We’re happy to present the first look at the cover of Into the Outlands: Quirk’s Quest, by Robert Christie and Deborah Lang, which will be published by First Second in Fall 2016. You can see more—including the comic itself, which is being posted as a webcomic—at Crutonia.com, but here’s a quick overview:

Captain Quenterindy Quirk and his company of sea-faring explorers are the strangest adventurers you’ve ever seen! In this debut fantasy adventure for elementary readers, these furry and feathered explorers embark on a dangerous quest to chart the unexplored islands of Crutonia. This expedition is cut short when their ship is attacked by three hungry giants, and the explorers take refuge on an uncharted island. But the giants may be the least of their problems. The island is home to a powerful witch–the strange, one-eyed Hukka–and it’s not clear if she is friend or foe.

Growing up on Long Island, Robert Christie spent most of his waking hours obsessively drawing anything and everything except cars. While taking cover from a lunchroom food fight, he met Deborah Lang and shortly thereafter they conspired to create Crutonia. He makes his living as an illustrator, painter and prop maker for major motion pictures, Broadway, and fashion photo shoots.

Deborah Lang is a cartoonist, scientific illustrator, and molecular biologist. She was born in New York City, but eventually moved to Long Island purely to meet up with Robert Christie to create Crutonia. The Quirk’s Quest series is her first long form graphic novel to be published.