Powers: Sony’s Playstation Network Banking on Indie Comic Adaptation

The television landscape has seen radical changes over the last few years.  The days of network television being a source of water cooler talks are getting fewer and fewer.  New competitors in the programming market have chipped away at the once dominant share that network television held.  Look, for example, at the rise in popularity in cable television programming.  Once an afterthought and home of countless hours of Full House reruns, both basic cable channel and shows like AMC’s The Walking Dead or Breaking Bad as well as premium cable services like HBO’s Game of Thrones dominate the populations’ television discussions.

The newest era of contenders in the television game comes from streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu.  Look at the rise in popularity of programs like Orange is the New Black or House of Cards on Netflix as well as Transparent on Amazon Prime.  There is money to be made and execs know it.

And what’s en vogue right now?  Comic book properties.  Not only is there a record number of comic book based shows on television right now (Flash, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Walking Dead, etc.), but there are new properties coming down the pike. Netflix for example, has partnered up with Marvel to bring the likes of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders to the streaming screens. Now Sony Pictures Television is hoping to tap into this interest in comic properties by releasing their own show. Enter: Powers.

Powers is based off the Marvel/Icon comic of the same name, and created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, the comic is about two homicide detectives and the cases they solve in a world filled with superhumans.  The show will follow the same concept.

Along with the comic’s creators acting as executive producers, the show will be overseen by Charlie Huston (writer of Moon Knight and Wolverine: The Best There Is) and Remi Aubuchon (Falling Skies, 24). The show will star Sharlto Copley (District 9, Elysium) as Det. Christian Walker and Susan Heyward (The Following) as Det. Deena Pilgrim.  Other notable actors set to appear on the show are Michelle Forbes (Battlestar Galactica, The Killing) as Retro Girl and Eddie Izzard (Velvet Goldmine, Hannibal) as Wolfe.  The first season consists of ten episodes.

Sony is banking heavily on the show, hoping that by introducing the show to video gamers, it will translate into ratings.  Let’s be honest, while not all video gamers are comic book readers, a lot of comic book readers are video game players.  It’s this audience that Sony is attempting to court.  That’s why Sony has a rather bold plan to get viewers to tune in.

Starting March 10, PlayStation Network users will be able to watch the first episode for free.  For those without access to the PlayStation Network, the first episode will also be available through YouTube and Crackle.  Also on that day, viewers will be able to watch 2 more episodes.  New episodes will then debut every Tuesday until all 10 episodes are released.  Sony is so sure you’ll support the show that they will allow PlayStation Plus subscribers to watch the complete first season as a part of their membership.

PlayStation Plus is the premium online membership that allows subscribers access to many privileges like free games every month, automatic game updates, and special deals and discounts.  At CES this past January, Sony announced that over 18 million units of the PlayStation 4 have been sold worldwide.  Of those, over half of the users are also PlayStation Plus subscribers. Sony is hoping that those nine million plus users will tune in.

The question is, will the audience tune in?  While there is an interest in shows based on the properties of the Big two publishers, Marvel and DC, is there interest in a relatively unknown indie property?  Another question is: with so many other online services (like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.), will the customers stand for one more source for programming in an already cluttered field?

Is there really a market for original programs, at least where the video game market is concerned?  Microsoft was originally planning on joining the original programming space but back in July 2014, they shuttered the doors of their original programming division.  While plans were made to have programming based on their Fables and Gears of War franchises (as well as others), the only original program that survived was Halo: Nightfall.  Will Sony succeed where Microsoft failed?  So far, Sony has not announced any other shows in development.

Check out Powers on the PlayStation Network on March 10.

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Images: Sony Pictures Television, Image Comics, Marvel Icon

Grizzly Pullz: New Comics for the Week of 10/22/2014

Welcome back to our weekly comic pull list! We pick the new comics of the week, every Wednesday, that should find a way on to your pull list. Brand new series or the tried and true, there will be something here for you!

Too much with the rhyme? Yup, moving on.

Grizzly Pullz: New Comics for the Week of 10/15/2014

Welcome back to our weekly comic pull list! I love my weekly trips to the comic shop on Wednesday, but with so much coming out every week it can be a little overwhelming. So I will be sharing my picks of the week, every week, whether it is comics I am following religiously, or checking out for the first time. Whatever your taste, there will be something here for you!

Grizzly Pullz: New Comics for the Week of 10/8/2014

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly comic pull list! I love my weekly trips to the comic shop on Wednesday, but with so much coming out every week it can be a little overwhelming. So I will be sharing my picks of the week, every week, whether it is comics I am following religiously, or checking out for the first time. Whatever your taste, there will be something here for you!

Weird & Wacky World of Comics: Christmas Special!

So December is here and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it is hard to avoid the tell tale signs of the coming festive season. Shops are cram-packed with tons of Christmas related items and ads about the holiday season spring up every few seconds. The comic industry is not one to shy away from this either and churns out a selection of festive comics for young and old, sometimes with some very strange results. So in this special edition of Weird and Wacky World of Comics we celebrate the strange, the wonderful and the just plain disturbing Christmas comics in the gallery below. You never know it may give you some ideas to pop on your Christmas or it may be an alternative to watching constant Christmas adverts flash by your eyes. Either way it is certainly a better alternative than watching some of the rubbish that gets put on during the holiday season!

Look for more Festive Holiday articles throughout Grizzly Bomb this December!

Comic Rack: DC vs. Shuster, Snyder Leaves ‘Swamp Thing’, & Marvel Outsells DC

Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

The Superman/DC/Shuster Legal Battle Continues

For those who don’t know, basically DC has said that Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel gave up their rights to reclaim their half of the rights to Superman, and the Shuster estate has fought against that argument for a long time. As far as I can understand, the Shuster estate is appealing against a recent judgement made by a federal judge, who ruled they officially gave up their rights in an agreement made in 1992. It’s a little bogged down by legalese, and the complicated nature of who deserves what rights is what makes it even harder. I think it’s mostly a case of DC as a publisher trying to split hairs over what is or isn’t owed, and while I don’t know all the details, I’m sure the Shuster estate has a valid argument. All I know is I wish this whole court thing would get settled definitively, once and for all, either way. Then we could look back and judge the facts. I’m sure somebody more knowledgable than I could make a great argument for either side, but for now it’s a little sad to see yet another legal dispute in the comics world be dragged on further than it ever should have.

Find out more here.

Image Dips Into Time Travel Again with Comeback

I’m a sucker for time travel stories. They’re practically my favorite genre of Sci-Fi stories, if it could even be called a genre. It’s a storytelling trope that’s always captivated me, and hearing about a new miniseries involving time travel certainly captured my interest. In particular this one is by Ed Brisson, who up until now has only been a letterer, but is taking a step into the fray as a writer. His book, called Comeback, is about a time traveling agency called Reconnect, that provides a very special service. For a hefty price, they’ll go back in time and save somebody you loved/cared about/whoever from dying. As with all time travel stories, the price paid for manipulating the space time continuum is more than just monetary, and can result in lots of bad things happening if things should go wrong. Of course the whole thing is very illegal, and there are certain physical repercussions for traveling in time. The book is sold out at the distribution level, so getting a copy of #1, which is currently out, may be hard for the time being, but that’s why digital comics and back issue hunting exist.

 

A great interview going into more detail with writer Ed Brisson is here.

A Quick Look at BOOM’s Hellraiser: The Road Below

I’ve been a big fan of Hellraiser for a long time, pretty much ever since I saw the first one as a young lad. Since then that franchise has always held a place in my heart near and dear to me, which is why I was taken by such surprise to see that there was still a Hellraiser comic series going on today. Furthermore, that it’s multiple issues in! I guess keeping up with all the hoopla from the big two, you’ll always have certain titles fall by the wayside, even ones that are based on a franchise you’ve long loved. While I haven’t read a Hellraiser book in years, the comic itself looks pretty interesting from the preview shown. It’s not written or drawn by any big names I recognize, but it deals with Kirsty Cotton dealing with a war between evil forces, and there even seems to be some mention of a Cenobite Queen? Whaaaat? Man, if you’re a Hellraiser fan who is intrigued, (like me), this preview may sell you on picking up this book, and finding it’s older issues to catch up.

Find out more here.

Snyder Wrapping Up His Run On Swamp Thing with #18

If you haven’t been reading Swamp Thing, you owe it to yourself to go and pick up every issue you can find and catch up, along with Animal Man. They’re probably the two best books to come out of the New 52, and Scott Snyder has proven himself to be an incredible writer who can tell amazing stories. Swamp Thing is one of those characters who is criminally underrated, and Snyder has managed to take everything about him and do things with his character that haven’t been done since Alan Moore had his seminal run. Hearing Snyder was leaving the book was certainly saddening, but it’s going to be interesting to see his take on Superman, and for me personally, it’s a trade off I’d make every single time. While we still don’t know who is gonna fill in for Snyder and Swamp Thing artist Yanick Paquette, but whoever they are they’ve got big shoes to fill. I can’t recommend Swamp Thing enough to people, and every time people look at me like I’m crazy, but then come back next week telling me how wrong they were about it, I just tell them don’t thank me; thank Scott Snyder.

Find out more here.

DC Discusses Marvel’s Direct Market Sales

DC and Marvel. Two companies that pretty much define and are synonymous with comics for the general public, but for most comics fans they couldn’t be more different than peanut butter and toothpaste. One thing the two companies, and endless fanboys keep track of, is sales. Recently with Marvel NOW!, Marvel’s been taking the top spot, but that doesn’t mean that DC is doing too shabby either. DC is staying strong, and their books are selling pretty consistently. While it’s interesting to watch DC talk about their marketing strategies, and to formulate your own opinions about what they could be doing better, or are doing just fine, one can’t help but think if all of the competition is a good thing. It’s brought the best out of both Marvel and DC, and we’ve gotten some great books on both sides. As long as they’re both not in a creative lull, the books are selling well, and comics fans are getting great stories, it’s really a win-win for everyone. Comics are more popular now than they’ve been in a long time, and while DC is currently playing catch up over in Hollywood, I have no doubts they’ll be leading the way when it comes to the printed page.

Find out more here.

That’s all for this week’s edition! We’ll see you next time at the Comic Rack!