Game of Thrones fans, rejoice: George RR Martin's 'Wild Cards' being made into a TV series

Game of Thrones fans have been feeling restless: The historical TV series just has two seasons — 14 episodes — for its end. So when author George RR Martin made an announcement on his blog this weekend, that Universal Cable Productions has acquired the rights to the Wild Cards series of books (on which he is a contributing writer) it made gave his fans a reason to cheer.

Described as “a universe as large and diverse and exciting as the comic book universes of Marvel and DC , with an enormous cast of characters”, the Wild Card anthology was created in 1986; a decade  before the Game of Thrones novel kicked off Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

The series is set in a post-Apocalyptic world in 1946 after World War II. An alien virus is unleashed all over the world, starting from New York, which changes the course of history. Ninety percent of those exposed to the virus died instantly, but of those 10 in 100 who survived, nine were horribly disfigured – they drew the “joker”, in the parlance of the series – while just 1 percent were dealt an “ace” and gifted with comic-book-style superpowers. The grotesque and deformed Jokers are forced into ghettos and subjected to bigotry and hatred, which even becomes the subject of 1960s civil rights fight.

The Wild Cards universe is at least as populous as Westeros, giving the producers of the forthcoming TV adaptation a huge tapestry of stories to work with. The first volume in 1986 introduced Doctor Tachyon, a benign and extravagantly attired member of the alien race that unleashed the virus in 1941; the Great and Powerful Turtle, who used his telekinetic abilities to encase himself in a flying shell; Cap’n Trips, who employed hallucinogenics to turn on his super abilities; and Jetboy, a pulp-ish fighter ace who tried to save the world from the virus released over Manhattan.

This is basically giving comic book genre writers a chance to run free and create whatever plotlines they want to. George RR Martin is joined by co-editor Melinda Snodgrass, and several other brilliant genre writers contribute to the Wild Cards series including Pat Cadigan, Cherie Priest, Chris Claremont (X-Men) and Roger Zelanzny.

There are 22 books out in the series, and the next one is just releasing. The books have the magical wonder of a superhero universe but don’t have the continuity issues that confuse DC and Marvel fans. Sounds like a promising show for Game of Thrones fans to watch after the series ends after the eighth season.