Is Resident Alien, the intriguing series by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, heading to TV? That’s the buzz from publisher Dark Horse Comics, according to a report from Bleeding Cool – but Hogan is keeping mum.
According to Bleeding Cool, Dark Horse editor and Vice President of Publishing Randy Stradley has hinted at Hollyood interest in the character, a stranded alien on Earth who becomes a small town doctor to hide as Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, and gets involved in police procedural activities.
The comments were made during an Instore Comic Convention Kickoff, live streamed to 36 comic stores across the US, in the run up to Resident Alien: The Sam Hain Mystery’s launch with an #0 on 29th April 2015.
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Tom Strong writer Peter Hogan commented on Facebook in response to the rumours. “Always wanted to say that.”
Resident Alien: Welcome to Earth! collects the initial stories, in which the stranded alien seeks refuge in the small town of Patience, USA, where he hides undercover as a retired doctor. Masking his appearance using his unique mental abilities and now known as Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, all the alien wants is to be left alone until he’s rescued. However, when the town’s real doctor dies, “Dr. Harry” is pulled into medical service – and finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a murder mystery.
He also finds police procedural work to be oddly appealing, and it’ll certainly kill time until he’s found, and the result is a truly unique SF adventure tale/ murder mystery with heart and humour that I think would make for a great TV show… but who would play the lead?
Resident Alien Volume 2: The Suicide Blonde was released last year, which found “Harry” again involved in a murder mystery, in which things get personal when one of his only human friends becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, Harry is the subject of investigation himself as Federal agents try to track him down…
“Twenty-odd years ago I was hanging out with an English friend in New York, a guy who’d been living there for some time,” Hogan revealed on the Forbidden Planet International blog, talking about the character’s origins back in 2013. “Since his wife was American, I presumed he had a Green Card. Nope, he replied when asked, and showed me what he had instead a plastic ID card that read ‘Resident Alien’. I thought it was hilarious, and also that it would make a great title for a story, though back then I was an editor, not a writer.
“Anyway, when Steve Parkhouse told me he wanted to do a story about aliens, I remembered the title, and the rest of the story just flowed from that. What if there was an alien actually living here? Someone who was simply stuck on Earth and wanted to go home again, so he’s keeping a very low profile. But what if he got lured out into the world somehow? What if he got seduced into solving a murder mystery ? And what if, and what if …”
In the upcoming Resident Alien: The Sam Hain Mystery the alien scientist is still hiding out in the sleepy town of Patience while federal agents begin to close in on him. Secrets about his home planet — as well as his first months on Earth — are also revealed.
“The core mystery concerns the fact that Harry learns that the writer of the Sam Hain novels might be living in Patience, so he tries to find him,” Peter Hogan told comicbook.com of the new story last year. “These are private eye stories from the 1960s that Harry got hooked on, and there seems to be a link between the writer and Harry’s predecessor – the old doctor who died at the start of the first series. This feeds into the story-within-a-story, where Harry tries to discover if the murder that happens in the story is based on a real murder or not.
“Each series tackles a particular mystery, while progressing the much bigger story of Harry’s own journey,” Peter said of the series format, one Darjk Horse asked for. “So readers hopefully get a bit of resolution to keep them happy, as well as stuff to bring them back for more.
“Also, even if I could write this as a monthly, I’m pretty sure Steve couldn’t handle that pace. A miniseries per year seems the best balance for us, though I sometimes wish we could squeeze in another issue or two.”
• Read comicbook.com’s interview with Peter Hogan about Resident Alien: The Sam Hain Mystery
• Check out Resident Alien: The Sam Hain Mystery #0 on the Dark Horse Comics site
A stranded alien scientist hides out in the sleepy town of Patience, Washington, while federal agents begin to close in on him. Secrets about his home planet — as well as his first months on Earth — are revealed! Peter Hogan (Tom Strong) and Steve Parkhouse (The Bojeffries Saga) return to their unique science-fiction/mystery series!
• Check out Resident Alien: The Sam Hain Mystery #1 on the Dark Horse Comics site
The stranded, curious alien known as Dr. Harry tends to patients in the sleepy town of Patience, Washington. Questions about the town’s previous doctor arise when a strange briefcase is found. And does Harry’s favorite mystery writer live in Patience too?
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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