One of my favorite comic book titles ever ended up not being a superhero title, but an inventive take on the pulp noir stories which has it’s basis on the stories of such luminaries as Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler. 100 Bullets by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint is that very title and it’s creative team of Brian Azzarello (writer) and Eduardo Risso (artist) were able to fit a complex, morally ambiguous tale of betrayal, conspiracies and bloodshed.

In years past there had been talk of adapting the 100-issue maxi-series into an HBO series, but those plans went for naught. With DC now hellbent on adapting much of their comic book properties to the big and small screen it was a nice surprise to read from Slashfilm.com that 100 Bullets is in development for premium cable channel Showtime with David Goyer executive producing the show. Whether this news ultimately reaches it’s logical conclusion and Showtime picks up the show is still up in the air.

The fact that there’s a good chance the series will finally have it’s live-action realization has made this news a happy one for me. I have always thought that Azzarello and Risso created something that was tailor-made for premium cable. Even the way Risso drew the scenes on the pages of the comic was done so as if through a film camera recording every detail. The series also has quite a cast of characters that makes it easy for an audience to latch onto and invest themselves emotionally for their well-being.

Here’s to hoping that Goyer is able to set aside his ego and find quality writers to help him adapt the series. Of all the details about this news it’s his name that worries me the most. Showtime definitely needs a new series to counter the runaway hit HBO has in it’s hands with it’s Game of Thrones series. I believe that 100 Bullets could be Showtime’s counter to HBO’s new show if they decide to pick it up.

Source: /Film