Academy Award winner will direct film version of comic by SC artist, writer

A comic book created by South Carolina artists will have its film adaptation directed by Academy Award winning actress and celebrated director Regina King, according to reports.

King was tapped to direct Bitter Root. South Carolina comic book creators Sanford Greene and Chuck Brown created Bitter Root along with David F. Walker, who is based in Portland, Oregon. Greene, Brown and Walker will also be executive producers.

King won an Oscar for her role in the 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk. She starred in the 2019 HBO series Watchmen, based on the graphic novel of the same name. She had her film directorial debut last year with the Oscar nominated One Night in Miami. King was given a nod by the Golden Globe Awards for her directing of the film.

Ryan Coogler, writer and director of the films Black Panther and Creed, will producer Bitter Root along with Sev Coogler and Zinzi Evans.

Bitter Root, released by Image Comics, is set during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance in New York and focuses on a family of monster hunters struggling to reconcile their identity after years of strife. When a malevolent force invades New York, the family has to come together or watch their city be destroyed.

Legendary Studios, known for gritty blockbusters, is backing “Bitter Root.” Legendary has put out comic book based films such as The Dark Knight series, Man of Steel and Watchmen.

Greene, from Charleston but settled in Columbia, is a household name in the comic book world having worked with Marvel, DC and other comic book studios. He’s created serials with well-loved characters such as Black Panther, Luke Cage, Wonder Girl, Batgirl and a host of others. His online comic “1000” won a prestigious Ringo award.

Chuck Brown founded 803 studios, his comic book imprint named after the South Carolina Midlands’ area code. He has created books for Dark Horse Comics and worked with Marvel as well as comic book producers Image and IDW.

“Bitter Root” came out in November 2018. It was nominated for an Eisner Award, another prominent honor in the comic book world. The Washington Post picked up on the comics gravitas, writing, “the comic is by an all-black creative team and features a predominantly black cast of characters.”

“(‘Bitter Root’) has become a conversation starter in the comic book industry, which continues to awaken to more diverse ways of creating characters both on the page and behind the scenes,” the Post said.