As if Robert Kirkman didn’t have enough to do already, AMC is tapping the creator of The Walking Dead for a new mini documentary series. One which tells the stories of comic book industry happenings that shaped the industry into what it is today. Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics might be a title full of ego, but the documentaries we’ll see have the potential to bring down the high walls detracting potential comic book fans.
At SDCC Saturday, Kirkman was joined by Skybound president David Alpert and RKSHOC producers Rory Karpf and Daniel Junge. The panel debuted a trailer for upcoming series which kicked off with Method Man of all people talking about his love for comics including that special smell of new comics people collecting in the 90’s will remember. Among some of the other celebrities gathered for the show were Kevin Smith, Stan Lee, Famke Janssen, and Michelle Rodriguez.
During the panel, Kirkman described the premise of the show as “basically, these are the stories creators have told one another over post convention drinking and dinner.”
The first season consists of six episodes the panel called “mini films”. Each episode tells one particular little known story or gives a deeper examination of one already told. Here’s the rundown:
- -The Trials of Superman
- -Misfits Who Made Marvel
- -Image Comics: A Declaration of Independence
- -City of Heroes
- -Color of Comics
- -Wonder Woman
Trials of Superman will further audiences knowledge of Siegel and Shuster’s legal battles over the rights to arguably the most iconic superhero ever. Misfits Who Made Marvel talks about the early days of creating Marvel Comics. By now most have heard the story of Stan Lee almost quitting comics before he ever really got started, but Kirkman’s series also touches on the tensions between Lee and Jack Kirby. City of Heroes details how the lives of comic creators and the industry were changed in the events of 9/11. Kirkman himself talked about how many creators he personally knew who lived in New York at the time. The episode also credits comics with being the first medium to have a response to the tragic events with tribute books and the special Amazing Spider-Man issue. Color of Comics is all about the legacy of the Milestone imprint which brought characters like Static Shock to mainstream comics and its creator Dwayne McDuffie. The Wonder Woman episode goes from the early origins of the character to her ceiling shattering film directed by Patty Jenkins.
Not to keep the eye of investigating away from himself, Kirkman’s new show also goes into the founding of Image Comics. In the trailer celebrities like Michelle Rodriguez give their thoughts on what made it such a special thing for readers. What’s most appealing about the episode is also the behind the scenes stories which the public may have only seen the end result of. In the trailer some of the Image seven talk about in-fighting within the company and how some wanted to abandon it before it even began.
During the panel, Robert Kirkman revealed the show would premiere in November on a Sunday night after Walking Dead then move to its usual Monday timeslot. After the panel, we briefly spoke with producers on the possibility of future stories. While they are mainly focused on making these first run episodes the best they can be they are always thinking about which stories they’d like to do next, including possibly the story of San Diego Comic Con itself.
