True Detective Deserves a Graphic Novel Series

By Reuben Levine | Oct 12, 2015

New York Comic-Con just wrapped up, and once again there was no True Detective presence. If True Detective would ever show up at a Comic-Con event, it would likely be the larger San Diego Con which has a greater Hollywood and television presence. Still, even that would be very out of character for Nic Pizzolatto considering how he has the series under tight lock and key.

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Even if True Detective never embraces the convention crowd, it does at the very least deserve a tie-in comic or graphic novel. Pizzolato himself is a comic fan, and even took inspiration from the legendary Alan Moore when writing Rust’s ending monologue in season one. With such a strong love for comics, why has True Detective not yet pursued that route?

A line of True Detective comics doesn’t have to signal an end to the television side, though with Nic Pizzolatto so heavily involved in the series it’s difficult seeing him willfully allowing others to work on it. Maybe seeing old characters like Rust and Marty in comic form wouldn’t be the way to go, but new stories with new characters could do very well in that medium.

The kind of noir that True Detective travels in would be a great fit for the comic world, and would open it up to fans a bit more. There is a hungry fanbase out there that would likely lap up True Detective stories. A deal would have to be made that satisfies HBO, as they own the property, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t work. Game of Thrones is present in just about any form of entertainment that you can think of.

A True Detective board game might not get very far, but a graphic novel series is a different beast.

Hopefully in the future Nic Pizzolatto will be more willing to open up to the fans and let the regions on True Detective go just a little bit.

Next: This Week in True Detective: Changes for Season Three.

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