On the same day as the "Powers" TV show debuts on Sony's PlayStation Network, CBR has the exclusive first word of the expansion of Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming's long-running creator-owned comic book series to another medium: books.
Brian Michael Bendis on The "Surreal" 15-Year Odyssey of the "Powers" TV Series
"Powers: The Secret History of Deena Pilgrim" is in the works from Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Publishers. It'll be co-written by Bendis and Neil Kleid, who has experience in both comic books (he wrote Image Comcis series "The Intimidators" and original graphic novel "The Big Kahn") and novelized adaptations of comics stories (he penned the recent "Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt" adaptation for Marvel's line of novels).
Like the series of "The Walking Dead" novels -- also released by Thomas Dunne Books -- "The Secret History of Deena Pilgrim" will be set in the world of the comics, not the TV show. Here's the official description: "The novel, the first ever original prose story set in the Powers universe, tells the story of a cold case that reopens when evidence from a new murder points back to Detective Deena Pilgrim's own family tree. Pilgrim is forced to investigate her family's sordid past in law enforcement and must turn to her estranged partner Walker for help."
"Powers: The Secret History of Deena Pilgrim" is expected for release around this time next year. The full press release follows.
Official Press Release
Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin's Press/Macmillan, is excited to announce the acquisition of POWERS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF DEENA PILGRIM by Powers co-creator Brian Michael Bendis and novelist Neil Kleid.
The novel, the first ever original prose story set in the Powers universe, tells the story of a cold case that reopens when evidence from a new murder points back to Detective Deena Pilgrim's own family tree. Pilgrim is forced to investigate her family's sordid past in law enforcement and must turn to her estranged partner Walker for help.
The Powers comic book, which was co-created by Michael Avon Oeming, debuted in 2000 and is currently published by Marvel Comics' Icon imprint. It tells the stories of human police officers attempting to solve crimes in a world inhabited by superheroes and supervillains.
A series based on the comic book debuts on the Playstation Network tonight at midnight, and it marks Playstation's first scripted original programming.
The novel was acquired by Executive Editor Brendan Deneen, who also edits Robert Kirkman's WALKING DEAD series of prose novels, and brokered by David Engel at Circle of Confusion.