Blackburn Burrow, the story of a mysterious Civil War veteran and his battle against supernatural horrors, was released today as a digital comic by Amazon Studios, featuring the work of top talents in the industry.

“This is a very exciting new venture for Amazon Studios. Beyond entertaining legions of comic fans, we see value in digital comics as a new way to test stories and learn more about fan engagement,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “The 12 Gauge team has done beautiful work on the Blackburn Burrow digital comic and we are thrilled to share it with audiences to see how they react to the story.”

The Blackburn Burrow digital comic is produced by 12 Gauge Comics, which teamed with renowned comics writer Ron Marz (Silver Surfer, Green Lantern, Marvel vs. DC, Batman/Aliens ) and veteran illustrator Matthew Dow Smith (Doctor Who, X-Men Icons, Mirror’s Edge, Day of Judgment) to shape the story and look of the comic.

“I love period stories, I love supernatural stories, and I love collaborating with this art team. Working on Blackburn Burrow has been a great experience, especially with Amazon going to such lengths to put this story in front of as many readers as possible. That kind of commitment is real gift for storytellers,” Marz said.

Blackburn Burrow Issue #1 (of four) is available for free at a variety of sites including the Kindle Store, Graphicly and the Amazon Studios Facebook page. The series will be released over a period of four months, with new issues coming out every four weeks. Each release will be accompanied by a poll about that issue and readers are encouraged to provide comments on the story.

The Blackburn Burrow project originally first came to Amazon Studios in the form of a feature film screenplay from writer Jay Levy. Learn more about the project, and about the Amazon Studios Movie Development Slate.

Amazon Studios intends to add projects to its Movie (and Series) Development Slate on a regular basis. If you have an original script that you’d like to see considered, you may submit it privately or publicly. The Amazon Studios team will evaluate each submitted script and in 45 days decide whether or not to pay $10,000 to extend the initial option by 18 months and add the project to the development slate.

WGA members can learn more by having their agent contact our Los Angeles-based production company, Amazon Studios, Inc.