Publisher Vertigo Book Two ISBN 1-4012-2923-9 Ante Up ISBN 1-4012-0198-9 Publication date August 2003 – March 2006 | Schedule Monthly Book One ISBN 1-4012-2733-3 Number of issues 32 Endgame ISBN 1-40121-004-X | |
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Main character(s) ClayRoqueJensenCougarPoochAisha Similar iZOMBIE, Bite Club, Scalped, DMZ, Human Target | ||
The Losers is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, written by Andy Diggle and illustrated by Jock. It ran for 32 issues from August 2003 to March 2006.
Contents
The idea was very loosely based on the original The Losers for DC Comics, a group of World War II soldiers, although Diggle maintains he has never read a single issue of the original series.
The series was adapted into a film of the same name that was released in 2010.
Publication history
Andy Diggle has talked about the development of the concept, which developed from conversations with editor Will Dennis about doing an original title at Vertigo:
Although he originally thought about returning to the original and doing a war comic:
The ongoing monthly comic concluded in 2006 after 32 issues, but it was never cancelled. According to Diggle, "Everyone always thinks it got cancelled—it was always intended to be two or three years long."
Plot
The Losers' reimagining was set against events surrounding and including the War on Terror. Originally a Special Forces team integrated with the Central Intelligence Agency. In the 90s, the Losers were betrayed by their handler, Max, and left for dead following the conclusion of their operation. Eager for revenge and the opportunity to remove their names from a secret CIA death list, the Losers regroup and conduct covert operations against the CIA and its interests, uncovering startling operations spearheaded by the enigmatic Max, whose influence within the CIA and U.S. government is unparalleled.
Characters
Collected editions
The complete run has been collected into a series of trade paperbacks. All stories are written by Andy Diggle, with Jock on the majority of art duties.
In 2010, a "double volume", including both Ante Up and Double Down, was released to tie in with the film adaptation; and a second book to collect the rest of the series.
Reception
In the week after the film's release, The Losers: Book 1 topped the New York Times paperback graphic books list.
Awards
In 2004, the series won the Eagle Award for "Favourite New Comicbook"; and was nominated for the "Best New Series" Eisner Award. In 2006, Jock was nominated for the "Best Cover Artist" Eisner Award, for The Losers.
Film adaptation
In 2007, it was announced that a movie adaptation was in development with a screenplay by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt, to be directed by Tim Story for Warner Brothers.
In October 2008, Variety reported that Sylvain White had taken over as director, with Dark Castle Entertainment acting as the financiers. In February 2009, it was reported that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would headline the upcoming adaptation playing Clay. In March 2009, it was confirmed that Columbus Short would play Pooch, Idris Elba would play Roque and Zoe Saldana would play Aisha. Further casting included Chris Evans playing Jensen, Óscar Jaenada playing Cougar. In August 2009, it was announced that Jason Patric would play Max.
In June 2009, Warner Bros. set a tentative release date of April 9, 2010, but pushed it back to June 4, 2010. Filming began in Puerto Rico in July. The film was released on April 23, 2010 to mixed reviews.