View source for Charmed (comics)

{{Infobox comic book title <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|image = CharmedTP1.jpg
|caption = The debut issue, ''Charmed'' #1 (June 2010). 
|schedule = Monthly
|ongoing = 
|Anthology = y
|Fantasy = y
|publisher = [[Zenescope Entertainment]]
|date = '''(''[[Charmed: Season 9|Season 9]]'')'''<br />June 2010 – November 2012<br />'''(''[[Charmed: Season 10|Season 10]]'')'''<br />October 2014 – September 2016
|startmo = 
|endmo = 
|endyr = 
|issues = '''(''Season 9'')''': 24 (and 4 collected editions)<br />'''(''Season 10'')''': 20 (and 3 collected editions)
|main_char_team = [[Piper Halliwell]]<br />[[Phoebe Halliwell]]<br />[[Paige Matthews]]<br />[[Prue Halliwell]]<br />[[List of Charmed characters|other ''Charmed'' characters]]
|writers = [[Paul Ruditis]] <small>(0-24)</small><br />Raven Gregory <small>(0-3)</small><br />Pat Shand <small>(25-44)</small>
|artists = 
|pencillers = {{Collapsible list|[[Dave Hoover]] <small>(0–3)</small>, Marcio Abreu <small>(4, 5 & 7)</small>, Tess Fowler <small>(6, 11 & 19)</small>, Carlos Granda <small>(8)</small>, Dean Kotz <small>(9, 12, 14–18, 20 & 21)</small>, Reno Maniquis <small>(10 & 13)</small>, 
Rubine <small>(22–24)</small>, [[Elisa Féliz]] <small>(25-29, 32-36)</small>, Daniela Di Matteo <small>(30 & 31)</small>}}
|letterers = Jim Campbell <small>(0-26)</small><br />Christy Sawyer <small>(27-36)</small>
|colorists = Milen Parvanov <small>(1–4 & 7)</small><br />John Hunt <small>(5, 6, 8 & 24)</small><br />Michael Spicer <small>(14–17, & 19)</small><br /> Joshua Wentzell <small>(18)</small><br />Falk <small>(20)</small><br />Dash Martin <small>(21–23)</small><br />Valentina Cuomo <small>(25–36)</small>
|creative_team_month = 
|creative_team_year = 
|creators =
|TPB = 
|ISBN = 
|sort = Charmed
}}
'''''Charmed'' comics''' were officially licensed continuations of the popular [[Charmed|television series of the same name]], which ended [[List of Charmed episodes|its eight-year run]] in 2006. The [[comic books]] were published monthly by [[Zenescope Entertainment]]. ''[[Charmed: Season 9]]'' served as a continuation set eighteen months after the events of the televised show's [[Forever Charmed|final episode]] and was first released on June 16, 2010.<ref name="Broken Frontier">{{cite news | author=Richard Boom | url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/zenescope-brings-charmed-to-comics | title=Zenescope Brings Charmed To Comics | publisher=Broken Frontier | date=2010-03-10 | access-date=2010-09-10 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201023107/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/zenescope-brings-charmed-to-comics | archive-date=2010-12-01 }}</ref> After concluding in 2012, it was succeeded by ''[[Charmed: Season 10]]'' which debuted on October 8, 2014<ref name="10th Season"/> and ended on September 14, 2016. Each season comprises 22-24 issues and one [[story arc]] spans between five and seven issues which is reprinted in [[graphic novel]] form.

The comics were set in the fictional "''Charmed'' universe" and all content was approved by [[CBS Consumer Products]] in order to adhere to the [[canon (fiction)|continuity]] of the franchise.<ref name="Gregory and Ruditis2"/><ref name=ShandCanon>{{cite web|last1=Shand|first1=Pat|title=The comics are canon.|url=http://patrickshand.tumblr.com/post/89403734218/yeahs-but-paramount-had-stated-that-the-comic-book|publisher=Tumblr|access-date=13 May 2015|date=20 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104350/http://patrickshand.tumblr.com/post/89403734218/yeahs-but-paramount-had-stated-that-the-comic-book|archive-date=18 May 2015}}</ref> The series narrative followed the Charmed Ones – sisters [[Piper Halliwell|Piper]] and [[Phoebe Halliwell]] and [[Paige Matthews]] – the most powerful good witches in history who use their combined "[[Power of Three (Charmed)|Power of Three]]" to protect innocent lives from [[List of magical beings in Charmed|demonic beings]]. After being reunited with their late elder sister, [[Prue Halliwell|Prue]], who was [[All Hell Breaks Loose (Charmed)|killed less than a decade earlier]], the four sisters vanquish the demon Rennek in order to safeguard the existence and secrecy of magic. Writers of the comics are also involved in the publication of other [[List of Charmed books|''Charmed'' literature]], including [[Paul Ruditis]], author of ''Season 9'' and editor of ''Season 10'', whose novel ''[[The War on Witches]]'' (2015) is set between the events of the two seasons.<ref name=Twitter>{{cite web|last1=Ruditis|first1=Paul|title=CHARMED: THE WAR ON WITCHES takes place between seasons 9 & 10 of comic books.|url=https://twitter.com/paulruditis/status/594202404138000386|website=Twitter|access-date=6 May 2015}}</ref>

The comics were generally well received. One graphic novel volume made [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] in early 2011.<ref name=BestSeller>{{cite news|title=Best Sellers: Paperback Graphic Books|url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-10-02/paperback-graphic-books/list.html|access-date=5 January 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 October 2011}}</ref> Initially, only 12 issues were contracted by Zenescope but, due to the success of the first few issues, the contract was doubled to 24 issues per season. The first issue sold out of its initial 17,000 copies in the first three weeks, which prompted Zenescope to release a second printing in time for the release of Issue #2.<ref name="Hypergeek">{{cite news | author=Edward Kaye  | url=http://www.hypergeek.ca/2010/08/zenescopes-charmed-issue-1-sells-out.html | title=ZENESCOPE'S CHARMED ISSUE 1 SELLS OUT | publisher=Hypergeek | date=2010-08-11 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref>

==Production==

===Development===
Rumors of a comic series began long before Zenescope made the news official in March 2010.<ref name="Broken Frontier"/> Speculation had started to appear online<ref name="Broken Frontier 2">{{cite news | author=Richard Boom | url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/zenescope-working-on-charmed-comic | title=Zenescope Working on Charmed Comic? | publisher=Broken Frontier | date=2010-03-13 | access-date=2010-09-10 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420020448/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/zenescope-working-on-charmed-comic | archive-date=2010-04-20 }}</ref> about the possibility of a comic series much earlier, however, largely due to test sketches appearing on the [[DeviantArt]] account of [[Dave Hoover]] which featured [[Holly Marie Combs]], [[Alyssa Milano]] and [[Rose McGowan]]. Speaking on his DeviantArt page, Hoover said: {{blockquote|If everything goes according to plan I'll be working on a "Charmed" comic book based on the hit TV series published by Zenescope Entertainment. To get the job I had to compete with others vying for the same gig, and our task was to do model sheets of the girls showing how we would draw them. The art would be approved by the studio.

The odd thing about this was that they supplied no photo reference, so I searched the internet high and low looking for the best possible pictures. Of the three girls, I thought [[Alyssa Milano]] would be the easiest to draw, but she turned out to be the hardest. She sort of changed her look more often than the other two, [[Rose McGowan]] and [[Holly Marie Combs]].|Dave Hoover, ''[[DeviantArt]]'', March 13, 2009|}} Months before the title had officially been announced, and before Zenescope gained acquisition of the publication rights for the comic series, the first advertisement for the series featuring the famous [[triquetra]] symbol and the [[tag line]] "The Girls are Back" written in the [[Charmed#Logo and symbols|series font]] appeared in the December 16, 2009 issue of the Zenescope comic book ''[[Grimm Fairy Tales (comics)#Spin-offs and miniseries|Escape From Wonderland #3]]''.<ref>''[[Grimm Fairy Tales (comics)#Spin-offs and miniseries|Escape From Wonderland #3]]'', Zenescope Entertainment, December 16, 2009.</ref> However, Zenescope did not officially announce possession of the title until the company had successfully been granted the rights from [[Fox Consumer Products]].

Subsequently, the first [[press release]] from [[Zenescope Entertainment]] indicated that ''Charmed'', based on the "ultra-popular" [[media franchise]], would be a natural addition to the publisher's pre-existing "sultry and [[Feminism|strong female characters]]".<ref name="Newsarama">{{cite news | author=Press Release  | url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Zenescope-Charmed-Comics-100315.html | title=Zenescope Brings Charmed to Comics | work=Newsarama | date=2010-03-15 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref> Editor-in-Chief Ralph Tedesco also announced that "the key to this series success is to strike a nice balance in creating a brand new, intriguing storyline for fans of the television show while also not alienating Zenescope and comic book readers who haven't really followed it before".<ref name="Newsarama"/> It was further announced that while the TV series had a difficult time due to casting and budget limitations, the comic creators would not have those problems, thus fans may finally see the return of popular characters like [[Prue Halliwell|Prue]] and [[Cole Turner (Charmed)|Cole]].<ref name="MTV News">{{cite news | author=Blair Marnell  | url=http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/03/17/charmed-tv-series-to-continue-in-comic-book-form/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323011149/http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/03/17/charmed-tv-series-to-continue-in-comic-book-form | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 23, 2010 | title='Charmed' TV Series To Continue In Comic Book Form | publisher=MTV.com | date=2010-03-17 | access-date=2012-02-14}}</ref>

Although the comic books feature the likeness of the majority of the actors who appeared in the television series including [[Alyssa Milano]] ([[Phoebe Halliwell]]), [[Holly Marie Combs]] ([[Piper Halliwell]]), [[Rose McGowan]] ([[Paige Matthews]]), [[Brian Krause]] ([[Leo Wyatt]]) and [[Julian McMahon]] ([[Cole Turner (Charmed)|Cole Turner]]), [[Shannen Doherty]]'s ([[Prue Halliwell]]) likeness does not feature in the comic books. Ralph Tedesco [http://blog.zenescope.com/2012/04/regarding-ms-dohertys-likeness/ officially released a statement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425035852/http://blog.zenescope.com/2012/04/regarding-ms-dohertys-likeness/ |date=2012-04-25 }} that [[Shannen Doherty]] had not given her permission for the comic book creators to use her likeness in the series, saying that "Unfortunately Ms. Doherty has declined to be involved in the comic version of Charmed. This includes the use of her likeness. We had hoped that she would allow us to use her image and that we would be able to bring her into the Charmed comic book exactly as she was in the show but at this point that has become impossible. While Ms. Doherty’s likeness will not be used for the character we are still very excited about the direction we are going with Prue and we hope that fans of Charmed will feel the same way."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.zenescope.com/2012/04/regarding-ms-dohertys-likeness/ |title=Regarding Ms. Doherty's likeness {{!}} ZeneScoop |website=blog.zenescope.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425035852/http://blog.zenescope.com/2012/04/regarding-ms-dohertys-likeness |archive-date=2012-04-25}}</ref>

[[Shannen Doherty]] revealed at Oz Comic-Con in 2013 that her decision to not give permission for her likeness to be used was based on Zenoscope's unwillingness to pay her to use her likeness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_moIfj6y0g0|title = YouTube|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref>

CBS and Zenescope officially reached an agreement for a tenth season.<ref name="10th Season">{{cite web|url=http://blog.zenescope.com/2014/04/zenescope-and-cbs-bring-back-charmed/ |title=Zenescope and CBS Bring Back Charmed |publisher=Zenescope.com |last=Koch |first=Jennifer |date=April 8, 2014 |access-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013225304/http://blog.zenescope.com/2014/04/zenescope-and-cbs-bring-back-charmed/ |archive-date=October 13, 2014 }}</ref> It was announced in April 2014 that Paul Ruditis stepped down as lead writer and would edit the series, while Pat Shand would write the new story and [[Elisa Féliz]] would be pencilling.<ref name="10th Season"/> The first issue of ''Charmed: Season 10'' debuted at [[New York Comic Con]] during the weekend of October 9, 2014.<ref name="10th Season"/>

===Writing and format===
Author [[Paul Ruditis]]<ref name="Gregory and Ruditis2">{{cite news | author=Alex Dueben  | url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25651 | title=Gregory and Ruditis Are "Charmed | publisher=CBR | date=2010-04-09 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref> was hired as lead writer of ''Season 9'' with established Zenescope author Raven Gregory co-writing the first three issues alongside him. Ruditis was already familiar with the "''Charmed'' universe" having previously published three [[List of Charmed books|tie-in novels]], two official [[Charmed academia#Published works|episode guides]] (co-authored with [[Diana G. Gallagher]]), and the [[Charmed academia#Published works|''Charmed Book of Love Spells'']]. Ruditis and Gregory also co-authored a special Issue 0, which acted as a [[prequel]] to the series by summarising the events of the television series in a style reminiscent to the [[Book of Shadows (Charmed)|Book of Shadows]] depicted in the show. For ''Season 10'', Pat Shand assumed the role of writer and Ruditis acted as editor.

Artist [[Dave Hoover]] was hired to create the interior artwork while David Seidman was hired to design the covers for the comics, although various guest artists have contributed variant covers for each issue, including [[Greg Horn]], [[Al Rio]], Tony Shasteen and [[Mark Sparacio]]. Hoover departed the series after completing Issue 3. Since then various artists have been hired to create the interior artwork such as Marcio Abreu (4, 5 and 7), Carlos Granda (8), Tess Fowler (6 and 11), Dean Kotz (9, 12, 14 and 15), and Reno Maniquis (10 and 13).

Although the process of writing and receiving studio clearance was much the same as for ''Charmed'' novels, Ruditis explains, "The big difference now...is that with original episodes no longer airing, we have a lot more freedom than we did on the novels."<ref name="Gregory and Ruditis2"/> With the ''Charmed'' novels, nothing outrageous could occur to distort established continuity. Stories had to take place "between" episodes, usually in the first half of a given season. Ruditis notes that while "[t]he studio still has to approve the direction we take," no longer does "everything... have to reset by the end. That alone means that nothing is entirely safe."<ref name="Gregory and Ruditis2"/> Ruditis and Gregory claim they wanted the series to "grow and evolve" in the new medium, "expand[ing] upon what worked and what didn't work."<ref name="Gregory and Ruditis2"/> The creators believe it stands out from the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy]]'', ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]'' and ''[[Pushing Daisies (TV series)|Pushing Daisies]]'' television-to-comic adaptations because ''Charmed'' has a unique focus on the dynamics of family drama.<ref name="Gregory and Ruditis2"/>

According to Shand, the comics and [[List of Charmed books|novels]] based on the franchise were part of the ''Charmed'' [[canon (fiction)|canon]] and follow the established [[continuity (fiction)|continuity]] of the series.<ref name=ShandCanon/><ref name=ShandContinuity>{{cite web|last1=Shand|first1=Pat|title=The new novel, like the comics, is in continuity, so nothing will be contradicted!|url=http://patrickshand.tumblr.com/post/117959578773/the-new-charmed-book-is-it-going-to-contradict|publisher=[[Tumblr]]|access-date=13 May 2015|date=2 May 2015|quote=The new novel, like the comics, is in continuity, so nothing will be contradicted! There is a bunch of room to work with between the two comic seasons...|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104354/http://patrickshand.tumblr.com/post/117959578773/the-new-charmed-book-is-it-going-to-contradict|archive-date=18 May 2015}}</ref>

==Publication==

===Issues===

The first issue premiered during [[San Diego Comic-Con]] in July 2010. Initially only 12 issues were contracted by Zenescope, with around five issues comprising one story arc which would be reprinted in [[graphic novel]] form. A [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] issue has also been announced for Issue #6, and another is followed when Issue #13 comes to start the new story arc.

===Season 9 (2010–12)===
{{Main|Charmed: Season 9}}
{{:Charmed: Season 9}}
<!-- To edit the episodes in this section, you need to edit the article listed above. -->

===Season 10 (2014–16)===
{{Main|Charmed: Season 10}}
{{:Charmed: Season 10}}
<!-- To edit the episodes in this section, you need to edit the article listed above. -->

==Collected issue==

===Season 9===
The issues were collected together into [[trade paperback (comics)|trade paperbacks]]:
{{Comics TPB table|
{{Comics TPB line|1|Charmed: Season 9: Volume 1|Zenescope Comics|February 8, 2011|0982582676|*''Charmed: Season 9'' #0–5
|writers=
*Paul Ruditis 
*Raven Gregory
|pencillers=
* Dave Hoover
* Marcio Abreau
*Novo Malgapo
|notes=
|color=
}}
{{Comics TPB line|2|Charmed: Season 9: Volume 2|Zenescope Comics|September 20, 2011|0982582692|*''Charmed: Season 9'' #6-12
|writers=Paul Ruditis
|pencillers=
*Tess Fowler
*Marcio Abreu
*Carlos Granda
|notes=
|color=
}}
{{Comics TPB line|3|Charmed: Season 9: Volume 3|Zenescope Comics|April 11, 2012|193706896X|*''Charmed: Season 9'' #13-19
|writers=Paul Ruditis
|pencillers=
*Reno Maniquis
*Dean Kotz
*Tess Fowler
|notes=
|color=
}}
{{Comics TPB line|4|Charmed: Season 9: Volume 4|Zenescope Comics|November 7, 2012|1937068609|*''Charmed: Season 9'' #20-24
|writers=Paul Ruditis
|pencillers=
*Dean Kotz
*Rubine
|notes=
|color=
}}
|lead= Charmed Season 9
}}

===Season 10===
The issues were collected together into [[trade paperback (comics)|trade paperbacks]]:
{{Comics TPB table|
{{Comics TPB line|1|Charmed: Season 10: Volume 1|Zenescope Comics|April 29, 2015|1942275021|*''Charmed: Season 10'' #1–6
|writers=Pat Shand
|pencillers=
* Elisa Feliz
* Daniela Di Matteo
|notes=
|color=
}}
{{Comics TPB line|2|Charmed: Season 10: Volume 2|Zenescope Comics|September 6, 2016|978-1942275183|*''Charmed: Season 10'' #7–12
|writers=Pat Shand
|pencillers=
* Elisa Feliz
* Daniela Di Matteo
|notes=
|color=
}}
{{Comics TPB line|3|Charmed: Season 10: Volume 3|Zenescope Comics|October 11, 2016|9781942275282|*''Charmed: Season 10'' #13–20
|writers=Pat Shand
|pencillers=
* Elisa Feliz
* Giorgia Esposito
|notes=
|color=
}}
|lead= Charmed Season 10
}}

==Reception==
Critical reaction was initially mixed for the first issue, with many reviewers complaining about the lack of story. Reviews for Issue #2 in relation to the story have been much more positive with Fandomania awarding the issue 3/5.<ref name="Fandomania">{{cite news | author=Kimberly Lynn Workman  | url=http://fandomania.com/comic-review-charmed-2/ | title=Comic Review: Charmed #2 | publisher=Fandomania | date=2010-08-23 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref> However some noted that the issue does a good job at exposing the series to newcomers.<ref name="PopCultureNetwork">{{cite news | author=DiRT | url=http://popculturenetwork.com/article.php?story=20100721054340272 | title=Zenescope Advance Reviews for 7/21/2010 | publisher=The Pop Culture Network | date=2010-07-21 | access-date=2010-09-10 | archive-date=2010-08-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801102710/http://popculturenetwork.com/article.php?story=20100721054340272 | url-status=dead }}</ref> 
The artwork however has received the most criticism both for the characters likeness'<ref name="Fandomania 2">{{cite news | author=Kimberly Lynn Workman  | url=http://fandomania.com/comic-review-charmed-1/ | title=Comic Review: Charmed #1 | publisher=Fandomania | date=2010-07-19 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref> and the colouring,<ref name="Newsarama colour">{{cite news | author= Vanessa Gabriel  | url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-advance-reviews-100720.html | title=Charmed #1 | publisher=Newsarama.com | date=2010-07-20 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref> which is deemed distracting by a Newsarama reviewer. Christina Flores of ComicImpact.com goes on to say that the interior art is inconsistent, with the character drawings not being as good as those of locations and backgrounds. However, she goes on to say that Ruditis and Gregory open with a strong story and says that ''Charmed'' fans will enjoy the issue.<ref name="Comic Impact">{{cite news | author=Christina Flores   | url=http://comicimpact.com/2010/07/advanced-review-charmed-1/ | title=Advanced Review: Charmed #1 | publisher=Comic Impact | date=2010-07-16 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref> Fan response however has been promising with the first issue selling out of its initial 17,000 copies in the first three weeks, which prompted Zenescope to release a second printing in time for the release of Issue #2.<ref name="Hypergeek"/>

===Cast reaction===
*[[Alyssa Milano]] has touched upon the comic series in interviews, talking about how she gave Zenescope her permission to use her likeness for her character.<ref name="Flick Cast">{{cite news | author=Matt Raub  | url=http://theflickcast.com/2010/04/19/interview-alyssa-milano-talks-romantically-challenged-charmed-ghostbusters/#more-33804 | title=Interview: Alyssa Milano Talks 'Romantically Challenged', 'Charmed', 'Ghostbusters' | publisher=The Flick Cast | date=2010-04-19 | access-date=2010-09-10}}</ref>
*[[Rose McGowan]] and [[Holly Marie Combs]] have discussed the comics on [[Twitter]], most notably joking about the cover for Issue #2 which pictures the Charmed Ones naked covered only in leaves.<ref>{{cite news | author=Holly Marie Combs | url=https://twitter.com/hdonoho/status/12776711732 | title=Hmm I don't recall doing that scene. Fascinating. Ha! | date=2010-04-24}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Charmed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charmed (Comic Book)}}
[[Category:Charmed (TV series)]]
[[Category:2010 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Comics based on television series]]