Category: Books & Comics

Did you know that in 2009, Shadowline / Image Comics published a comic miniseries that pitted against each other a pack of werewolves, Bigfoot, a psychotic monster hunter and a shoe salesman? I sure didn’t, which just goes to show how much potentially excellent werewolf content is out there, waiting to be discovered by people with short attention spans (that’s me, I’m talking about me). Savage was written by Jeff Frank & Steve Niles and drawn by Mike Mayhew. It ran for four issues in 2009, and it was good enough that even two years after it came out, folks were speculating that it would make a great film.

Now it seems that those folks are probably going to get their wish. As originally reported by TheWrap, the film rights to Savage have been acquired (excited face!) by the guys responsible for Agent Cody Banks and the Twilight films (concerned face).

Pathbender’s E. Thompson (“Hansel and Gretel Get Baked”) and John Adams will produce the movie, while Outlier’s Mark Morgan (“The Twilight Saga”) will executive produce.

I want to say something snarky about the involvement of these guys, but I was recently a total asshole about something that’s not even out, and I don’t have it in me to take digs at two guys who actually seem super good at their jobs (making movies that make a lot of money). The fact is, there might be another werewolf movie, and even if it’s about werewolves who shed their human skin and hassle cows, that’s a good thing.

For more info on Savage, I recommend reading these two great pieces on Comic Book Resources:

• Bigfoot Shoes to Fill: Wickline talks “Savage”
• Mayhew, Frank & Wickline go “Savage”

As reported by Dread Central and Horror-Movies.ca (and brought to my attention by Tah), shooting for a live-action film based on the late-90’s underground comic Bubba The Redneck Werewolf begins tomorrow in Florida. Fans have been speculating about a live-action Bubba film since at least 2006, when there were rumours that Sid Haig would direct and star as the dogcatcher-turned-werewolf. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, according to the press release below, but hey, at least the thing’s getting made, and by a company that certainly seems twisted enough to do justice to the subject. I don’t know about that poster, though.

In the town of Broken Taint, a vicious evil is unleashed, offering the dreams of humanity if you just sign on the dotted line. One lovesick dog catcher makes a deal with the Devil, and not only is his life turned upside down, but so is Broken Taint. Bubba the Redneck Werewolf is born, and the town goes to Hell while his local bar is filled with the Damned, Bubba figures out how to beat the Devil—but first, he needs another beer and maybe some hot wings. When the fate of humanity is in Bubba’s hands, Heaven help us all!

Based off the underground comic book classic Bubba the Redneck Werewolf by Mitch Hyman, the film was written and directed by Stephen Biro and produced by Unearthed Films, And You Films, and Two Rubbing Nickels Ltd.

Bubba the Redneck Werewolf has been a comic book series for over ten years. Bubba will be a horror comedy in the vein of– all of them. Shooting for Bubba begins on August 2nd in Crystal River, Florida.

For more on Bubba and his background, check out this Mitch Hyman interview from last year on Strange Kids Club.

As the San Diego Comic Con dust finally settles, there’s been some chatter about The Skin Trade, the 1988 werewolf novella by hat & beardsman (and bestselling Game of Thrones author) George R.R. Martin. Here’s what you need to know about the activity surrounding the award-winning werewolf story.

First, the official synopsis:

When a string of grotesque killings begins to strike her small city, private detective Randi Wade becomes suspicious. A serial killer is taking the skin of its victims and the grisly murders remind her all too much of her own father’s death almost twenty years ago. As the police hit a dead end, Randi goes on a search for answers of her own… But when a close friend suddenly becomes a target, he is forced to reveal a startling secret about himself and Randi is quickly pulled into a dark underworld where monsters exist and prey on the living.

The story was originally published in Night Visions 5, a 1988 horror anthology that featured stories by Martin, Stephen King and Dan Simmons. The same anthology has also been published under the titles Dark Visions, Dark Love and The Skin Trade. The story won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 1989, and has generally been hailed as the American Werewolf In London of short fiction. To the best of my knowledge, the only way you can read The Skin Trade today is to buy one of these anthologies from a used book seller (unless you’re fluent in French) Correction! Pennington Beast points out that The Skin Trade is included in Werewolves and Shape Shifters: Encounters with the Beasts Within, which is currently available for purchase on Amazon. But don’t despair! Don’t freak out. As mentioned by Martin himself, Avatar Press has just published the first issue of the official Skin Trade comic.

The story was adapted (to Martin’s great satisfaction, apparently) by Daniel Abraham and illustrated with gritty, gruesome aplomb by Mike Wolfer (hold the puns, please). There are a variety of covers, including a Limited SDCC version, a gory version and a wrap-around version. This issue is in stores now, and the second issue comes out next month. It’s not clear how many more issues will follow after that, but I’m hoping for a total of six at the least. This first issue was good but exposition-heavy, and it didn’t blow the lid off the werewolf “mystery” – but give it time, baby bird, give it time. This is a horror novella they’re adapting, not a children’s fairy tale, and if you’re at all familiar with Martin’s writing, you know that a slow burn always pays off.

If you like comics but prefer your adaptations to take the form of light, sound and moving images, I have more good news for you: a film version is in the works. The movie rights to The Skin Trade are resting with Mike The Pike Productions, who have the screen adaptation tagged as “in development”. Details on just what that means are scarce – the latest news I can find is from this 2011 post on Shock Till You Drop – but there are recent signs of life: the film’s web site got a recent facelift, and during last week’s Skin Trade SDCC panel (see Collider’s great recap) Martin briefly discussed his ideal casting for the “asthmatic, hypochondriac and not very formidable werewolf” character, saying that Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy or Steve Buscemi would all be great choices. You can follow the film’s development progress on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

And that’s the extent of my knowledge regarding The Skin Trade, in any format. I have a copy of Night Visions 5 coming to me in the mail, thanks to a packrat friend, and I’m looking forward to reading what all the fuss is about. If you’ve read the story, tell me and your fellow Werewolf News readers what you thought of it in the comments!