Pinnacle Entertainment Group and Visionary Comics have reached agreement with Tor Books for the publication of all-new, original prose novels set in the world of the popular roleplaying game Deadlands. The deal calls for three novels, with an initial lineup of authors that includes New York Times bestselling, award-winning Jonathan Maberry and Jeff Mariotte.

C. Edward Sellner, chief creative officer for Visionary, said in a statement:

We’re very excited to be bringing Deadlands to such a publishing powerhouse. It’s our first move into non-comics media, and the people at Tor have been fantastic to work with. I have no doubt the fans will enjoy the results.

The novel line is an exciting step in the expansion of the Deadlands world. Visionary Comics has already successfully launched the property as comics.

Shane Hensley, the creator of Deadlands and president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, said in the same statement:

It’s been such a joy watching Visionary play in our sandbox. We truly consider them partners in growing and expanding the Deadlands universe. Now Jonathan Maberry and Jeff Mariotte get to really dig deep and explore the world in the kind of depth you only get with full-length novels, and we’re as excited as anyone else to see what they do.

Jonathan Maberry added:

I’m really excited about writing Deadlands: Ghostwalkers, a balls-to-the-walls alt-history steampunk supernatural shoot-‘em-up action western. With zombies. I think I was genetically designed to write this kind of book.