Non-Superhero Comic Bits: ‘Lions, Tigers And Bears’ Gets Writers, ‘The Nye Incidents’ Back On Track, ‘Penny Arcade’ Strip Optioned
Way back in 2009, we reported on a couple of comic book adaptations in development:Lions, Tigers and Bears, about a boy whose stuffed animals come to life; andThe Nye Incidents, based on a Devil’s Due comic about an alien abductee serial killer. Neither project got much farther than the early stages, however, and we eventually forgot about them altogether. (Or at least I did. Maybe you didn’t. I don’t know your life.)
Now, news comes that both projects are back on track again. Get updates on both, plus info on a potentialPenny Arcade-inspired film, after the jump.
Based on the Image Comics series byMike Bullock,Lions, Tigers and Bearstells the tale of a child named Joey Price who learns that his stuffed animals come alive at night to protect him from monsters that reside in his closet. Though the premise sounds like a cross between two certain Pixar projects, Paramount is actually aiming for “an effects-heavy live-action tentpole” with franchise potential. [The Hollywood Reporter]
As forThe Nye Incidents, not a whole lot seems to have changed.Todd Lincolnwas set to direct in 2009, and he’s still attached to the project — he just had to putNyeaside for a couple of years in order to makeThe Apparition. Now that he’s got more free time,Nyeseems to be moving forward once again. Lincoln will also produce, along withDaniel Alter(Hitman). No writer has been hired at this time, but comic co-creator (and horror author and alleged alien abductee)Whitley Strieberwill be involved as a consultant. Streiber will be “providing documents and case files on what he purports are true events.”
The comic, written by Strieber,Craig SpectorandGuss Floor, centers around a medical examiner named Lynn Devlin who finds herself shaken by the gruesome murder of an alien abductee. Devlin gets involved in the mystery, searching for a possibly-not-human serial killer inside the alien abductee community. The movie will reportedly aim to be “spooky and terrifying” without “veer[ing] into conspiracy/X-Files territory.” [The Hollywood Reporter]
Last year, the wildly successful webcomicPenny Arcadeput out a strip titled"The New Kid,“along with a note from co-creatorMike Krahulik(a.k.a. Gabe) saying, “My fantasy is to see Dreamworks, Disney or Nickelodeon make an animated feature or a Saturday morning cartoon out of this one.” As of this week, Krahulik’s dream is one step closer to realization: Paramount Pictures has optioned the script for a CGI feature, withGary Whitta(The Book of Eli) tapped to write.
The strip, which you can readhere, revolves around a young boy who’s tired of moving around and being the new kid in school… in outer space. Neither of the comic’s beloved central characters, Gabe and Tycho, appear in the strip. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a cameo if/when the film makes it to theaters. [Pajiba]
