Comic-based movies have taken over theaters the past few years. They're some of the highest grossing films each summer and easily the most talked about around the water cooler. Slowly but surely, the same thing is happening with television. Both DC and Marvel have their super-heroes either on the small screen or coming to the small screen very soon with series like Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a bunch of upcoming shows to Fox, NBC, the CW, and Netflix.
However, the non-superhero side of things is just as strong. Alongside The Walking Dead, now heading into its fifth season, The Strain recently started on FX to some great reviews. What's coming up for the future of comics is even better for fans of Image Comics, Vertigo, Oni Press, and Icon. Here's a list of what you can expect to see in the future, all in alphabetical order.
Archer Coe & The Thousand Natural Shocks (Oni Press)
Network: Universal Television
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: Unknown
Archer Coe is a performing hypnotist with the stage name “The Mind’s Arrow.” When his nightly shows are over, he moonlights as a special consultant for the rich and powerful. One client passes away and the police accuse him of murder and being the murderer "The Zipper."
ARCHER COE is by Jamie Rich and Dan Christensen.
Although which network will actually put out this show is still in question, David Schulner, who is adapting this from Oni Press, gave us a little bit of insight into what's going on with this show:
ONI actually pitched the book to me. How about them apples?
As soon as they told me the premise I was hooked and knew it'd make a great series. And when I read it I was blown away.
The Bunker (Oni Press)
Network: Unknown
Status: Unknown
Release Date: TBD
On their way to bury a time capsule, five friends - Grady, Heidi, Natasha, Daniel, and Billy - uncover a metal bunker buried deep in the woods. Inside, they discover letters addressed to each of them... from their future selves! Told they will destroy the world in the very near future, the friends find themselves, over the next few days, growing further and further apart. Though they've been warned against making the wrong choices, how do they know what the right ones are? Can the future really be changed, or will an even darker fate engulf the world?
THE BUNKER is written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and drawn by Joe Infurnari.
Writer of THE BUNKER, Joshua Hale Fialkov, has noted in several interviews that THE BUNKER is headed to television, but has not said which producers or companies he and the rest of the Oni team is working with. Unfortunately, that's all the info currently available about this project. Fialkov is keeping a tight lid on it.
Chew Animated Feature (Image)
Network: Aiming at Digital Release/Home Release
Status: Pre-Production/Casting
Release: TBD
Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.
CHEW is written by John Layman and drawn by Rob Guillory.
Sure, it's not a television series, but it's CHEW. Casting has begun for this animated feature! That's right, Chew is going animated and it's a brilliant idea! Back in April, The Hollywood Reporter announced that two big names have been cast. Steven Yeun will be voicing Tony Chu and Felicia Day will be voicing Amelia Mintz. This can't come soon enough though.
Clone (Image/Skybound)
Status: Cancelled
Release Date: Never
CLONE is the story of Luke Taylor who lives a normal life up until the time he finds out he's may or may not be a clone. This leads him down a rabbit hole and opens up the whole world to him and the many men who share the same face as him.
The first arc was written by David Schulner and drawn by Jose Juan Ryp.
In our interview with comic and show writer, David Schulner revealed to us that after being bounced from NBC to Syfy, the network eventually lost interest in the series. Here's the story of what went down:
First we sold Clone to NBC. Network television is very much incident driven so our executive, who had surprisingly read the first five issues of Clone and basically said we don't want to ask you to put all five issues into the pilot but... can you put all five issues into the pilot? So against our better judgement we jammed a ton of story into the pilot. Then when the show didn't move forward Syfy immediately picked it up. But they were like, woa, slow down, why so much story? Let's get to know the characters more. So we slowed everything down, spent time with our characters, fleshed everyone out, and I wrote something we were all excited about. But, alas, they too decided not to move forward.
DMZ (DC/Vertigo)
Network: Syfy
Status: Pre-Production?
Release Date: Unknown
In the near future, America's worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand — Manhattan or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ.Matty Roth, a naïve young man and aspiring photojournalist, lands a dream gig following a veteran war journalist into the heart of the DMZ. Things soon go terribly wrong, and Matty finds himself lost and alone in a world he's only seen on television. There, he is faced with a choice: try to find a way off the island, or make his career with an assignment most journalists would kill for. But can he survive in a war zone long enough to report the truth?
DMZ was written by Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli.
There has been no news about this series since Feburary, but here's what we know. The Jacquemettons are writing the series. Both Andre and Maria Jacqueetton were writers on the show Mad Men, so the show is in good hands. This is part of Syfy's plan to revamp the network by bringing a ton of new shows, based off of comics and books, to their network.
Ghost Projekt (Oni Press)
Network: NBC
Status: In-Development
Release Date: Unknown
U.S. Weapons Inspector Will Haley has seen his share of scary stuff. When your job routinely involves donning a hazmat suit, grabbing your Geiger counter and jetting into sometimes-hostile territory, "scary" feels almost normal. But when the alarm sounds at an abandoned Soviet facility, Haley, along with Russian operativnik Anya Romanova, must track a stolen weapon unlike any they've encountered before. What is the "Dosvidany project" and are they too late to stop it?
GHOST PROJEKT comes from the minds of Joe Harris, Steve Rolston, and Dean Trippe.
It's been quiet when it comes to Ghost Projekt. There's been no news about this since September of 2013. Deadline broke the exclusive news, last year, that NBC was developing the Oni Press book into a series. The last reported news was that John Glenn and writer/director André Øvredal will be penning the script. Øvredal will serve as the director of the pilot.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Vertigo/ABC)
Network: Fox
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: 2015 (Probable)
In this amazingly imaginative tale, Allan Quatermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man unite to defeat a deadly menace to London and all Britons! Then, one month later, the skies over England are filled with flaming rockets as Mars launches the first salvo of an invasion. Only our stalwart adventurers can save mother England and the Earth itself.
The book was originally written by Alan Moore and drawn by Kevin O'Neill with colors from Benedict Dimagmaliw.
July offered some fresh news on this project as The Hollywood Reporter stated that Michael Green (Green Lantern, Smallville) will be writing the pilot for the show and executive producing. Should the show get picked up for a series, then he will go on as show-runner. Erwin Stoff (The Matrix) will also executive produce the show. As you may have guessed, Alan Moore wants nothing to do with this project. One thing we all know is that is will be better than the 2003 feature film-stinker of the same name.
Letter 44 (Oni Press)
Network: Syfy
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: Unknown
There's something up there. As newly elected President Stephen Blades reads the letter left for him in the Oval Office by his predecessor, he learns this stunning secret: seven years earlier, NASA discovered an alien construction project in the asteroid belt. A crew of heroic astronauts was sent to investigate, and they're nearing the conclusion of their epic journey. Don't miss the first chapter in this thrilling tale of real-world space travel, intrigue, and secret histories!
LETTER 44 is written by Charles Soule, with the art of Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque and colors from Guy Major.
Optioned earlier this year, LETTER 44 will feature Terminator 3's Jonathon Mostow will writer, produce, and direct the pilot to this series. There's been no new info on this series since April.
Outcast (Image/Skybound)
Network: Cinemax
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: Possibly 2015
Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and now he needs answers. Unfortunately, what he uncovers along the way could bring about the end of life on Earth as we know it.
OUTCAST is written by Robert Kirkman and features the art of Paul Azaceta.
Although the comic is in its infancy, with issue #3 just releasing, there is already a plan to push the show to television. Cinemax won the bidding war for this show, and Kirkman announced back in November, before the debut of the comic. Considering it's going on Cinemax, expect a darker and more close to the comic adaptation.
Pax Romana (Image Comics)
Network: Syfy
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: Unknown
From the mind of comic book innovator JONATHAN HICKMAN, comes the exhilarating time-traveling epic, PAX ROMANA. The creator of THE NIGHTLY NEWS brings his unique sensibility to science fiction and the result is a visually stunning look at a new history of the world. PAX ROMANA tells the tale of 5000 men sent on an impossible mission to change the past and save the future. It's the end of the world: Will they succeed, or will they fail?
PAX ROMANA was written and drawn by Jonathan Hickman.
Yet another series headed to Syfy, Pax Romana is being adapted by writers Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia, who are known for their work on the Syfy show Warehouse 13. They are also executive producers on the show, alongside Hickman.
Powers (Icon/Marvel)
Network: Playstation Network
Release: December 2014
Heroes glide through the sky on lightning bolts and fire. Flamboyant villains attempt daring daylight robberies. God-like alien creatures clash in epic battle over the nighttime sky. And on the dirty city streets below, Homicide Detective Christian Walker does his job. Detective Christian Walker is a special homicide officer in charge of cases that involve...Powers. What is a cop's job like in a world where Powers are par for the course? And what kind of cop is given the assignment?
POWERS is by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming.
Out of everything on this list, maybe aside from the Walking Dead spin-off, this is a sure thing. At this point, all of the info is out on the web, but one thing that people aren't focusing on as much as they should is that Powers is debuting on the Playstation Network. All PSN members can view the pilot for free. PSN Plus members can view the whole first season for free. PSN is taking the leap into on-demand original programming, which Netflix has been dominating for the past few years. While most of the shows are on a network, Bendis sees to know where the future of programming is headed.
Preacher (Vertigo/DC)
Network: AMC
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: TBD/Most likely 2015
Jesse Custer is a small-town preacher losing his faith--until he merges with a divine being called Genesis. Now he has firsthand knowledge of both Heaven and Hell and a voice that's automatically obeyed by anyone. Joined by an Irish vampire and an ex-lover, Jesse sets out on a mission to find God.
The series was written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Steve Dillon.
Writers and executive producers Seth Rogan and Even Goldberg are taking the 66-issue epic and bringing it to AMC. The team started writing the show back on June 30th, 2014. AMC should be a good home for this violent and very adult comic book series, considering everything they've done with The Walking Dead.
Ronin (DC)
Network: Syfy
Status: Pre-Production Hell
Release Date: Unknown
In medieval Japan, a young samurai is dishonored at the hands of the demon Agat for killing his master and letting him live. Now, after years of training with a magic/cursed sword, the now masterless Ronin seeks the demon out for vengeance and the hopeful joinng of his master in death. The plot only thickens, however, when he and the demon are trapped in the sword and finally released in the New York City of the bleak future to do battle once more.
RONIN was written and drawn by Frank Miller, featuring colors from Lynn Varley.
RONIN has been in pre-production hell since 1998. That's right. They've been trying to get this show made for 16 years. Currently, Syfy wants to make this a mini-series, as part of their new plan to adapt anything they can get their hands on. The Hollywood Reporter said that Syfy is currently looking for a writer and they're not sure how long this mini-series will run for.
Scalped (Vertigo/DC)
Network: WGN America
Status: Pre-Production
Release Date: Unknown
Dashiell Bad Horse hasn't been on Prairie Rose Reservation in fifteen years. So, when he shows up and starts trouble days before the opening of Chief Red Crow's multi-million dollar casino, he draws some attention. Red Crow figures he could use Dash's muscle on his crew of rez cops, but what is Bad Horse hiding? Where has he been for almost two decades, and why is he back in Indian country?
SCALPED was written by Jason Aaron and drawn by R.M. Guera.
Back in April, it was announced that SCALPED would be coming to WGN America with Doug Jung penning the script. WGN is trying its hand at building up original programming and this is their first time jumping into a comic book adaptation.
Thief of Thieves (Image/Skybound)
Network: AMC
Status: In-Development
Release Date: TBD
Conrad Paulson lives a secret double life as master thief Redmond. There is nothing he can't steal, nothing he can't have... except for the life he left behind. Now, with a grown son he hardly knows, and an ex-wife he never stopped loving, Conrad must try to piece together what's left of his life, before the FBI finally catch up to him... but it appears they are the least of his worries
The series was originally written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer with Shawn Martinbrough on art. Currently, Andy Diggle is writing with Martinbrough on art.
There hasn't been a lot of news about this show since 2013. Kirkman has come out and said that it is still in development and that it will take some time. The Walking Dead took five years to get on air. Will fans have to wait that long for this series? Chic Eglee will come on as showrunner if the series gets picked up. Eglee is known for writing and executive producing episodes of Dexter and The Walking Dead.
Walking Dead Spin-Off (Image/Skybound)
Network: AMC
Status: Pre-Production (Goes into production in late 2014)
Release Date: 2015
UPDATE 9/5/14: According to Deadline, the pilot has been greenlit.
Four seasons have gone by with The Walking Dead and it's a smashing success. Season five is on the horizon and fans clam for more. Enter, a spin-off...
AMC announced back in September 2013 that Walking Dead will be getting a spin-off. Well, it's less of a spin-off and more of a companion than anything else. There's been very little news about the upcoming show, but one thing is for sure, it will not feature any of the cast of the main series nor will it take place in the same place. In addition, Dave Erickson will be the show-runner. Erickson wrote 17 episodes of Sons of Anarchy. Producer Gale Anne Hurd had this to say about the script in an interview with MoviePilot:
It's not going to be a musical comedy, it's not going to be a satire, but it is going to be essentially following other characters -- and not characters from the comic book either... Given that the world lends itself to having multiple characters, I don't know that it's going to be as large an ensemble. I'm sure that we'll be following more than one [character].