Lionel Wigram, who famously hatched a graphic novel version of Sherlock Holmes before
setting that franchise up at Warner Bros., has tapped into another
comic for a feature film project. Wigram Productions has acquired rights
to RASL, a black-and-white science fiction noir comic book
series written and drawn by Jeff Smith. RASL is an ex-military
scientist-turned-art thief who jumps to parallel universes to steal
treasured pieces of art. During these trips, he gets discovered by his
former employer, and finds himself trying to protect the world's most
dangerous secret. Smith, who launched the series in 2008, also writes Bone, a series that has received 10 Eisner and 11 Harvey Awards. Wigram, who just wrapped Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,
said he was tipped to the comic by colleague Peter Eskelsen and bought
it with his own cash. "We'll team with a writer and figure out how to
adapt it to the screen and hopefully it will become a big movie
franchise for Warner Bros.," he said. ICM brokered the deal. Wigram will
produce, and Eskelsen and Jeff Smith will be exec producers.
