The Image Expo 2015 Titles Ready-Made For Television

Image Comics unloaded a torrent of announcements at the 2015 Image Expo last week, revealing over a dozen new series by comics top writers and artists. The publisher offered a diverse line-up of titles, ranging from space-faring comedies to gritty noir dramas, giving comics readers more than enough content to anticipate.

And just as its known for producing stunning creator-owned comics, Image is also recognized for delivering the most successful comic book tv show yet—The Walking Dead. Since Robert Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse drama became a smash hit on AMC, comics publishers everywhere have green-lit their own televison adaptations in hopes of replicating the same success. But despite The Walking Dead’s impressive, Image has yet to follow up on its success with another televised adaptation of their creator-owned projects. True, Kirkman has another project currently in production, but we want to see the publisher stretch its multimedia endeavors beyond one writer and explore other styles and voices. Even though they haven’t seen publication yet, the titles at this year’s Image Expo give more than enough options for Image to pursue. Below, we run through the top titles from yesterday’s announcement that already look ready-made for television.

Revengeance

Creator: Darwyn Cooke

Set in Cooke’s hometown of Toronto during the 1980s, the noir crime thriller follows Joe Malarky (probably one of the best noir names ever), whom after enduring a criminal tragedy, is forced into the city’s underworld of vice and corruption. Ignited by dark humor and madcap antics, the series looks like a cross between his hardboiled Parker adaptations and his whimsical DC: The New Frontier work. If there was a comic series that seemed tailor-made for an HBO-produced adaptation, it’s this one. Clocking in at three issues, the miniseries is perfectly structured for HBO, which loves a good mini of its own. And given the enormous success of True Detective, Revengeance couldn’t hit the network at a better time: It could strike the same chord audiences crave with its brooding noir tale, while also distinguishing itself with its dark humor and antics.

I Hate Fairyland

Creators: Skottie Young and Jean Francois Beaulieu 

Why someone hasn’t tried bringing Skottie Young’s cartoon style to life with a proper animated series is beyond anyone’s guess, but I Hate Fairyland is the perfect place to right that wrong. The series follows Gertrude, a 40-year old woman who’s been stuck in a Louis Caroll-like Fairyland for thirty years. As a consequence of staying in the magical realm for so long, she retains the appearance of a 10 year old. Understandably, the entire ordeal drives her a bit batty. Sickened by her time abroad, Gertrude finally launches her escape by attacking every cute-sy fantasy character that stands in her way. A dark animated series like this would fit perfectly into Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The series would obviously need Young’s trademark style to work, but also a platform that would support its dark and violent content. Luckily, Adult Swim has both.

Island

Creators: Brandon Graham, Various

Anthology series are pretty sure bets in television right now, with programs like American Horror Story, True Detective, and The BBC’s Black Mirror captivating viewers with their self-contained tales. Island, a science fiction anthology series headed by Brandon Graham, could contribute to that success with something a little more steeped in comics. The series, which already has Emma Rios, E.K. Weaver, Simon Roy, and more lined up to contribute individual stories, would give a televised adaptation plenty of arcs to cycle through. And given the stylistic differences between each creator, every story would feel like a brand-new show, keeping the series ever-fresh and unexpected. Given the range of science fiction concepts that Island will cover, SyFy seems like a safe house to store so many disparate concepts.

What series from this year’s Image Expo would you like to see on the small screen? Sound off in the comments below.