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A New BLADE RUNNER Comic Is In The Works!

Hello all, Mad Dashiell here and thanks for joining me today. For those that can't get enough of the dark sci-fi vision that is Blade Runner, I have some cool comic news. 

 EW has exclusively revealed that the Alcon Media Group and London-based Titan Publishing have partnered for their next co-publishing taking place in the BLADE RUNNER universe. Alcon and Sony Pictures, were producers for BLADE RUNNER 2049, the surprise sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction masterpiece BLADE RUNNER. 

 Titan has a stellar track record for publishing movie and TV tie-in books, including a significant amount of DOCTOR WHO titles and novels are running the gamut throughout the DC and Marvel universes. A joint statement was made by Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, and Titan’s co-founders, Vivian Cheung, and Nick Landau- the partners said the companies would be developing and publishing a range of non-fiction and fiction printed media.

 -This means new, comics, and graphic novels in cannon will be diving deep into the sprawling BLADE RUNNER Universe! Titan’s David Manley-Leach and Jeff Conner Alcon’s director of publishing will both be heading up the editorial duties.

 “In partnering with the exceptional Titan Comics and Titan Books, we’re confident that the world of Blade Runner will continue to organically grow in a way that refuses to sacrifice the quality, tone and high standards of this beloved property,” Kosove and Johnson, said in a statement.

 “We are extremely excited to be publishing Blade Runner comics and illustrated books,” Titan publishers Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung proudly stated. “The Blade Runner universe has barely been explored; there is so much more there. It’s an honor to be bringing this world to life in new ways for a new audience – and to reveal tales from that universe that you’ve never seen before.”

 The original classic starred Harrison Ford as the grizzled detective brought out of his early retirement by force so he can hunt down some Skin-jobs. The film is so great that it takes two versions to encapsulate it. There is the 1982 theatrical release that has the over monologue that roots it into the classic detective genre it is essentially borrowing from. Then there is the Final Directors Cut, this is the one missing the over monologue and skips the classic ending with Deckard driving off into the sunset with Rachel. One thing is for sure, fans have a line in the sand, and they will always swear by one of these two versions as the definitive film. Years later Ford reprises the role with a hermetic Ben Gunn spin on Deckard in his old age for the sequel. The film also costars Ryan Gosling as a Replicant doing his best to stay alive and do his job in a world where his every action is watched, and the slightest mistake could mean his retirement.

 The book itself is based on one of Philip K. Dicks masterpieces- 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.' Now usually when a book is adapted for the big screen so much is lost that the book usually eclipses the film story-wise. But something unusual happens with the film Blade Runner. Both the book and the film stand on their own as different stories but perfect in their own light and presentations. The religion and mood machines, for example, do not make it in the film's translation but definitely is not hurting it by not being there either. Though a flashback to Roy Batty's Martian Mushroom cult would have really been something. 
 
-Worthy Note: There is a limited series 24-issue comic book run based on and carries the original title- 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' that was published by BOOM! Studios and illustrated by Tony Parker. The comic snagged a "Best New Series" nomination from the 2010 Eisner Awards.

-There is also talk of related works that will focus on the technical and visual sides of the production process throughout a variety of publications. 

-Thanks for joining me, stay tuned here as more develops, this is Mad Dashiell your resident comic fiend shutting down. 
 
 
 Art Credit: Dulce Brassea
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