Watching Supernatural

Rising Son #1

(click on the images to enlarge)

I know that I haven’t really been writing about the other things that accompany Supernatural, such as the magazines and comics, for a while now. Due to the unpredictability of the WGA strike (though, it’s been rumored that a draft of a proposed deal between the Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP could be ready by today), the comics are especially a welcome reprieve from our lack of new episodes this season.

Supernatural: Origins, the first of a trilogy, came out last year to surprisingly disgruntled reviews by fans of the show. Two of the biggest complaints was the style and the story behind the infamous Chevy Impala, which has become a third main character in the show. In Origins, the Impala was said to have belonged to Mary’s uncle. When John accidentally gets him killed on a hunt, he claims the Impala as his own. Yet, as we all know from seeing the pilot episode in Season 1, the Impala has always been with the Winchesters. It’s pretty safe to say that’s the official canon lore for the show, which the comic completely pushed aside.

To add insult to injury, the comics themselves lacked the distinct flavor of the show. With two excellent leads like Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, it would be natural to assume that the comics would portray strong emotions in the characters’ faces. Instead, the characters had block-y faces that never triggered emotion.

Peter Johnston, the comics’ creator and co-executive producer for the show, heard these complaints, and promised to rectify them in a re-release of Origins called Supernatural Origins: Director’s Cut. He also promised to adapt those changes further into the trilogy.

Supernatural: Rising Son is a six-issue miniseries that will focus on Sam and Dean as well as their father, John. According to Johnston, we will see Dean’s first hunt, as well as his training. John will also start treating his sons differently, which will affect Sam and his views on both of them.

Unfortunately, due to the WGA strike, Eric Kripke opted out of working on the comic. In spite of that, Johnston promises “freakier monsters,” including one that “may have something to do with the TV show.”

After looking at the advance images for each, I have to agree that Rising Son #1 is going to be much better than Origins.

Both Origins (Director’s Cut) and Rising Son #1 will be on sale April 23rd, 2008. As for the magazine, the second issue is now on sale.

In case you’re wondering, I need some time to recover from last night’s episode. My review will be coming on Sunday.

TAGS: supernatural, supernatural comics, supernatural origins, supernatural rising son