From Page to Screen: The Strain

Written by Scotty

Not many new television series have piqued my interest in the past couple of years and that is really a shame.  When Game of Thrones came out, I looked at it and just thought to myself, ah, it has dragons and I would not like it. Upon viewing it however, the acting captured my heart and now I cannot get away from it.  The Walking Dead, however caught me from the beginning.  A zombie TV show in prime time, but I was concerned that it would not show decent kills of the undead and now looking back, that was completely wrong.

Now with Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain coming to prime time, I cannot even try to hide my excitement.  Long story short, I was looking for a new Vampire novel to read and Barnes and Noble’s website, the searches kept bringing up The Strain.  Knowing that del Toro was a good director, I bit the bullet and ordered the first book since it was in the bargain priced section and have never looked back from there.  A new breed of Vampires are running the streets and when they first change, they are far from afraid of sunlight as their bodies take days to adjust to their change.  No longer biting with their fangs, but stingers that shoot out of their throats, it was a new way to see how the genre has evolved.

Having a little bit of help from a good friend on this change, she called out Blade II, which Guillermo del Toro directed to give me a brief idea of how this would work.  Now, I am still more of a Vampire purist, and don’t really want any movie, TV show or novel to detour from the original lore, but I accepted the change, not only for how the blood suckers kill, but how it plays into the story.  I have been intrigued and happy with the results that this series has brought to the written page, but Guillermo del Toro wanted more and he was able to accomplish the next goal…comic.

---

The Strain comic hit shelves in 2012 and although many fans did not know what they were getting into, they loved the premise as well.  Being story boarded just like the novel was key for me as I only found out about it after listening to our pod cast.  With the story being adapted by David Lapham and artwork by Mike Huddlestorn and Dan Jackson, del Toro’s vision from the novel had been brought to life.  I will admit, I was thrown a little bit by how the Vampires appeared, but I have learned to cope with it, as I said, it follows the novel that I like and is just adding illustration to the new classic.  But would Guillermo del Toro stop there?  A great director, now writer had something bigger on his mind and that was to bring it to the masses in a television show.

In 2012, shortly after the second trade came out for comic adaptation of The Strain, FX flexed its muscles and picked up the rights to the story.  I do not know what was seen or said when this was done, but I do know that I have been glued to the internet, trying to find out what will be made of one of my favorite novels.  Although comic options are the hottest thing out there right now with Marvel and DC knocking each outer around, Dark Horse has stayed right along with them with the comics that have become films and just maybe could surpass them with a television series that rivals some of the best. 

The scripts have come and gone, writers have come and gone, actors have come and gone, but one thing still stands true, The Strain is coming to a television near you in less than a month.  If you watched the Super Bowl this year, you would have seen a trailer that featured an eclipse and that is what sparks the beginning of The Strain.  There are a few people that understand the threat that is presenting itself to New York, and many that will not even try to understand that their lifestyles are about to change.  

As long as the show stays with the novel, this will be something to witness as a novel turned comic turned TV show hits your TV screen.  I am beside myself right now as I keep getting updates about the show and I just want to see what will happen and if it will rival something else that I am slowly falling out of love with on Sunday nights.  If you are a Vampire fan, I hope you tune in to see something that is just different enough to make you want to broaden your vision in the genre, and if you are not a fan of the occult but need something new to watch on Sundays, give it a look, hopefully it does not disappoint.  As always Stay Scared and keep looking to the sun, you never know when it might just cloud your view.  

---