Paramount To Adapt Comic 'Last Man Standing'

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to make a big screen adaptation of the graphic novel Last Man Standing from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman's Heavy Metal Publishing. We have more information about the graphic novel and a ton of artwork after the jump.

LMS (Last Man Standing) tells the story of Gabriel, the last living Paladin soldier. Genetically engineered, he is a warrior of supernatural strength, anointed as the guardian of Amerika and its people. Admired and celebrated by most, Gabe?s world takes a sudden turn when he finds himself framed by the terrorist group Pandemonium, for a series of atrocious crimes he had no part in. For these alleged crimes, Gabriel is sent to the treacherous Level-9 Prison Facility and incarcerated with the very scum he helped put away. After nine years of torture and agony, the once famed hero kills his captors and escapes the 9 levels of hell he has been condemned to. From here on forward, Gabriel embarks on a journey into the heart of darkness; the New Amerika, a world filled with colorful and deadly characters that will either help or try to eliminate him ? neither of which attitude is always transparent. As the once invincible hero digs deep to unravel the true reason behind his framing, he also discovers a problem he never had to face before: He's dying; and quickly.

The graphic novel appears to be Gabriel's scrap book. Daniel LuVisi, artist and creator of the graphic novel explains to Deadline:

"As for the entire series, it's a story of mine I've been crafting over the past two and a half years. I want it to be a graphic novel series, but start it in a non-traditional type way. Where most comics start off with a first issue, this starts off with a 230-page bible of a book, Killbook of a Bounty Hunter, that sets up the entire universe of the LMS world. But not only that, the audience gets an incredibly deep perspective on the protagonist, Gabriel, and what his plans are now that he's escaped from Level-9."

Paramount bought the rights weeks after it premiered at San Diego Comic-Con international. LuVisi left the following tidbit in his Comic-Con journal entry:

The best part of the convention? Richard Taylor, head of WETA (Lord of the Rings, Avatar, District 9) calling the book "absolutely amazing" and agreeing to do a quote for the back of it (which will go on the front of the new copies). I then replied with "I want you guys to do the work on the movie if we get it picked up" which he replied with "Of course, hopefully we can recreate 9/10 of what you did here." An amazing man, and simply an idol to me. Really the best part of the con.

Could WETA be in line to work on the effects? The book will be published in September 2010, and you can preorder it now on HeavyMetal.com. Here are some of the characters:

Here is a preview of the book from the publisher: