Space & BBC America’s Smash Hit ORPHAN BLACK Coming To Comics From IDW Timed With Season 3?! With Link To Spoilers!

News, Top Story

My wife and I are huge fans of the TV series Orphan Black. The story of female clones has become a cult hit in Canada, United States and around the globe. The series is edgy, smart, action-packed with just enough sci-fi to still be believable. Well, the smash hit TV series is now moving into comics with IDW Publishing.

The series will launch in 2015 seemingly around the launch of Orphan Black Season 3. Early 2015 would appear to be the time that both Orphan Black Season 3 and the comic book will launch. The recent San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2014 included some interesting tidbits about Season 3 (spoilers here).

Before I get to the news about the new comic book series, here is how the creators of Orphan Black describe the TV series:

    Sarah is an outsider, orphan and street-wise chameleon with a murky past and a tenuous future. When she witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks just like her, she assumes “Beth’s” identity, planning to clean out her savings and solve all her problems with a quick score. Instead, she stumbles headlong into a kaleidoscopic mystery. Turns out Beth is a cop, and trapped in her life, Sarah learns the dizzying truth – they are clones. There are more out there, genetically identical individuals, planted in unsuspecting birth parents and nurtured in wildly different circumstances. They have no idea who created them, or why, but they need to find out in a hurry – because an assassin is killing them, one by one.

    Sarah faces all of this, but a clone is never alone. Sarah’s the stray cat hustler with the chutzpah to be an unlikely leader. ALISON’s an uptight suburban housewife with a pill problem. COSIMA’s a brilliant PhD student, obsessed with their genetics. Together, they embark on a journey to uncover their origin story. Episode by episode, Sarah “peels the onion”, revealing the many-tentacled cabal behind their creation. Every step brings her closer to her own truth.

    Throughout, our Orphans struggle to keep the “clone world” a secret. Each of them has a ‘real life’ to protect – loved ones, jobs, families. Sarah’s real struggle is to control her own fate, and that means reuniting with her daughter, KIRA, her foster brother FELIX, and her estranged foster mother MRS. S. The Orphans are a truly unique “family”, a study in nature-versus-nurture. They have stepped through the looking glass, found multiple versions of themselves and, from now on, nothing will be what it seems.

The comic book creators will work closely with the TV series creators to deliver a comic book that will be relevant and flesh out the world of Orphan Black with stories that matter.

Here is IDW Publishing‘s news release:

    IDW KICKS OPEN THE DOORS TO COMIC-CON WITH ORPHAN BLACK!

    San Diego, CA (July 23, 2014) – Orphan Black, the acclaimed sci-fi series by Temple Street Productions, assumes a new identity in the form of a comic-book series from IDW Publishing. IDW’s series will not be a clone of the show but will feature some all-new stories set in the complex and thrilling world of Orphan Black.

    “Orphan Black, in addition to being a captivating TV series, is a perfect premise for comics,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. “And as the second season has expanded the series in exciting new directions, that has only increased the amount of stories we’ll be able to tell in comic-book form.”

    Orphan Black, which has just been renewed for a third season, centers on Sarah Manning, who after witnessing the suicide of a woman that appears to be her doppelgänger comes into the knowledge that this woman and indeed herself, are two of many biological clones. Sarah takes on the woman’s identity and uses her position as a police detective to uncover the mystery behind what she is and what that means.

    IDW Publishing is known for its authenticity and attention to detail when approaching licensed properties and Orphan Black is sure to be a comic book series a delight existing fans and make new ones.

    “We’re so thrilled for Orphan Black to take shape as a comic series and join the ranks of IDW’s impressive roster,” said John Young, Managing Director of Temple Street Productions. “Orphan Black was met with an enormous amount of enthusiasm at last year’s Comic-Con which really inspired us to give back to fans of the show through a medium so vital to the science fiction world.”

    IDW will be working closely with the show’s producers to expand the Orphan Black world. The first cover image seen here is by artist Nick Runge. The full creative teams and series details will be announced soon, with the first comic-book series launching in early 2015. Striker Entertainment on behalf of Temple Street Productions brokered the deal.

Thanks for reading. All feedback welcome.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!