During San Diego Comic-Con, writer Tom King announced he was teaming up with artist Peter Gross for a creator-owned series at BOOM! Studios. Now, via Popverse, the publisher have announced the series is “Animal Pound,” a reimagining of Animal Farm, that relocates George Orwell’s tale of an animal uprising to a modern pet shelter. Featuring coloring by Tamra Bonvillain, and lettering by Clayton Cowles, the miniseries will follow the animals as they struggle to create a truly new equal society in their old home.
BOOM! executive editor Eric Harburn states, “‘Animal Pound’ isn’t just a comic book event – it’s a literary event, from four of our medium’s boldest storytellers. Tom, Peter, Tamra, and Clayton know the gravity of following in the footsteps of Orwell, arguably the 20th century’s most prescient author. And let me tell you: they are up to the challenge.” Gross comments it is “the best pitch I’ve ever read, [and] I’ve read some great ones!” King previously described the project as “probably the most ambitious thing I’ve ever done. [It] makes me more nervous than ‘Wonder Woman,’ which is hard to say.”
Published in 1945, Orwell’s Animal Farm was an allegorical retelling of the Russian Revolution, that conveyed how Joseph Stalin effectively replaced the Tsars with himself, at a time many British intellectuals were overlooking his crimes because of the wartime alliance with the USSR. It was previously adapted into a comic strip by Norman Pett and Don Freeman in 1950, and an original graphic novel by Brazilian artist Odyr in 2020. Orwell’s works entered the British public domain in 2021 as a result of it having been 70 years since his death, however, differing copyright laws means Animal Farm won’t be in the US public domain until 2041.
“Animal Pound” #1 will be released on December 20. An ashcan copy will be made available beforehand in comic book stores on November 15.
