With the popularity (and profitability) of comic book adaptations reaching a fever pitch in recent years, it is no surprise that studios are reaching beyond standard super hero fare to more adult oriented stories that span multiple genres. With the success of Garth Ennis’ Preacher (and Amazon’s upcoming The Boys) and Grant Morrison’s Happy!, it was just a matter of time before their fellow genre-bending writer Warren Ellis got in on the action.
In an exclusive report by the Hollywood Reporter, Universal Cable Productions “…has optioned Ellis, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire’s comic series Injection for television. The Image Comics title was first published in 2015 and revolves around a group of five highly specialized individuals who are brought together by the British government to hypothesize about the future of human culture. After discovering the results, the group decides to act on it by creating an unusual artificial intelligence using a combination of technology and shamanistic magic, which makes its way into our world.” As usual, Ellis’ Injection is a mix of science fiction, horror, and conspiracy theories all rolled together into an exquisite brew (and if you are looking to catch up on the series, the first three collected volumes of the series are currently available from Image Comics).
Ellis has become more involved with other mediums in recent years as he recently penned both seasons for Netflix’s animated adaptation of Konami’s video game classic Castlevania. With over 20 years of diverse creator-owned stories, more material from the Ellis is sure to picked up by rival studios soon.
In other Warren Ellis news, Marvel announced in their April Free Previews magazine that Ellis’ first work for the company, Hellstorm: Prince of Lies, will be collected in an omnibus edition for an October release. The series first introduced American audiences to his edgy brand of storytelling, taking the long-time Marvel horror hero Daimon Hellstrom: the Son of Satan in a new and much more mature direction. The Hellstorm by Warren Ellis Omnibus will collect issues 12-21 of Hellstorm: Prince of Lies as well as his four issue mini-series from the same era entitled Druid (featuring Marvel’s second string sorcerer Doctor Druid).
Bleeding Cool has also reported that the collection will include the never before published issues of the Satana mini-series by Ellis and Ariel Olivetti that was originally slated for release in 1997. At the time, Marvel found the material to be took extreme for their tastes and buried the series. Ellis, never one to let a good idea go unused, actually “…re-worked his two completed Satana scripts into the series Strange Kiss, published by Bleeding Cool’s publisher Avatar Press, removing Satana and any Marvel characters in the process.” These issues are not mentioned in the solicitation information, but hopefully they will be included in the omnibus.
Stay tuned for further updates on the work of Warren Ellis as they happen, right here at your number one source for news and opinions when it comes to the horror genre: Horror News Network.
