Zenescope recently announced the creation of a live-action "Alice in Wonderland" TV show by Lionsgate based on the popular series by the comic book company. This comes a few months after comic book fans raised money to have an animated pilot shot for Zenescope's "Grimm Fairy Tales." Significant impacts will happen in the comic book industry if either or both of these shows get off the ground.
Only big boys?
The success of "The Walking Dead" has caused networks to become very interested in comic book-based TV shows. Marvel and ABC have been working together to bring a new version of "The Incredible Hulk" to TVs in 2013 along with other potential shows in the future such as "AKA Jessica Jones" and "Cloak and Dagger." DC and The CW will be introducing "Arrow" in the fall based on the story of the Green Arrow while Syfy has ordered shooting on DC's "Booster Gold." AMC has tapped Robert Kirkman, the creator of "The Walking Dead," to bring his comic Thief of Thieves to follow the success the channel has had with his other huge creation for Image Comics.
Enter the little guys
Most of the comic book-based projects in the works right now are with the larger comic book companies such as Marvel, DC, and Image. Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco founded Zenescope in 2005 and have built the company into one of the strongest independent comic book publishers in the world. If "Alice in Wonderland" and "Grimm Fairy Tales" become successful shows, networks could be forced to take a look at the smaller, newer, and independent comic book companies and take TV market share away from the larger publishers.
Collecting market
By perfecting the alternative-cover technique to comic book marketing, Zenescope has helped to revitalize part of the collector's market. A successful TV show based on a comic book can cause for sales to skyrocket. The 100th issue of "The Walking Dead" recently published and it had the highest selling first day for a comic since 1997. The independent publisher could quickly increase market share and become one of the major players in the game as people try to grab us as many past and present issues as possible to see what inspired the show.
The story of storylines
The comic book industry is very similar to other types of entertainment industries as the major publishers are always "borrowing" ideas from each other to try to appeal to the current readers of other companies and to secure as much market share as possible. The titles in the Zenescope portfolio are often set aside from others on the market due to a strong sexuality and violence. If Zenescope gains more market share due to "Alice in Wonderland" and "Grimm Fairy Tales" TV shows, readers should expect Marvel and DC to look at their formula and attempt to copy it to squeeze out the growing company. Only fans, though, can make the final decision as to which company will be more successful with Zenescope's formula.
More from this Contributor:
Why Zenescope's animated Grimm Fairy Tales would work on TV
