Charmed (comic book)



The Charmed Comics, published by Zenescope, will make their official debut at Comic Con International in San Diego in July, however a spellbook preview issue will be released as Issue #0 in June.

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 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.

The official cover is already causing Charmed fans to theorize on the new, possible storylines- such as a new power for Piper (due to the glow on her hands on the cover), Magic School being reclaimed back for Good, a Vine demon, etc...

A summary of the first ever comic is given by Zenescope:

The Girls are back in town! The Charmed ones return in this brand new fantasy series from Zenescope that picks up where the series left off. Claiming their victory in the battle against evil, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were free to settle into the future with their husbands and children, destined to live out the happily ever after they had so rightfully earned...or so they thought.

Charmed Comic Guide

 * A complete guide of the Charmed comic books

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
The comics will be written by Paul Ruditis, who has written many Charmed novels such as As Puck Would Have It and Leo Rising. Raven Gregory will be co-writing to make the transition of novel-to-comic-writing easier for Ruditis.

Paul Ruditis was the first choice for writer, as he knows the Charmedverse well, according to Zenescope.

The drawings will be done by Dave Hoover, most known for drawing the Captain America comic series. Milen Parvanov will be coloring. The cover of issue #2 is a special wraparound by Greg Horn

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 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)

 * Cole_Prue.jpg
 * 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 anyth ing 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...

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.
 * The test drawings were all based on the show's promo pictures of the girls.
 * This is the first time since the 4th season DVD box-sets, that Piper is featured in the middle of a cover, between Phoebe and Paige.
 * Paul Ruditis' favorite episode is Morality Bites. His least favorite is Nymphs Just Want To Have Fun.
 * On Twitter, Rose McGowan linked to the cover where the Charmed Ones are pictured in the woods naked with leaves covering them. Holly Marie Combs jokingly replied via her twitter: I dont remember doing that scene, while Rose said she thought it was HOT.

Comics

 * Zenescope
 * Zenescope Working on Charmed Comic (December 19, 2009)
 * Zenescope Brings Charmed To Comics (March 15, 2010)
 * Charmed Returns As Comic Book (March 15, 2010)
 * Comic Vine Talks Charmed (March 16, 2010)
 * Upcoming Zenescope Comics (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 Charmed life of Raven Gregory and Paul Ruditis (April 13, 2010)
 * Alyssa Milano Talks Romantically Challenged, Charmed and Ghostbusters (April 19, 2010)
 * AICN COMICS Q&@ with the folks behind the new CHARMED comic! (April 29, 2010)

Writers

 * Twitter Paul Ruditis
 * Twitter Raven Gregory
 * Twitter Zenescope