BBC Studios options Eve Stranger comic book series

Eve Stranger, the comic-book series created by writer David Barnett (Punks Not Dead) and illustrated by Philip Bond (Deadline), has been optioned by BBC Studios for television series development.

Eve Stranger is the story of the enigmatic Eve, who has unlimited funds, a jet-set lifestyle, and extraordinary abilities… as well as a growing suspicion that she’s working for the bad guys. Meet Eve Stranger, amnesiac for hire.

Released as a miniseries in 2019, it was one of the core titles of comic-book editor Shelly Bond’s Black Crown imprint. Chris Ryall, former IDW Chief Creative Officer and current co-founder of Syzygy Publishing, will serve as an Executive Producer on BBC Studios’ Eve Stranger.

“What David and Philip created under Shelly Bond’s auspices is a character for the ages,” said Chris Ryall. “Eve is a black-ops action hero capable of amazing feats but incapable of remembering last week. Every job, Eve wakes up with a new assignment and a bloodstream filled with nanobombs that can only be suppressed by the contents of a mind-erasing syringe… and after her misadventures with giant gorillas, extreme assassins, and other unsavoury types, she has found the perfect partner in BBC Studios, and so have we. I can’t wait to see Eve’s adventures come to life and engage viewers like they did readers.”

Writer David Barnett added, “I could not think of better hands in which to put an adaptation of Eve Stranger than BBC Studios’ Drama Production department. They totally get what Philip and I were doing with the Eve Stranger comics and I simply cannot wait to see how the high-octane thrills, quirky humour and sheer non-stop adventure is translated to television.”

Philip Bond, series artist/co-creator and co-founder of publishing imprint OffRegister.Press said, “Eve Stranger was the most fun I’d had creating comics in years. David and I threw everything into the pages: the giant gorilla, the Goa party, the Orient Express, the gadgets, the clothes. If the cast and crew on an adaptation have as much fun making Eve as we did, and dress Eve in the right boots, it’ll be a joy to watch.”

Shelly Bond, Black Crown founder and Eve Stranger editor, added, “I came for the jet pack.”

Matthew Bouch (Being Human, Da Vinci’s Demons, The Witcher), who will produce for BBC Studios Drama Productions, said, “Eve Stranger is a mind-bending journey, a wild mix of complex characters and comic book verve, taking us on an action-adventure ride that dazzles even as it deepens in psychological richness. It is a key title in BBC Studios’ push to create unique, bold stories for the international market’.

Veronica Gleeson (Sixteen, Lion, Berlin Syndrome) will adapt. She said ‘Eve Stranger is hot, messy and heartfelt. I was immediately drawn to the anarchic energy and imaginative reach. What begins as a psychedelic genre lark finds compelling shape through characters with complex connections and compromised morality. It also features a large monkey. I am thrilled to be involved.’