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Amazon Adapting Robert Kirkman’s Invincible Comic - In Animated Form
Amazon Studios will be adapting Invincible, an Image comic created by The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, with art by the latter and Ryan Ottley. It was previously reported Invincible would become a feature film from Universal to be helmed by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, although it is unknown how or if this new project will affect the movie.
Invincible began its run in 2003 and concluded earlier this year after 15 years and 144 issues. It centers on Mark Grayson, an ostensibly normal teen with a very big secret: his father is the alien superhero Omni-Man. Mark’s world is irrevocably altered when he discovers that he has developed powers of his own, but his father is there to help him soar - quite literally. However, there are quite a few twists and turns from there. Invincible was a superhero comic, but one that refused to fall into the genre’s familiar tropes. The story regularly subverted expectations, packing both action and emotion into its every panel.
Deadline reports that Invincible will be an hourlong eight-episode animated series. Almost a year ago, Kirkman and his company, Skybound, left AMC and inked a new two-year deal with Amazon. It looks like Invincible will be the writer’s first content developed exclusively for the streaming titan. Kirkman stated, “I couldn't be more proud of the series Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley and I did together for over 15 years. To know our characters will live on in multiple iterations in other media is almost too exciting to bear! What Amazon is allowing us to do in animated form is nothing short of ground-breaking, and I can't wait for our rabid fan base to experience it!”
The show will be produced by Skybound and Simon Racioppa, who worked on the original Teen Titans, will act as showrunner. Kirkman will executive produce alongside Racioppa and David Alpert. Although The Walking Dead made him a household name, Kirkman has had several successful shows based on his work. Aside from The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead, another comic, Outcast, was adapted for Cinemax. The series will return with its second and likely final season in July. Kirkman has plenty of other material to mine, but it’s likely that he will write original stories for Amazon as well.
The news of Invincible’s future as a film developed by Rogan and Goldberg was exciting, but fans of the comic may be even more hyped for this animated show. Amazon has proven itself capable of delivering excellent original content from Transparent to The Man in the High Castle. It will be quite difficult to edit 144 issues into a cohesive movie, but an hourlong animated series will hopefully have multiple seasons over which to unfold this story. Using that format will also save Invincible from the budgetary constraints typically limiting live-action superhero shows. Only time will tell if this show will do the source material justice, but it certainly seems promising.
