Charmed (comic book)



The Charmed Comics, published by Zenescope Entertainment, made their official debut at Comic Con International in San Diego in July, however a spellbook preview issue was released as Issue #0 on June 30th.

The news was made official on March 15th, 2010 but Zenescope had already put ads in several comics and one artist had released his test drawings (see gallery). Alyssa Milano also informed Charmed-fans of this news when she twittered that a comic was in the making.

The process definitely took a little while and was in the works for well over a year.. We were discussing all the potential storylines and details with CBS for quite some time and they also needed to make sure the lead actresses were all okay with us using their likenesses. The main thing was that we all wanted to make sure this was something we were going to do right so we didn't want to rush anything.

For Zenescope, the decision to make a Charmed comic was a no-brainer because it fits in their wheelhouse of beautiful and strong-willed female lead characters.

Storyline


The story will pick up where the series left off; the Charmed Ones battling the forces of evil in San Francisco.

"The series starts off about a year or so after the end of the last season," Gregory said. "The sisters are each off living their lives. They have had their well-deserved happily ever. But what they don't realize is that there might have been some serious consequences for vanquishing all that evil. Something is brewing in the Underworld. Something big!"

The key to this series success is to strike a nice balance in creating a brand new, intriguing storyline for fans of the television show while also not alienating Zenescope and comic book readers who haven't really followed it before but might want to now that it's a comic. The great thing is that Paul and Raven have done just that with this story arc. Anybody will be able to pick up this series and follow it whether or not they ever watched the show before. Moreover, fans of the show are going to be thrilled when they see where this story goes.

Characters
The main characters are, of course, the Charmed Ones, as always. However, following on from Forever Charmed, the sisters' husband Leo Wyatt, Coop and Henry Mitchell, are also titular characters as well as the sisters' children Wyatt, Chris, Melinda, Prudence, and the twins.

Aside from these, Elise Rothman, editor of The Bay Mirror and Phoebe's boss, apparently returns, being mentioned by Phoebe in Charmed Lives. A Magic School student named Jessalyn was seen in the first issue, and was taught a lesson on magic by Paige. Brittany Reynolds, the sisters' old friend and first innocent, is revealed to be dead in the secod issue, while Tyler, a Firestarter returns, last being seen in Season 4.

Other innocents that the sisters have saved will appear, having been hunted by some evil character, and will be kept safe in the Halliwell Manor. An Angel of Destiny also appeared in the first issue, confronting Neena and Hogan, but was magically sent away. Another evil aside from Hogan and Neena is a small man who visits the two in a club, but is subdued by Neena.

Charmed Comic Guide

 * 5 issues can be compared with one episode.
 * For now 12 issues have been planned.
 * After 5 issues are publishes, a Volume will be published containing the previous five issues.

In an interview Paul Ruditis said after he got asked how far ahead they have planned for the comics:


 * That depends on your definition of the word “planned. We started out with an initial arc of five issues that were pretty set before we even wrote one page of the first comic book. But we hope that arc is just the beginning of something bigger. We have plans that can take us in several directions depending on Zenescope’s and CBS’s approvals; the fan response and what we decide will ultimately work best for the line."

Written and Drawn By
Attached to write the new comic book series is author Paul Ruditis, who has written a total of three Charmed novels (Leo Rising, As Puck Would Have It, and The Brewing Storm). Paul Ruditis was the first choice for writer, as he knows the Charmedverse well, according to Zenescope.

Raven Gregory, writer of the acclaimed Wonderland trilogy "The Gift," and "The Waking" published by Zenescope also, will be co-writing to make the transition of novel-to-comic-writing easier for Ruditis. Innocents Lost was his last issue to co-write with Ruditis.

Renowned artist Dave Hoover (Captain America, The Wanderers) provided the interior illustrations for the first three issues as well as the fifth one. The fourth issue, and going from issue 6 will be drawn by another artist. Milen Parvanov will be coloring. The cover for issue #2 is a special wraparound by Greg Horn.

In October 2010, Dave Hoover announced through his deviantART account, that he will not continue drawing the Charmed Comic books. He finds that he is not paid what he deserves. No comments have been made by Zenescope yet on he will be hired, or is hired. But fans strongly presume it's Marcio Abreu. Who recently released a test drawing (see gallery).

Covers for the comics will be made by David Seidman (SE7EN,Grimm Fairy Tales: Pinocchio) and guest artists like Al Rio, Greg Horn, Tony Shasteen and Mark Sparacio.

Getting the Rights
It has taken Zenescope about a year to get all the legal rights, including the right to use the actresses' likenesses. Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan, all agreed to their likenesses being used, but it remains unclear if Brian Krause, Drew Fuller, Shannen Doherty, Kaley Cuoco, or any other of the important cast members have agreed as well.

In an interview, Zenescope's Editor-in-Chief, Ralph Tedesco, talked about using the likeliness of the Charmed cast.


 * CV: Will the characters from the television series appear in the comics? Will you model the characters in the comic after the respective actress that played them on the small screen?
 * RALPH TEDESCO: Yes, all the girls have agreed to their likenesses being used which is great news. It was definitely important to CBS and to us that Alyssa, Holly and Rose were all on board with the idea... I also learned that Alyssa has been posting updates about the news of the comic on Twitter which is very cool of her to do.

In an interview by Matt Raub of the Flick Cast, Alyssa Milano was asked about her involvement in the comics.


 * FLICK CAST: Speaking of Charmed, I know Zenescope has announced that they’re putting together an official Charmed comic. What kind of involvement did you have with that?
 * ALYSSA: Well, I approved some of the artwork for the rendition of my character, and it looks awesome. I’m very excited. A show like Charmed has been such a lovely part of my life simply because the fans have been so loyal. That’s why we were on the air for as long as we were, on a network that wasn’t bringing in great numbers at the time. So I think that anything to continue the legacy that we had is awesome.

In an interview Paul Ruditis said about his creative autonomy for the series.


 * MR PASTY: Is there creative autonomy for this series despite being a licensed brand?
 * PAUL RUDITIS: We can’t just do whatever we want, but CBS is very open to letting us explore the CHARMED universe. I’m not involved in the art approvals, but on the writing side of things we’ve only had one incredibly minor request to change something that was pretty inconsequential to the story. Everything else has passed through without a question. I don’t see why that would change as long as we’re true to the show. Of course, we haven’t really pitched anything outrageous … yet.

Tease over the return of past characters (Cole, Prue etc)



 * BF: I know people are wondering and will want to know, will Prue, Cole or Billie be making an appearance in the series?
 * GREGORY: We'll see.
 * RUDITIS: Allow me to expand on Raven's lack of response. And let me expand on your question, too, while I'm at it. I'm sure that a lot of people also want to know about Grams, Patty, Victor, adult Chris and Wyatt, Darryl, Zankou and any number of other great characters from the series. I will say that some familiar names do pop up in the first few issues. We've made sure to include story elements for people who were fans of the first season, fans of the final season and readers who may not have been fans at all, but might pick up the comic book because it comes from Zenescope.

'''BF: Will the story also expand on love relationships (Cole, for instance) or marriages/births that happened in the TV series? '''
 * RUDITIS: The Charmed Ones’ relationships and families will always be an element of the stories we tell. Sometimes they will be the focus while other times they might be more in the background. But your question seems to ignore the fact that Phoebe is currently married to Coop. Whatever makes you think we would do anything to jeopardize that marriage?
 * GREGORY: Gasp!!! We would never do anything like that. Shame on you for thinking such things. [Laughs]
 * RUDITIS: Although, now that you mention it...

Artist Dave Hoover answered when asked about Prue, or any of the guys:
 * "As far as I know the three girls I did the models for are the only girls that will be the lead characters in the comic. I never watched the series, so I am unfamiliar with the guy characters, but they obviously aren't concerned about their likenesses."

Of course, with the sisters' continuity, the writers were a bit coy with who was their favorite of the Charmed girls. "It has to be a toss up between Prue and Phoebe," Gregory said. "The character dynamic between the two was really fun. The older, cynical, overbearing sister versus the younger, more naive and outgoing younger sibling was always cool to watch. '''Too bad Prue's gone, eh, Paul?" To which Ruditis replied coyly: '''

"Is anyone ever really gone?"

When Raven Gregory was asked if Prue will return in the comics he twitted:
 * :) Ah Prue? She would be pretty cool to see again, wouldn't she? Who knows? Ask Paul:)


 * A picture of Prue was shown (see photo) at charmed panel at san diego comic con. Paul Ruditis said that no character will return without a specific reason. After that they asked the audience if they want Prue and Billie to come back. PrueReturnComic.jpg

Trivia



 * Ralph Tedesco, Zenescope Editor-in-chief, had never seen any of the first few seasons of Charmed, but his girlfriend at that time was hooked. He started watching with her and got into it himself. Ralph's business partner, Joe, had a wife and daughter who both were fans of the show and had followed the series from time to time.
 * An early Charmed comics cover was drawn by Eric Basaldua and coloured by Steve Firchow in June. Basaldua confirmed it will not be used. Basaldua and Firchow are not part of the charmed comics creative team (Unused cover)
 * The test drawings were all based on the show's promo pictures of the girls.
 * Artist Dave Hoover has not seen Charmed before in his life
 * Although the children of the sisters will appear in the comics, they won't play a big role in them.
 * Paul Ruditis' favorite episode is Morality Bites. His least favorite is Nymphs Just Want To Have Fun. He also finds "Something Wicca This Way Goes" to be a great pseudo-end to the show.
 * As said by Paul Ruditis, Rat demons will make an appearence in the comics. Rat demons were also in the actual show in the episodes: Trial by Magic and The Importance of Being Phoebe.
 * Paul Ruditis has at least two college friends that have a connection to the show or the stars. One of them had a minor role in an episode, another played an orphan in the musical Annie together with Alyssa Milano.
 * Piper's freezing power will be depicted in the comics with the use of the enviroment. Raven Gregery said that there will be a scene where Piper moves between rain drops.
 * Dave Hoover said in his DeviantArt account:
 * To get the job I had to compete with others vying for the same gig, and our task was to do model sheets of the girls showing how we would draw them. The art would be approved by the studio. The odd thing about this was that they supplied no photo reference, so I searched the internet high and low looking for the best possible pictures. Of the three girls, I thought Alyssa Milano would be the easiest to draw, but she turned out to be the hardest. She sort of changed her look more often than the other two, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs .
 * I worked on a "Star Trek, the Generation Book" one time in the past and for that they supplied all kinds of great reference. In this case I did the best I could. Profile shots were the hardest to find, and I ended up compositing several photos to try to come up with a good profile shot of each of the girls. I was happy with the end results, and I guess the studio was too, because I got the job.


 * Phoebe's premonition power will be shown like this: the events to happen will be shown in her eyes rather than showing a close up of her eyes and then a black and white drawing.
 * Paul said (about The Charmed Ones' Children) that Melinda is the oldest, Prue is the youngest and that the Twins are older than Prue but Prue came into her powers faster. He also claimed that all children are under 9 months old.
 * Ruditis loves the pun titles from Charmed and decided to continue this tradition with the comics.
 * Even though Holly Marie Combs has a tatto on her wrist during the show, there is no tattoo in the comics.
 * The fonts used for the sisters are; Brush Script (Piper), Bradley Hand Font (Phoebe), and Luna Bar (Paige)
 * David Seidman had not seen the show before making covers for the comics but is now watching reruns as he is making them.
 * Alyssa Milano confirmed the news about the Charmed comics via her twitter on January 10th:
 * Alyssa_Confirms_Comics.jpg

Sketches

 * Note: Original sketches created by Dan Hoover for Issue #1 and #2 were for sale on EBay. Bidding started at $2.00. One sketch for sale was of Halliwell Manor.

Comics

 * Zenescope Working on Charmed Comic (December 19, 2009)
 * Zenescope Brings Charmed To Comics (March 15, 2010)
 * David Seidman (charmed covers) announces Charmed comics(March 15,2010)
 * Charmed Returns As Comic Book (March 15, 2010)
 * Comic Vine Talks Charmed (March 16, 2010)
 * Charmed TV Series To Continue In Comic Book Form (Rose Mcgowan fansite) (March 17,2010)
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics for June (March 25, 2010) - scroll down for the Charmed comics
 * Newsrama talks with Charmed Writers (March 31, 2010)
 * Zenescope gets Charmed with the Power of Three
 * Gregory and Ruditis are Charmed (With special previews!)
 * The Point Radio Still Charmed by Alyssa Milano (April 9, 2010) - Alyssa mentions the comics.
 * The Charmed life of Raven Gregory and Paul Ruditis (April 13, 2010)
 * Ginandcomics sitdown with zenescope's Raven Gregory(April 14,2010)
 * Alyssa Milano Talks Romantically Challenged, Charmed and Ghostbusters (April 19, 2010)
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics for July (April 26,2010) - scroll down for the Charmed comics
 * AICN COMICS Q&@ with the folks behind the new CHARMED comic! (April 29, 2010)
 * Raven Gregory C2E2 interview (May 4, 2010)
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics for August (May 27,2010)- scroll down for the Charmed comics
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics for September (June 21,2010) - scroll down for the Charmed comics
 * Comicbookresources interview with Paul and Raven (July 22,2010)
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics for October (July 28,2010) - scroll down for the Charmed comics
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics for November (August 30,2010) - scroll down for the Charmed comics
 * David Seidman interview where he talks about charmed (August 31,2010)
 * Paul Ruditis Charmed Interview with preview art for Charmed #3 (October 6, 2010)

Comic Con

 * Videos from the Charmed panel. Paul Ruditis, Raven Gregory, Ralph Tedesco and Milen Parvanov talk about Charmed and the comics.


 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3
 * Part 4
 * Part 5

Sellers

 * Things From Another World's Charmed Zenescope page
 * Westfield Comics Charmed issue #2 page
 * Comics Infinity charmed comics page
 * Third Eye Comics Charmed comics page
 * Forbidden Planet Charmed comics page
 * ComixZone charmed comics page
 * Samurai Comics Charmed comics page
 * VandalCom-x Charmed comics page

David Seidman (Main Cover Artist)

 * Site David Seidman
 * Blog David Seidman
 * Twitter David Seidman
 * Facebook David Seidman

Greg Horn (Guest Artist)

 * Site Greg Horn
 * Twitter Greg Horn
 * Facebook Greg Horn

Al Rio (Guest Artist)

 * Site Al Rio
 * Deviantart Al Rio
 * Facebook Al Rio

Milen Parvanov (Artist)

 * Twitter Milen Parvanov
 * Facebook Milen Parvanov
 * MySpace Milen Parvanov

Mark Sparacio (Guest Artist)

 * Site Mark Sparacio

Tony Shasteen (Guest Artist)

 * Twitter Tony Shasteen
 * Facebook Tony Shasteen