Following up on its massively successful TV adaptations of comic books such as The Boys, Amazon Prime Video has just secured the rights to a new series, Image Comics' Stillwater, which could be its next big page-to-screen hit. With the horror comic coming to Prime in the near future, Stillwater has become an even more critical must-read than it was before.
As reported by ComicBook.com, Stillwater, written by Chip Zdarsky, with art by Ramón Pérez, will be Amazon's next ambitious adaptation project, in a series that delves into the the moral implications of immortality.
Stillwater is a chilling comic series, one which ran for nearly twenty issues, meaning that prior to the arrival of the show-version of the story on television, audiences can get caught up on the source material quickly, perhaps even binging the entire series in one sitting.
"Stillwater," From Image Comics, Is A Must-Read Comic, And Will Soon Be Must-Watch TV
Stillwater; Written By Chip Zdarsky; Art By Ramón Pérez; Color By Mike Spicer; Lettering By Rus Wooton
Stillwater is about the titular small town, which hides a big secret. As a result, it is not the most welcoming of strangers. However, ex-con Daniel West, is drawn to the town after he is alerted that he is meant to claim a mysterious inheritance. Unfortunately for Daniel, money is not what he finds in Stillwater. Instead, he finds something some would consider more valuable and other would consider a curse: immortality. In Stillwater, people do not age, nor do they die. Along with that, they can heal from all wounds.
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While that may seem like a blessing at first, not everyone feels that way, and it leads to small-town politics unlike any other. In a small town setting with a dark side and plenty of mysteries, Stillwater is a comic that will appeal to fans of Stephen King, and hopefully the show will be the same. Stillwater is a captivating mystery and character study with plenty of twists and turns. It fleshes out how different people respond to an immortal life, as well as the responsibilities that come with so much power.
What also makes Stillwater stand out compared to other live-action television adaptations of comics is how short it is compared to them. Marvel and DC have decades of comics to adapt; meanwhile, Invincible and The Walking Dead are over 100 issues each. Stillwater, on the other hand, is just eighteen issues, but that can work in the show's favor, as it provides a tight story that runs less of a risk of over staying its welcome or expanding the world too much. It is a tight, supernatural mystery, one that will not only make excellent TV.
Stillwater Is Not The Only Adaptation In The Works For Amazon
Wytches; Written By Scott Snyder; Art By Jock; Color By Matt Hollingsworth; Lettering By Clem Robins
When it comes to television and streaming adaptations of comics, superheroes dominate. Even for series outside of Marvel and DC, like The Boys, The Umbrella Academy, Invincible, and Jupiter's Legacy. However, comics are so much more than superheroes and villains, and seeing more of those comics enter the mainstream through adaptations will hopefully introduce audiences to the wider world of comics beyond just the shows they're based on. Stillwater is not alone, though, when it comes to new adaptations of independent, non-superhero comics.
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Amazon has another serialized adaptation in the works by Image Comics, Scott Snyder's Wytches. Wytches is a new horror show with a release window in 2025. Like Invincible, it will be animated. Comic series like Wytches or Stillwater may not be what some expect from a television adaptation of a comic book, but they are incredible horror stories that deserve to be read, as well as adapted to the small screen, especially for those looking for an entry into the wider world of horror comics.
Source: ComicBook.com
Invincible
- Created by
- Robert Kirkman
- First TV Show
- Invincible
- Cast
- Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells
- Video Game(s)
- Invincible: Guarding the Globe
