John McClane Back with Die Hard Comic Book

We are about to see even more John McClane and it is not in a fifth installment of Die Hard. Boom Studios will be launching a new comic book titled Die Hard: Year One which chronicles the years before McClane’s involvement at the Nakatomi Plaza in L.A. Writer/artist Howard Chaykin will be scripting the story which is scheduled to hit stores this August. “We’re dealing with McClane as a 23-year-old Marine veteran, new to the force from Queens, just loving his job,” Chaykin told MTV News. “The series is going to explain exactly how he got his gold shield.” Continue reading to find out more about this upcoming project.

Chaykin has big plans for this prequel to the popular film franchise which launched the career of Bruce Willis and really raised the bar for all action movies in the future. Die Hard: Year One will take place about a decade before the 1988 terrorist attack which McClane thwarted. New York City will play an intricate part of this story. McClane is a New York cop so this city will be important to the story.

“What we’re doing is hitting the high points of the drama of the 1970s and using them as the background and springboards for the issues,” explained Chaykin. “The first four-issue arc takes place on the Bicentennial – the Fourth of July in 1976.” “The great irony of the Bicentennial celebration is that it was at a time when New York City was kind of a scary place and the rest of the country really hated New York,” said Chaykin. “So the irony of the 200th birthday of the United States being celebrated in a place that was regarded as a sodomite hell-hole wasn’t lost on anyone.”

The first arc of the four part series will take place around the bicentennial with the second story revolving around a blackout which took play for 25 hours in 1977. Chaykin plans to detail the life of McClane leading up to the time we are introduced to him in the first movie. He plans on introducing at least one character from the movie which will be John’s estranged wife Holly.

Let me just say, Die Hard is on the top of my list for favorite movie of all time. I watch the movie frequently, and it is the one film which has remained a favorite of mine for many, many years. With that being said, I am very anxious to read this comic book series. I am very enthralled by the character of John McClane and being able to learn more about his back story is very appealing to me. What do you think about this? Can a “Die Hard” story be told in a comic book and still have the same excitement? I love the idea except there is only one aspect of the project which I don’t care for and that is the stupid title. Year One? Besides the fact that it is the same title as the Jack Black movie which jusr came out, the subtitle is bland and does not fit with the Die Hard brand. Hope that is the only drawback for this interesting project.

Source: Splash Page