Comics
Italian Comics Publisher Bonelli Taking a Stab at “Dylan Dog” for TV
Leading Italian comics publisher Sergio Bonelli Editore is branching out into TV production with plans to make an English-language show based on cult horror series “Dylan Dog,” plus other projects based on its properties, which are distributed in 35 countries, reports Variety.
Bonelli’s long-expected move into production, with a dedicated arm called Bonelli Entertainment, unlocks its expandable comics universe for a wide range of adaptations, but comes with the key proviso that the company wants to “be in charge,” following some “bad experiences,” said development chief Vincenzo Sarno. A 2011 Hollywood indie movie adaptation, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, bombed at the box office. It’s unclear if this is related to the pilot, “Dylan”, which went online last year.
“Dylan Dog” is being developed as a 10-episode live-action series based on Tiziano Sclavi’s popular franchise chronicling the exploits of its titular British paranormal investigator, who with his sidekick Grouch, a Marx impersonator, takes on cases that usually involve monsters, ghosts, vampires, werewolves and zombies. The 25-year-old comic book series, published in the U.S. by Dark Horse Comics, boasts more than 500 installments and sales of more than 50 million copies in 30 countries.
Bonelli bought back the “Dylan Dog” rights a year ago, Sarno said. He noted that the company is now making sure that “the essence of our characters and our properties remain intact” by controlling production.
IDW Dark and Paramount recently joined forces to launch limited comic book tales set in the worlds of Smile and A Quiet Place, and we’ve learned today that they’ll continue hanging around in those franchise universes with two brand new limited series tales.
Entertainment Weekly has exclusively revealed this afternoon that IDW Dark’s Any Given Smile debuts in September, while A Quiet Place: Rising Tides arrives in November.
First up, from writer Stephanie Williams and artist Pablo Collar, Any Given Smile puts a football-themed twist on Parker Finn’s successful Smile movie franchise.
The five-part limited series is “set in January 1995, during the American Arena League football championship game in St. Augustine, Florida. The rising superstar of the Sharks, backup quarterback Dupree, is feeling the pressure from his teammates, the fans, and also the city’s gambling underworld, to whom he owes a considerable debt. Meanwhile, a sports journalist investigates a string of suicides that may be connected to the big game. At the very least, they are connected to a sinister entity that preys on the minds of its victims.”
From writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow, A Quiet Place: Rising Tides will also be a five-issue limited story. The comic book tale “brings the creatures to the Florida Keys, where a father-daughter duo attempt to survive on water in a houseboat.”
EW further details, “This tense family reunion coincides with the arrival of the vicious creatures that hunt through sound. Grace and her dad find safety on the open ocean, but she’ll have to make landfall sooner or later; the father’s oxygen tank and their supplies are running low, while a hurricane swiftly approaches.”
Learn more about both comic books over on Entertainment Weekly.
You must be logged in to post a comment.