The infamous Battle Chasers comic book series is (finally) getting a live-action TV adaptation, from John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. Alcon Television Group has put out a pre-emptive bid for the Battle Chasers TV show, which will be based on the comic by anime-inspired comic book artist Joe Madureira. Battle Chasers mixes anime aesthetic with old-school fantasy and Steampunk tropes into a Lord of the Rings-style story about several unlikely warriors banding together into a team. Battle Chasers remains one of the most perplexing cases of a highly-anticipated series from a red-hot comic creator, which simply fell off the face of the Earth in its prime…
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Battle Chasers ran only 9 issues long from spring 1998 to fall of 2001 and was part of the WildStorm independent imprint started by Jim Lee. Joe Madureira was one of a trifecta of creators (alongside J. Scott Campbell and Humberto Ramos) that created the “Cliffhanger” division of Wildstorm, which focused on genre-influenced titles like spy-comedy Danger Girl (Campbell), vampire horror series Crimson (Ramos), or the fantasy-adventure that is Battle Chasers. Cliffhanger only lasted from 1998 to 2004 – and Battle Chasers was the first part of that Fellowship to fall.
Maduriera’s work on Battle Chasers was notoriously slow and inconsistent its run; the first four issues he released through Wildstorm; issues 5-8 were released through DC after it acquired Wildstorm; issue #9 was released through Image Comics as Madureira decided to leave the comic industry altogether to develop video games. Battle Chasers #10 has endured as a White Whale for comic collectors of the late ’90s-00s era; Joe Maduriera recently gave fans the long-awaited sign of hope, when he released preview pages for Battle Chasers #10, earlier this year, finally picking up the issue #9 cliffhanger, some 20 years later.
“As a huge fan of John Wick, you can imagine my excitement when Adrian and Derek reached out about turning Battle Chasers into a show,” Madureira said. “It’s not something I ever thought could happen, and I’m blown away to have this opportunity with so many talented folks, including Alcon and Zoic, behind it. Everyone involved seems to genuinely love the series, so I know it’s going to be great.”
“As a storyteller–as well as a super fan of unapologetic and unrelenting action–I can’t wait for people to feel as giddy as I did when I first laid eyes on Battle Chasers, said Kolstad. “The world which Joe has created here, coupled with the characters therein, is both unique and yet familiar. Adapting this for the small screen is gonna’ be a jon.”
“Being part of the team that finally brings Joe’s Battle Chasers to the screen has been a 20-year dream of mine,” added producer Adrian Askarieh (Hitman). “I am thrilled that Joe has entrusted Derek, Zoic [Studios], myself, and now our partner, Alcon, with this rare and exciting opportunity.”
Battle Chasers TV Series is now in development
Source: Deadline
