The foul-mouthed, booze-fueled adventurers of Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch's Image Comics series Rat Queens probably wouldn't be welcome on The Disney Channel or Cartoon Network (maybe Adult Swim), but that isn't stopping the Weta Workshop's Pukeko Pictures and the Heavy Metal brand from developing it into an animated series.

The two production companies, which jointly acquired the rights to the series, are hard at work developing a half-hour animated version of the exploits of Betty (thief), Hannah (mage), Dee (cleric) and Violet (fighter). They're planning to pitch it to networks soon.

Heavy Metal, the magazine that had long been published by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman but is now under the ownership of David Boxenbaum and Jeff Krelitz, is making a big push into the animated arena. Not only is it behind the Rat Queens animated adaptation, it's also producing adapting Peter Panzerfaust, also written by Wiebe, alongside BBC Worldwide, and the direct-to-video animated adaptations of Chew, the Image series by John Layman and Rob Guillory.

Here's what Krelitz had to say about a Rat Queens adaptation: "“Rat Queens’ is a standout in the marketplace as a diving rod for fangirls, a market as yet untouched by most comics publishers. It is not only perfect for the TV space, but much needed.”

It's hard to disagree with him, and Rat Queens is one of the most consistently fun and enjoyable comics coming out at the moment, so anything that would grab it more attention and get readers more time with the characters is likely welcome. Here's hoping the animated adaptation finds somewhere to land.

[Via Variety]

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