Stephanie Phillips (Red before Black and Phoenix) is one of the best comic book writers of the last five-plus years. Just last week, she announced that she was the newest writer for the iconic series, Daredevil. A move that fits her writing style and will elevate the Man Without Fear to new levels. In the same week, the last issue of her 10-out-of-10 series Grim was released.
Grim follows a reaper named Jessica Harrow. Unlike the other reapers, Jessica doesn't remember how she died. She could also do a "trick" where her face would go from looking like a human with skin to a skull. As the story continues, you learn why all of this is. But you should read the series to understand why. Or, you could wait until the show comes out on Netflix.
A week after the final issue of Boom! Studios Grim was published, reports came out that the popular comic book would become a TV series on Netflix. While that is amazing news, it gets better. Wednesday creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, and story artist Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Love, Death & Robots) are part of the team bringing this to life.
This is one of the biggest moves for comic book creators. It’s one thing when animated projects like The Boys and Invincible get announced. Both have over 50 issues (Invincible having 144), and both have a draw of having extreme violence in their stories. Grim does have violent and intense physical moments, but it only went 25 issues and, as it was mentioned earlier, was greenlit a week after the finale. Not only does this show faith in the story, but it also gives future creators hope for their projects.
It was just under forty years ago when the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and Michael Keaton’s Batman seemed like a risky move. Now, we’re in a golden age for comic book creators. Stories that aren’t all about action can appear on HBO Max, Hulu, and more. And not just the big two of Marvel and DC Comics. Boom! Studios getting a project so quickly after the last issue proves that billion-dollar streaming services are paying attention to incredible stories like Grim.
Netflix understands that there is a benefit to getting in on something before another company does. In the case of Grim, there was no way someone else wouldn’t pick it up. So, rather than wait and get their feet taken from under them, Netflix scooped it up and got the perfect creative team behind this. This is going to leave companies paying a closer look at comic book projects doing well in sales, or others that just have potential.
Lastly, using a proven team like Al Gough, Miles Millar, and Jennifer Yuh Nelson is a brilliant move. Netflix already knows the creators’ work and that they’re trustworthy. Plus, unlike series like Game of Thrones, the comic book is complete. That means there’s a blueprint to follow and no need to make changes that could hurt the show. It’s doubtful Netflix's Grim will fail, and I can’t wait to see who is picked for the cast. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out who plays who.
Keep up with Bam Smack Pow on Bluesky, Instagram, and Twitter for more comic book news, opinions, and rumors as they come out, and also, let us know what you're