In the tradition of comic book continuations of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and current series books like Grimm and Once Upon a Time, NBC is working with Lion Forge to publish digital comics versions of some of their classic old-school TV shows. Here are the books they’ve announced so far, with no specific creative teams attached as yet.
KNIGHT RIDER
A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight – a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law. If any series was suited to become a comic book, it would be this one. A handsome young hero with his high-tech talking car partner fighting crime. Of course, rebooting that concept for a new generation didn’t work when they tried that, so maybe comics will be a cool home for it – although with any luck, it’ll come with a looping audio file of the awesome theme song while you read it.
MIAMI VICE
The pastel, sockless vibe of good-looking, fast-living narcotics officers in Florida might also make a good book or two. Hell, Michael Mann turned it into a big-time Colin Farrell/Jamie Foxx movie. The question will be whether or not they will set these series back in the 1980s or if they’ll try to update them.
AIRWOLF
Much of the appeal of this show was badass helicopter action and Cold War spy stuff – meaning it’s another entry in this crop of comics that begs the question about what time frame they will be set in. Do Cold War stories have the same enduring appeal as World War II stories, or will Airwolf be flying around over Afghanistan?
SAVED BY THE BELL
Teenage comedy comics! Preferably without Screech becoming a sex-tape-making creep, although you have to wonder how much being the unlovable geek on this show messed with his self-esteem growing up. Anyway, Kelly, Jessie, Lisa, Zack, Slater, Screech and Mr. Belding could work either as a direct port into modern day high school shenanigans, or a ‘hey, look at how ugly early 1990s fashion as!’ stylized sort of yukfest.
PUNKY BREWSTER
It’s pretty cool that this initiative is casting a wide net and not just trying to do action shows (although you’d think The A-Team would be in this mix somewhere). This show was about a lovable free-spirited little orphan girl being raised by a foster parent. She dressed very 80s, but at the same time, any little girls like to dress super-colorfully, so it could be a lot of fun. The question here will be whether or not it will be based on the live-action sitcom, or the old Saturday morning cartoon, wherein Punky was followed around by a magic floating bear thing named Glomer.
Here are the quotes from the folks behind this, which seem to suggest that these properties will be updated modern-style.
“From hugely popular characters such as Crockett and Tubbs, Zack Morris and Punky Brewster to highly stylized music and clothing choices, these TV franchises have had a significant impact on pop culture,” said Lion Forge CEO David Steward. “We here at Lion Forge are looking forward to extending that influence by creating visually appealing and entertaining experiences on mobile devices for a whole new generation of fans.”
“Partnering with the team at Lion Forge to bring classic TV properties to life in graphic novel format was a natural step for us as we continue to identify new ways to entertain our fans in the digital space,” said Chris Lucero, director of Global Consumer Products Licensing for NBCUniversal Television. “We’re excited to give fans a chance to revisit some of their favorite shows and characters in a completely new way.”
This is fun news. Let’s hope these turn out to be fun comics.
