which is only just out, tells the story of a destitute artist who makes a desperate deal with the Grim Reaper. The harsh contract stipulates that he gets to make great art but only has 200 days to live. With unfortunate timing our hero then meets the girl of his dreams...
McCloud wrote some Superman comics as well as his own works Zot! and Destroy!, but he's better known these days for writing about the medium as a critic and theorist. The Sculptor is his first work of comics fiction in two decades.
The film version will be produced by Scott Rudin and Josh Bratman. If you want to get acquainted with the material as it develops, The Sculptor was published by First Second Books on February 3.