EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Television has acquired Faust, the superhero horror comic book from writer David Quinn and artist Tim Vigil, to develop as an animated series. Godkiller writer Matteo Pizzolo will write the adaptation under his first-look deal with SPT.
Released by Quinn and Vigil’s Rebel Studios in 1987, Faust follows John Jaspers, a tormented vigilante who sells his soul in exchange for super powers and must then rise against Mephistopheles to rescue his lover Dr. Jade DeCamp and win back his soul.
Comic’s creators Quinn and Vigil will serve as consulting producers on the adaptation, with Black Mask Entertainment’s Brian Giberson executive producing.
Faust was a deconstructed superhero comic contemporaneous with Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns and The Crow. The first issue sold over 100,000 copies, with later issues averaging 50,000. The core series and its various spinoffs ran for 25 years from a host of publishers including Northstar Comics, Caliber Comics, Avatar Press, and principally Quinn and Vigil’s own Rebel Studios.
The Faust comic was previously adapted to the screen with the 2000 Spanish English-language film Faust: Love of the Damned directed by Brian Yuzna.
Quinn is a playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer whose other works include Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Vampirella, Nightvision and the children’s monster book Go To Sleep, Little Creep.
Vigil is an influential horror comic book artist, best known for co-creating ‘Faust.’ In 1999 he recieved nomination for the a Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative.
Pizzolo recently penned the Calexi’ pilot spec, based on his comic with Amancay Nahuelpan. He is repped by TFC Management and WME. Quinn and Vigil are repped by Matt Sugarman at Weintraub Tobin.
Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.