Fifth Beatle graphic novel and feature film in the works

"The Fifth Beatle" is the title of a new graphic novel and feature film on the way from writer/producer  Vivek J. Tiwary, reports Dark Horse Comics.

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THE FIFTH BEATLE chronicles the life of The Beatles little-known manager, Brian Epstein. As Paul McCartney said, “If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian.” This groundbreaking project also marks the first time a feature film about the band has ever secured rights to include Beatles songs.

The story is written by Tiwary and drawn by fan-favorite artist Andrew Robinson (STAR WARS, BATMAN, SUPERMAN) with additional contributions by multiple Eisner and Harvey award-winning artist Kyle Baker (PLASTIC MAN, WHY I HATE SATURN, NAT TURNER). It is slated to be published in 2013. Both Robinson and Tiwary will attend the upcoming New York Comic Con from October 10th-14th to present the graphic novel and meet fans. Artwork from the novel will be exclusively displayed online at www.thefifthbeatle.com.

THE FIFTH BEATLE from M Press Books, a division of Dark Horse Comics, recounts the untold true story of Epstein, the brilliant visionary who discovered The Beatles and helped guide the band to international stardom as their manager, securing their first record deal at a time when no one else was interested, and successfully bringing them to the world stage with a scale and scope no music impresario had ever attempted.

Epstein’s boast—“The Beatles will be bigger than Elvis!”— seemed absurd in 1961, but proved humbly prophetic by 1967. When he died at the age of 32, he was an extremely successful artist manager and entertainment impresario, but a painfully lonely young man. The film will deal with Epstein’s struggles with his sexuality and religion, while desperately trying to fit into the “Fab Four’s” world.

“My interest in the Brian Epstein story began almost 20 years ago, when I decided that music management was the area of the entertainment industry that I first wanted to pursue,” says Vivek. “ I had been a lifelong Beatles fan, so I thought that it made sense to study the management of the band that had written the rules of the modern music industry. What I unearthed after much research (there is a paltry amount of information readily available on Brian, which is part of why I want to bring his story to the world) was not just an inspirational business story and a blueprint for what I wanted to accomplish with my career, but also a very human story. This is a true labor of love, passion project for me.”