Next month, the 'War of the Worlds' graphic novel will debut in bookstores across the nation and it will be promoted with a 90-second trailer, not unlike the way movies are promoted.

"We're producing the trailer in Hollywood, and it will be complete with a soundtrack, special effects and voice talent," said Aron Kessler, vice-president of Best Sellers Illustrated (http://www.bestsellersillustrated.com/), the book's publisher.

The trailer's visuals include striking black-and-white panels from the graphic novel, many of which depict the havoc wreaked by Martian tripod war machines in and around New York City.

"H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi tale took place in London and its environs," said author Stephen Stern, "but Orson Wells' updated radio version that caused a nationwide panic was set in the New York metropolitan area. We're doing the same thing, in a post-9/11 world."

Sales of graphic novels were up 25% in 2004, with revenues in excess of $200 million, according to ICv2, a print and online trade publication that covers pop culture for retailers.

The 'War of the Worlds' trailer will debut on the Internet in early May, just weeks before the graphic novel arrives in bookstores -- and less than two months before Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's summer blockbuster based on the same source material hits theatres.