Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to Daniel LuVisi‘s art book and graphic novel, Last Man Standing: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter. This has been a hot property lately, sparking a bidding war that Paramount emerged from as the victor.

The title comes from Heavy Metal Publishing and tells the story of Gabriel, a bounty hunter on a path of bloody revenge in a parallel universe land known as New Amerika filled with wild and dangerous creatures and characters. The 230-page first book in the series will be released on September 7, 2010, and will act as a prologue to the story, teaching us the history of this world while offering numerous character artwork and biographies among other features. You can pre-order the book at the Heavy Metal website.

Instead of trying to explain what exactly is going on, I’ll just let the gentleman main character, Gabriel, explain it to you by way of a detailed letter. You can read the whole thing by clicking over to the other side now.

To Whom it May Concern,

My name is Gabriel and I’m going to take you on a little adventure through my life. I must warn you though, it’s not for the faint of heart or stomach, for that matter. There will be laughing, crying, sex, violence, robots, ninjas, burlesque girls, body builder sharks and shit you wouldn’t fathom.

Now, where to begin?

I used to work for a company called ARMTECH or A.W.O. (Armtech Weapons Organization). It’s basically a ‘big brother’ type of company that focuses on keeping our country, that being Amerika, safe. Or under their thumb some might say. They began as a company based on morals and ethics. Citizens of Amerika came first on their list of protection. They solved our problems and fought one hell of a fight if anyone threatened them. They were the side you wanted to be on, and once you vowed your loyalty you weren’t going anywhere. I worked for them because I was made by them. I was created to be the world’s first “superhero” or what ARMTECH calls, a PALADIN, a soldier with the talent of 500 soldiers.

Before you start getting excited, I can’t fly. I don’t have x-ray vision or claws and I wasn’t bitten by any insects. I can’t regenerate and as much as I’d love to be, I’m not a multi-billionaire with a fascination for winged mammals. What I can do is kick ass and take a whole lot of ass kicking. I was created to be a walking army, a bruiser. When our boys in the forces were too afraid to go into the most dangerous of war-zones, they’d call me in to patch things up. There used to be a lot of us, but now I’m the last one surviving. I’m still human, at least I think I am. I do all the things that you do: eat, shit, sleep and fuck.

Things were amazing for me in the beginning. ARMTECH loved me, the people admired me and the criminals, rightfully, despised me. I did what needed to be done; I kept the streets clean and our country safe.

Until one very unfortunate day when everything took an unexpected turn…

Let’s stop right there. I don’t want to spoil everything, so I’ll leave the rest open to your lovely imagination. Hell, some pretentious asshole will eventually write a book explaining everything I did one of these days.

Please, feel free to go and explore some of my flings, my friends and my enemies. Get to know them, they may not all be here one day…

I promise you, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

Yours truly,
GABRIEL

No word on a timetable for the film adaptation’s arrival.

[Source: Heat Vision]