The American comic publisher, Dark Horse comics has reportedly inked a deal with the NBC Universal Cable Productions (UCP) to roll out a bunch of TV shows based on its comic properties. As per the deal, the NBC Universal owned, television production company, UCP has signed Dark Horse Entertainment on a multi-year deal that will have the comic publisher to script out and produce program content for TV from its vast comic-library.
The comic-genre based stories have in the past spun out successful on-screen scripts, be it the mega-budged tent-poles on the silver screen or even on the small screen in an episodic format. Hit TV shows including CW’s Arrow and The Flash based on DC Comic characters have garnered amazing viewership numbers. Also Marvel’s shared cinematic universe has been successful in trickling down to the small-screen in Agents of S.H.I.E.LD and Agent Carter. Not to forget Netflix/Marvel team-up of Marvel’s Daredevil too.
The Dark Horse/UCP team-up doesn’t come as a surprise as Marvel/DC have already set the trend of getting comic characters right from the comic-strips to screen. The deal between the duos however took over a year to finalize as reports were in during the 2014 Comic Con of a potential collaboration between the two. With the 2015 San Diego Comic Con hurling on euphoric fire, this seems the right time for the announcement.
Four of Dark Horse’s properties have received a green light for production and these include Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy; Harrow County, based on Cullen Bunn’s (The Sixth Gun) new comic; Eisner Award-winning Concrete, from Paul Chadwick; and Back Up, based on a feature script from Tom Vaughn.
UCP Exec VP development, Dawn Olmstead stated that “Dark Horse Entertainment has an incredible roster of fantastical, witty and mind-bending stories. Their brand has conquered multiple media platforms and boasts iconic books that have attracted the highest level of writers. It’s going to be a wild and imaginative ride.”
Over the past few years, Dark Horse has been edging towards pushing more of its original content into limelight apart from their famed license properties including Star Wars, Hell Boy, 300, Sin City which have all shared the on-screen glory.
Notable productions from Dark Horse Entertainment in the past include The Mask (1994), Barb Wire (1996), Alien vs Predator (2004), Hell Boy (2004) and Sin City (2005).
With The Umbrella Academy, Harrow County, Concrete and Back Up all planned for going into production, the independent comic-house promise a complete surreal experience as they all differ on plot, characters and sub-genres. Watch this space at AnimationXpress.com as we would soon deep dive into Dark Horse’s comic incarnations on TV.