Torso (Image Comics)
| Torso | |
|---|---|
Cover of the first issue
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Image Comics |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | October 1998 – September 1999 |
| No. of issues | 6 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Brian Michael Bendis Marc Andreyko |
| Written by |
Brian Michael Bendis Marc Andreyko |
| Artist(s) | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Letterer(s) | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Collected editions | |
| Torso | ISBN |
Torso is a true crime limited series graphic novel written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, with art and lettering by Brian Michael Bendis. It is based on the true story of the Cleveland Torso Murderer, and the efforts of the famous lawman Eliot Ness and his band of the "Unknowns" to capture him.
Bendis' was initially inspired to write the novel after reading the files about the murders. As a Cleveland native, Bendis wrote the novel to pay homage to his hometown. Together with co-writer Andreyko, they crafted the comic with various historical photographs and clippings from the era. After its release, the graphic novel was critically well-received by the comic book community and elevated Bendis' career in the industry. Originally published by Image Comics, the graphic novel was soon reprinted under Marvel's Icon imprint years later. Since then, various attempts to adapt the novel into film have been proposed.
Torso was originally published as a six-issue limited series by Image Comics. Bendis envisioned the comic as a historical true story which he turned into a graphic novel.Torso was written during Bendis' time as a struggling writer in his hometown Cleveland. His inspiration came while working as a cartoonist in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where his editor gave him access to the Cleveland Torso Murders files. The files contained all of the visual evidences and testimonies, such as photographs, interviews and newspaper excerpts for Bendis to create the novel. His particular inspiration was that of a picture of a coroner examining a dismembered leg with a magnifying glass, which he described as "the opposite of CSI." Besides the archives, Bendis and Mark also took information from Eliot Ness' own written interviews. He surmise their work during an interview:
Torso was one of the biggest challenges of my career. Taking on the responsibility of a true story but abstracting it in graphic novel form is a very large mountain to climb. When Mark Andreyko brought up the idea he was thinking of it only in movie terms, but I became obsessed with the idea of how to do the story as a graphic novel.
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