Doug TenNapel Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It looks like nothing can stop Hugh Jackman. Not cinematic piracy. Not disgruntled fans. As Eugene has pointed out, in spite of all the unhappiness and turmoil, X-Men Origins: Wolverine slipped in this weekend with a sweet box office take that even came out ahead of X2. But could Jackman manage it in the world of ghosts?

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Wolverine has signed on for a starring gig in Ghostopolis -- an upcoming graphic novel from Dough TenNapel. (The man has already sold Tommysaurus Rex to Universal, Creature Tech to New Regency, and Monster Zoo to Paramount, so it's no wonder this is getting a pre-shelf deal.) The book focuses on a man who works for the government's Supernatural Immigration Task Force. "His job is to send ghosts who have escaped into our world back to Ghostopolis." Somehow, a living boy gets shipped over to the ghostly world, and Jackman will have to team with a ghost to bring him back -- one who also used to be his former flame.

Unlikely partnerships are classic cinema, but it's nice to see things go the other way and stretch things even further than Shannyn Sossamon's character did in Wristcutters. But I've got to wonder... Using the title "Immigration" -- do ghosts sometimes get guest passes or immigrate back to Earth? Is this why there's hauntings in Connecticut and a cajillion ghost stories in Key West?

Variety reports that Sam Raimi and Paramount have bought the rights to Doug TenNapel's graphic novel Monster Zoo. Raimi is only attached to produce at this point.

Monster Zoo is the story about a young boy who discovers his local zoo contains creatures far scarier than lions or tigers. It hasn't even been published yet and isn't expected on shelves until this summer. Image Comics doesn't even have a preview up yet. When a book is optioned that quickly, it is usually a sign it is pretty special.

A little browsing around TenNapel's forum turned up a temp cover, as well as some sketches. He had already updated his blog with his glee about the movie deal. "Raimi's movie A Simple Plan is among my favorite all-time films. It's nice to be in business with people who love telling stories ... about creatures, comics and underdogs."

TenNapel is the creator behind the television cartoons Earthworm Jim and Catscratch, along with many graphic novels -- and after browsing his site, I'm dying to own Tommysaurus Rex. I want that to be optioned just for the title.