Robert Kirkman's New Demonic Comic To Get TV Treatment

[Karloff]

Robert Kirkman's New Demonic Comic To Get TV Treatment

Outcast hasn't even seen print yet, but Cinemax has faith in The Walking Dead's creator.

Robert Kirkman, he who gave us The Walking Dead [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-extras/7780-GamerHub-The-Walking-Dead-Cast-Interview-Part-1], Rick, sword-wielding crazy women, zombies, lunatic survivors, prisons, Carol, zombies, the flu, and more zombies, has a new comic due in 2014. Outcast, the story of demon-haunted Kyle Barnes, has yet to see print, but that minor detail seldom matters to TV moguls. After a bidding war, Cinemax won the rights, and has given a script commitment; the pilot will be co-written by Kirkman himself, working in tandem with The Walking Dead's David Alpert.

Outcast is Kirkman's second shot at the horror genre; he's more of a superheroes guy at heart. "I think Kyle Barnes is every bit as compelling as Rick Grimes and demonic possession is way scarier than zombies," says Kirkman, "so this is going to be fun!" As with his zombie story, this is a cast-of-dozens kinda gig, and while it won't be quite as much of a bloodbath as The Walking Dead, viewers shouldn't get too attached to the cast. With the possible exception of Barnes, everyone's expendable. Or, as Kirkman puts it, "there certainly is an element of, 'No one is safe.'"

At least Kirkman knows where he wants the series to end up. This is the first time he's started a project knowing what the finish line will look like. It may go on for years - or so Kirkman hopes - but there's a definite end in sight. If you were at New York ComicCon this year, you might have had a glimpse of what Kirkman has in mind for his exorcism comic; but if not, you'll have to wait till early 2014, when this Image title sees print, to find out what's in store. There isn't a firm air date for the TV series yet.

Source: Hollywood Reporter [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/robert-kirkmans-exorcism-drama-outcast-638909]

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[Baldry]

It's a shame Kirkman's one of the few comic writers that gets any recognition as there's a fair few comics, written by better writers, that might transition well on to telly but then again some things might be too hard to put on telly.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Let's hope they don't turn it into an everyday drama like what the Walking Dead became.

 

[Darks63]

so Tv producers arent even gonna wait to see if the comic flop huh? Seems pretty short sighted to me, but on the plus side if the show is on cinemax it can pretty much do anything w/o worry of censure.

Let's hope they don't turn it into an everyday drama like what the Walking Dead became.

and that characters in the show stay closer to the comic counterparts characterwise.

 

[Luca72]

It's a shame Kirkman's one of the few comic writers that gets any recognition as there's a fair few comics, written by better writers, that might transition well on to telly but then again some things might be too hard to put on telly.

Just out of curiosity which writers come to mind that are better than Kirkman? I'm not that up to date on comics, but I love stand-alone original series. Walking Dead is the only series I'm current on.

 

[Baldry]

It's a shame Kirkman's one of the few comic writers that gets any recognition as there's a fair few comics, written by better writers, that might transition well on to telly but then again some things might be too hard to put on telly.

Just out of curiosity which writers come to mind that are better than Kirkman? I'm not that up to date on comics, but I love stand-alone original series. Walking Dead is the only series I'm current on.

Brian K. Vaughan, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Jonathan Hickman have all written some brilliant stand-alone comic. I could name so many more great writers but I think that's a good four. Kirkmans not a bad writer by any stretch of the imagination but I don't think he's written something as good as Transmetropolitan or Y: The last man yet.

 

[Luca72]

It's a shame Kirkman's one of the few comic writers that gets any recognition as there's a fair few comics, written by better writers, that might transition well on to telly but then again some things might be too hard to put on telly.

Just out of curiosity which writers come to mind that are better than Kirkman? I'm not that up to date on comics, but I love stand-alone original series. Walking Dead is the only series I'm current on.

Brian K. Vaughan, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Jonathan Hickman have all written some brilliant stand-alone comic. I could name so many more great writers but I think that's a good four. Kirkmans not a bad writer by any stretch of the imagination but I don't think he's written something as good as Transmetropolitan or Y: The last man yet.

Oh yeah, I've read stuff from Vaughan and Ellis. Both are brilliant. Transmetropolitan is a bit older now but it's ripe for adaptation if it got into the right hands.

 

[Baldry]

It's a shame Kirkman's one of the few comic writers that gets any recognition as there's a fair few comics, written by better writers, that might transition well on to telly but then again some things might be too hard to put on telly.

Just out of curiosity which writers come to mind that are better than Kirkman? I'm not that up to date on comics, but I love stand-alone original series. Walking Dead is the only series I'm current on.

Brian K. Vaughan, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Jonathan Hickman have all written some brilliant stand-alone comic. I could name so many more great writers but I think that's a good four. Kirkmans not a bad writer by any stretch of the imagination but I don't think he's written something as good as Transmetropolitan or Y: The last man yet.

Oh yeah, I've read stuff from Vaughan and Ellis. Both are brilliant. Transmetropolitan is a bit older now but it's ripe for adaptation if it got into the right hands.

I reckon it'd be pretty hard to adapt Transmet' well but if it was done right it'd be brilliant. Y: The last man would be much easier probably. It'd be interesting if they managed to get Preacher on screen as well.

 

[Silberescher]

I don't mind using comics as IP farms, really; it's what DC and Marvel have been doing since the Lee/Kirby era. I just hope that this shifts further toward using original properties for this purpose rather than existing (superhero) characters, as that's caused problems for so long that those problems have become inherent to the genre. Stan Lee always had his eye on TV/film adaptations of popular Marvel heroes, so he would push for "the illusion of change" over real development, an attitude which persists today. The Death of Gwen Stacy arc showed up right as a new editor arrived who wouldn't be so opposed to real change--it almost came as a "screw you" to Stan.

I reckon it'd be pretty hard to adapt Transmet' well but if it was done right it'd be brilliant. Y: The last man would be much easier probably. It'd be interesting if they managed to get Preacher on screen as well.

Both have Y and Preacher been rumored to be optioned by HBO/Showtime/other networks, but DC seems to be as awful at making these things happen as they are with getting non-Batman, non-Superman movies off the ground. A Transmet adaptation gets less likely every day as the age gap increases between Spider Jerusalem and Patrick Stewart.

 

[Baldry]

I reckon it'd be pretty hard to adapt Transmet' well but if it was done right it'd be brilliant. Y: The last man would be much easier probably. It'd be interesting if they managed to get Preacher on screen as well.

Both have Y and Preacher been rumored to be optioned by HBO/Showtime/other networks, but DC seems to be as awful at making these things happen as they are with getting non-Batman, non-Superman movies off the ground. A Transmet adaptation gets less likely every day as the age gap increases between Spider Jerusalem and Patrick Stewart.

Yeah but I'm pretty sure those rumors are years and years old. DC just need to take a breather plan and then forge ahead with whatever, Marvel have had some incredible luck and DC's just gonna have to wait. It's a damn good job Patrick Stewart doesn't age or i'd be worried.

 

[Luca72]

I don't mind using comics as IP farms, really; it's what DC and Marvel have been doing since the Lee/Kirby era. I just hope that this shifts further toward using original properties for this purpose rather than existing (superhero) characters, as that's caused problems for so long that those problems have become inherent to the genre.

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Both have Y and Preacher been rumored to be optioned by HBO/Showtime/other networks, but DC seems to be as awful at making these things happen as they are with getting non-Batman, non-Superman movies off the ground. A Transmet adaptation gets less likely every day as the age gap increases between Spider Jerusalem and Patrick Stewart.

I definitely agree with you on those points. Unfortunately, the film industry will likely just keep cashing in on the usual superheroes until that stops working. But I get the impression that the superhero film genre is inflated so heavily that its going to burst not too far down the line. Do studios start looking for new franchises and taking some risks? Probably not very often.

Stories like Y and Transmetro (haven't read much of Preacher) would most likely make disappointing movies, but they would be gold on HBO or Netflix.