In addition to going back to the well that is Alan Moore’s work and re-releasing it as new, DC is taking a page out of Dark Horse Comics’ and continuing a successful television show in print form.
Enter the announcement of Smallville Season 11. I’m not really a big fan of DC Entertainment since the whole New 52 thing, but that’s no secret. There are some things that they’ve done right with this new regime and some not so right. I’m merely choosing to make my voice heard with my wallet. That being said this isn’t such a bad idea. Dark Horse has done well with releasing Buffy & Angel seasons via comic book. Hell Buffy even got a DVD release of a season in motion comic form. It’s a plan that seems to work out well if the property is strong enough.
Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of Smallville towards the end, it was an ok show (better in the first three seasons). Novice fans however loved that freakin’ show. It ran 10 seasons for Xenu’s sake. The one payoff the fans never got was seeing Tom Welling in the tights & cape flying and what not. There’s the genius of this idea. Now fans can see this via the comic book medium. Although it will be a comic I’m sure the art will very heavily feature the likenesses of the actors who portrayed these characters on the CW.
It’s looking like the comic will be released primarily in digital form at first and will be made available in print form soon after.
Official press release:
Fans of the smash-hit TV series Smallville haven’t had much to cheer about since the show ended its critically acclaimed 10-year run on The CW last May. That’s all going to change with the upcoming new comic book series from DC Entertainment: SMALLVILLE SEASON 11.
Written by former Smallville show scribe Bryan Q. Miller, the new digital first series will be published digitally on April 13, 2012, with new digital chapters released weekly thereafter. Additionally, the online chapters will be offered in a print periodical, along with an episode guide to the hit television series, with the first print issue released on May 16.
The new comic book series picks-up where the show left off (with Clark officially now as Superman!) and features other fan-favorite characters including Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Chloe Sullivan-Queen, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and General Lane. The book features an all-star creative team – in addition to Miller, SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 creators include print cover artist Gary Frank (SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN), digital cover artist Cat Staggs and interiors by Pere Perez (BATGIRL).
“Six months after Clark Kent donned the cape and took to the skies to save Earth from Apokolips… enter Season 11!” enthuses Miller. “New allies abound! New enemies afoot! And old friends return where they’re least expected! Pere and colorist Chris Beckett have done a fantastic job of capturing the look of the show and the players, and Gary and Cat are knocking it out of the park on covers. I couldn’t be more excited to help give seasoned viewers and new readers an all-access pass to Clark’s first year in the cape.”
