Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, IDW, Image, TV | Tagged: chris ryall, paul cornell, ryan kelly, Saucer Coiuntry, saucer state, vertigo, Zoop

How Chris Ryall Helped Save Saucer Country… Two Times

How Chris Ryall helped save Saucer Country by Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly... twice. And now helping get a TV series made.

I was talking to Insight Edition's Tim Pilcher at London's Book Fair, in an article I've been asked to write, and he made one hell of a point about the state of comics and the comic book industry right now. And to be fair, Tim has been around for a while, at Touchstone, DC Vertigo UK, Humanoids, and getting his co-written Dave Gibbons book Eisner-nominated. He's seen a lot, some things you wouldn't believe, and wrote those things he couldn't get sued over down. Anyway, last week he told me, "Comics are a notoriously expensive and time-consuming product to create, and sales are always in the long tail/back list and increasingly in media licensing rights (See everything from Heartstopper, Umbrella Academy, and One Piece to the forthcoming BRZRKR and Saucer County). So if publishers stay calm, and remain committed, we may, eventually, see a maturation of the market to become like France – but then again I've been saying that for nearly 35 years!"

Because, yes, Saucer Country. Currently optioned as a TV adaptation by Hamzah Jamjoom and Alberto Lopez from Plot Point 1 Productions. Based on the comics Saucer Country and Saucer State, created by Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly, about the Governor of New Mexico whose campaign for the US presidency is derailed when she claims she was abducted by aliens. Originally published by DC/Vertigo in 2012, it was cancelled after twelve issues.

Chris Ryall, EIC at IDW, then posted to his Substack this week, "Years prior to this, I'd managed to help pry loose another cancelled DC comic I really liked — Fallen Angel. DC eventually released the rights on that one, and then we (co-creator Peter David, new artist JK Woodward, and I) continued it for a number of years at IDW. Maybe there was a way to do the same with Saucer Country…? It turned out there was. DC did relent and return the rights to Paul and Ryan, and so we brought the series over to IDW, relaunched it under the title Saucer State—which wasn't just a re-branding, it was the logical extension of where the story had been headed. Twelve issues of Saucer State and the story would be complete. Saucer State lasted six issues."

Two times it failed to find its audience or complete its story. Chris continued, "Cut to: a few years ago, after I'd left IDW with a number of titles still under my auspices, Saucer Country/State being one of them. Finally, we set out to tell the rest of the story. Of course, funding issues, pandemic issues and other such challenges put a bit of a crimp in that plan as a whole. Plus, you know, people did move on with their lives. It wasn't like Ryan Kelly just sat in stasis waiting to be revised to draw more Saucer Country any time we could formulate a plan over multiple years. But we did get the story done — thanks to crowd-funding platform Zoop, and then to Image Comics, Paul and Ryan wrapped everything up in one issue. We then released the entire story in a single Complete[d] Collection. At last, the story was told!"

Three comic book publishers and a crowdfunder. And now it's coming to television with Paul Cornell writing the pilot episode, Chris Ryall, as an Executive Producer as well as Ryan Kelly. Chris says, "The timing feels right for this to work as a compelling streaming series. The comic was a good mix of an immigrant's story, the politics of getting a Latina elected to higher office, and the confluence of various myths and conspiracies. All of which make it feel relevant in today's world. And since 2017 or so, with the release of UAP videos like the "Tic-Tac video" and other threats & promises of "disclosure," the modern world will certainly ensure that this new version of Saucer Country further reflects where we are, not where we were. And speaking of disclosure, this coming film feels like another key indicator that the time is right for a series like this."

And, of course, expect sales on Saucer Country and Saucer State to do very, very well as a comic book series, as has also recently come to Invincible, The Boys and more. Some people always complain about such adaptations, but what they undoubtedly do is shine a spotlight on the original, and make so many more projects viable to. But sometimes, that needs the publisher to commit.

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