Rocketship to publish 3 Angry Birds middle grade graphic novels and a young readers comic series under its Bottlerocket! imprint
Rocketship Entertainment, the publishing innovator and 2021 Ringo Award winner for Favorite Publisher, and Rovio Entertainment have entered into a multi-book publishing agreement to bring all-new Angry Birds middle grade graphic novels and young readers comics to fans starting later this year. Facilitated by Angry Birds’ licensing agency, IMG, this collaboration is part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the beloved franchise.
The graphic novel series will be written by 3x Eisner Award-winner and New York Times bestselling author Paul Tobin (Plants vs Zombies, Adventure Time, Messenger) and illustrated by renowned artist Thom Zahler (My Little Pony, Cupid’s Arrows). The young readers comic series, which will release in comic shops in 2025, will be written by best-selling author Katie Cook (Star Wars, Nothing Special).
Three graphics novels – The Haunting of Hog House, Level Up, and Breaking the Bank are currently planned and will be offered in a Kickstarter pre-order campaign along with limited edition exclusive merchandise.
The first book, The Haunting of Hog House will release spring ’25 and is described as:
Chuck inherits a castle! It’s old and spooky and needs a serious amount of restoration, but…wow! A castle! Chuck’s not really sure who left him this castle in their will (it’s a mystery, even to the lawyers) but he’s eager to start living life as the lord of a castle. EXCEPT…he finds out that he’s only one of the people who inherited the castle…
Angry Birds hatched as a casual mobile game and exploded into one of the most beloved entertainment brands in the world, inspiring dozens of games, billions of consumer products, several animated series and two blockbuster movies. As an entertainment sensation that swept the globe, Angry Birds is already into its second decade, celebrating its 15th anniversary in December 2024. The world-famous Angry Birds mobile games continue to draw millions of active players, with the brand pushing new content constantly out also in other media. The most recent example of this is the long-form animated series Angry Birds Mystery Island that premiered on Amazon Prime and Kids+ in May 2024. In June 2024 Rovio announced that it is working on the third instalment of The Angry Birds Movie franchise, with the movie being already in production at DNEG Animation.
“Angry Birds is a household name that a generation of fans have grown up with.” said Rocketship CEO and publisher Tom Akel, “We are honored to celebrate its 15-year anniversary with Rovio and be a part of the next chapter of Red, Chuck, and the gang.”
The Angry Birds series of graphic novels expands Rocketship’s Bottlerocket! line for young readers, following the release of the all-new Felix the Cat in partnership with Dreamworks Animation and hit series Fox Fires by Emilia Ojala. The Angry Birds Kickstarter campaign will offer pre-orders for all 3 graphic novels along with premium exclusive merchandise. It will follow the model of Rocketship’s previous campaigns for the Eisner-nominated mega hit Let’s Play and the Dune and Monsterverse franchises done in partnership with Legendary Entertainment. Following the campaign the books will be released globally through retail.