Mike Carey to Pen Television Adaptation for Virgin Comics and SCI FI Channel



The Stranded comic book series picked-up for two-hour pilot



New York, March 19, 2008 --- Fan favorite Mike Carey (X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Voodoo Child) and creator of the comic book series The Stranded will be developing the story into a television series for SCI FI Channel, it was announced by Virgin Comics CEO Sharad Devarajan. SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal.



“One of the purposes of our SCI FI partnership is to create television and film writing opportunities for the best talents in the comic industry. Having Mike write the television pilot for The Stranded, a comic book he created, is exactly what we had hoped for,” says Sharad Devarajan.



Mike Carey’s stunning work has earned him fans worldwide. With The Stranded, Mike challenges ordinary people to face the extraordinary – their lives are lies. Every memory is false. Startling events cause them to confront the truth, that they are, in fact, “stranded” on Earth after a horrific genocide in another galaxy.



“From day one,” Carey says, “working on The Stranded has felt like being at a nexus point of creativity. Virgin and SCI FI created the perfect platform, and then supported the book and the creative team through all the stages of development. This feels like something we all own, and we all love. I can't wait to take it forward into its next incarnation.”



The Stranded is an ongoing comic series published by Virgin Comics and SCI FI Channel. Issue # 1 was released in January 2008, followed by issue # 2 in February. Both are available at www.virgincomicsstore.com. The Stranded # 3 goes on sale at comic shops on March 26th, 2008. The first volume of collected stories will be released at book shops and Amazon.com in July this year.



SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 93 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.



Virgin Comics LLC is a character entertainment company creating original stories and epic myths for worldwide audiences. The company was founded in November 2005 by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Enterprises Ltd., alongside author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman. Virgin is developing new stories with acclaimed filmmakers, actors and musicians including John Woo, Guy Ritchie, Terry Gilliam, Jenna Jameson, Dave Stewart, Ed Burns, Nicolas Cage, Duran Duran, Sachin Tendulkar and others. Feature films based on Virgin Comics' characters are also in the works, including an animated feature, "The Secrets of the Seven Sounds," and theatrical live action feature films including "Gamekeeper" in development with Warner Bros. and "Virulents" with Fox. In India, Virgin Comics recently established a partnership with Studio 18 to pioneer the Indian "teen-horror" genre and a separate partnership with UTV Motion Pictures to develop new Indian superheroes. Virgin Comics also formed a joint venture with NBC Universal to create new science fiction properties for graphic novels and television with the SCI FI Channel. www.VirginComics.com