More ideas

I picture the prologue reading like a novel, with the text hand printed on roughed-up parchment, or scroll like material - then illustrate major scenes from the prologue in a sketchy fashion. Frank Miller, and other graphic novelists have done this in their books as well. Often in the batman novels, they will include important documents or case files at the beginning. I can see your prologue serving as the opening legend for the tale to come (very much like the opening scenes of (don't laugh) disney's beauty and the beast).

As far as page size is concerned, I would think that a slightly smaller page size would lend itself to the timeless feel of the story- going with more the physical size of a novel, possibly even binding the book in a hardcover. However, the downside of reducing the page size is that we would limit the space for the story to unfold graphically, and hardcover versions are expensive. Therefore at this point, I would opt for the standard size.

I agree with you that there is a lot of room within the drawings and layout to be original and break assumptions. And, I think that the layout of the book should follow the style of the artwork. Therefore, our first goal should be to determine the graphic style of the book. Would you send me a specific excerpt from the novel that you would like to see a draft of, and I will work up some ideas for that scene. Also send specific suggestions or advice for how you picture the excerpt being laid out. I think that this is our first hurdle in the novels artistic development.