Alchemy Gone Amok?: Turning Old TV Shows into New Comic Books

"Imitation," once mused classic radio comic Fred Allen, "is the sincerest form of television."

Now, according to Business Wire, NBCUniversal is joining forces with St. Louis-based Lion Forge Comics, to crank out graphic novels (comic books for the less pretentious) based on 30-year-old tv hits. Talk about your fresh ideas.

From Punky Brewster and Miami Vice's Crockett & Tubbs to Knight Rider's Kit and the cast of Saved by the Bell, the digital comics are expected to be available later this year through Apple iBooks and the Amazon Kindle Bookstore, among other outlets. The Business Wire article reports that Lion Forge executives are likely to try to drum up excitement at the Comic-Con International gathering in San Diego later this month, a tall order given that much of the fan base for comics may only have encountered Punky Brewster et al. while channel surfing.