Hit graphic novel The Boys is finally headed to TV thanks to Amazon. Back in 2008, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson debuted their series The Boys on Wildstorm Comics as an answer to the modern superhero genre. Set in a world where those with powers are mired in controversy and celebrity, the protagonists of the series are a government-backed black ops group designed to monitor superheroes and keep them in check.

Almost immediately after its debut, The Boys began the path towards adaptation with a film originally in the works. From there, it shifted to a TV series from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg that was meant to arrive on Cinemax last year. That deal fell through, but the team's success with Ennis' Preacher show on AMC looks to have helped their take on The Boys find a home. Earlier this fall, Amazon ordered a pilot for The Boys and it seems they liked what they saw.

Deadline is reporting that Amazon Studios has ordered The Boys straight to series for an 8-episode run. While the streaming service used to air pilots and bring them to life as shows only after audience engagement was verified, the new move comes from an effort to focus on a more traditional rollout for scripted content. Along with Rogen and Goldberg, The Boys will be overseen by series creator Eric Kripke, best known for creating Supernatural and co-creating Timeless.

The Boys ran for 72 issues across Wildstorm and Dynamite Comics before ending in 2012. Like Preacher, it's marked by extreme violence and Amazon seems to be hoping for a similar audience. There's also always the hope that the show could become the next The Walking Dead, an idea the studio are doubling down on. Amazon recently signed a deal with Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead comic and the show's former executive producer.

Along with The Boys and the Kirkman deal, Amazon are pushing deep into genre television. Already holding the hit The Man in the High Castle, Amazon looks to be searching for an even bigger commercial hit. Currently, they're courting a Lord of the Rings TV show that's making the rounds. The fantasy series would increase their chances of hit akin to Game of Thrones alongside their recent announcement of shows based upon Ringworld and Snow Crash.

For those who have followed comic book adaptations for years, seeing both Preacher and now The Boys finally come to life is almost surreal. Alongside the two series, Locke & Key will come to Hulu soon after a similar amount of time in development as both a film and TV series. For fans of dark and violent indie comics, the coming years look to be something special. The Boys is said to shoot early next year and should arrive on Amazon in 2019.

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Source: Deadline