EVIL is about to take on a new look. Retired North Yorkshire vicar Graham Taylor's bestseller Shadowmancer is to be turned into a series of 'manga' comic books. And Graham himself is to be the model for 'supervillain' Obadiah Demurral - the book's evil Vicar of Thorpe.

It is Graham's face - as interpreted by manga artist Inaki - that will stare out, red-eyed and satanic, from the comic's front cover.

So what does he think of being turned into a comic book villain? And does the picture bear any resemblance to him? "It is quite overwhelming," he admits. "But when I look at it, it is like me - me as I'd look on LSD!"

Graham admits that until recently, he had never even heard of manga. But he's now done his research, and realises how hugely popular the comics are. Shadomancer the comic will appear in monthly episodes - the first one out in December. "And we expect to sell anything between 500,000 and one million copies each month," he says. "It's a great way of getting the story of Shadowmancer to a whole generation of kids who don't read books."

Updated: 16:38 Friday, April 08, 2005