'Watchmen' Screenwriter Penning 'Battling Boy'

Watchmen screenwriter Alex Tse will crack open another graphic novel for the Brad Pitt/Plan B production Battling Boy. That comic, written by Paul Pope, was picked up by Plan B before it ever hit the shelves. Pope is best known for Batman: Year 100, and his new title features a reported 50-page fight scene. I wonder how well that will translate to film. Usually, even great fight scenes get boring after a few minutes. The story centers on the son of a god who at his father's request leaves his mountaintop home to battle beasts in the enormous city of Monstropolis. If you're looking for Battling Boy in stores, First Second will publish it this spring. There's no director or anything else lined up at the moment, and in a situation like this, you'd almost always see the script first because so little is known about the source material. Plan B does hope (or did in November) to get the film rolling pretty soon, with a 2010 release date on its mind. Tse is also busy at the moment with film adaptations of The Illustrated Man and Ninja Scroll.