‘Supernatural’ Creator Eric Kripke To Pen New Vertigo Mini, ‘Amped,’ In Prep For TV Series

Quite a few comics projects have been snapped up for TV and movie adaptation within just a few issues of publication, but this may be the first case of a TV version of a comic being announced when the comic is announced.

Variety broke the news this week that Supernatural creator Eric Kripke will team with cover artist Brian Bolland and interior artist John Higgins this fall for a new six-issue Vertigo miniseries called Amped. It puts a bit of a new spin on the "real-life" superhero story, which has become something of a genre unto itself in the past 10 years or so. Kripke will serve as executive producer and writer on the TV series, which will air on USA Network.

Here's how Variety described the premise of the series:

The story follows Josh Jaffe, a neurotic family man who buys an online ‘smart pill’ to increase his focus and jolt him out of his slump, but gets much more than he bargained for. To his surprise, the pill gives him incredible strength and power. The story examines both the mighty highs and humiliating lows of being a real-life superhero.

From the sound of it, it's one part that Bradley Cooper movie where a pill unlocks the potential of one's brain (Limitless), one part The Incredibles, a dash of Kick-Ass and a pinch of Major Bummer. For his part, Kripke is pretty psyched about it:

'Amped’ is a project I’m foaming-at-the-mouth passionate about — and it’s also the most personal, warts-and-all story I’ve ever told. So I’m having the time of my life writing the comic — and basing the TV series off the comic, too. I can’t wait for readers to read it — and then down the road, for watchers to watch it.

That's the extent of the information that's available about the project so far, but I'll say this much: The promo art looks like it was drawn by Darick Robertson, not Brian Bolland nor John Higgins, so perhaps there's more info to come. (Or maybe Robertson just did a variant cover.)

Either way, Supernatural fans have a new comic and TV show to look forward to.