Veteran producer Gilbert Adler (Valkyrie, Superman Returns, Constantine, and my personal favorite, Tales from the Crypt) and writer-producer Joel Eisenberg (The Chronicles of Ara, Then Again) have inked a first-look deal with Aethon Books to develop some of the company’s intellectual properties for television shows and films. Aethon Books is a digitally focused publisher that specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Aethon Books also has a partnership with Heavy Metal magazine which enables “Heavy Metal to expand and stretch into the world of prose and audiobooks.”
The first project to enter development is The Roach. Written by Nebula Award Nominated author Rhett C. Bruno, The Roach is a mix of character-driven thriller and gritty superhero fare that follows Reese Roberts, who was a guardian of Iron City until he was shot on the streets and left paralyzed from the waist down. When a copycat steals his identity and takes justice into his own hands, a new killer emerges, forcing the retired, disabled vigilante to stop the string of new killings and secure his legacy.
Actor Lou Diamond Phillips described the book, “Gritty, grimy, and mesmerizing.” And Adler and Eisenberg are approaching The Roach with the goal of turning it into a a multi-season episodic series.
Augmenting The Roach’s chances of success is that Eisenberg is teamed with Adler. “Gil Adler,” as Eisenberg told ScifiPulse, “is an entertainment industry stalwart. Along with producing some blockbuster feature films — and Tales from the Crypt for HBO, one of my favorites of all television series — he’s a New Yorker like me and a great guy to be around and learn from. It’s a privilege being involved with Gil in this endeavor.”
Outside of The Roach, Aethon Books is also known for publishing books by bestsellers such as Joshua Gayou, Paul Antony Jones, and Yudhanjaya Wijeratne. Aethon’s most recent big signings are a Sci-Fi Series by New York Times Bestseller Jonathan Maberry, writing with Weston Ochse and who ScifiPulse interviewed in 2009, and a fantasy trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson.
The Roach is available in most online retailers, and also as an audiobook on Audible.com produced by Podium Audio. An extended paperback print-run in a partnership with Blackstone Publishing is due out later this year.
Check out IMDB to learn more about Adler’s and Eisenberg’s backgrounds. More about Aethon Books can be found here.
Share this:
