Torso (Image Comics)

Torso is a true crime comic book limited series written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, with art and lettering by Brian Michael Bendis. It is based on the true story of the Cleveland Torso Murderer.

Publication history
Torso was originally published as a six-issue limited series by Image Comics.

Synopsis
Torso tells the story of the real life "Torso Murderer", a serial killer who was active during 1934 to 1938. He received his nickname because he left only the torsos of his victims. Without fingerprints or dental records, these victims were very difficult to identify in a time before DNA testing. The investigator on the case was Eliot Ness, Cleveland Safety Director and former head of the Untouchables.

Collected editions
The series was collected in a trade paperback, Torso: A True Crime Graphic Novel (ISBN 1582406979 ), in 2001, and also published by Image.

Awards
Torso was winner of the 1999 Eisner Award for "Comic Book Excellence, Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition".

Film
On January 12, 2006, Variety reported that director David Fincher would be directing a film version of Torso for Paramount Pictures. The producers are Bill Mechanic, Don Murphy, Todd McFarlane and Terry Fitzgerald. Screenwriter Ehren Kruger is set to adapt the series.

In a September 27, 2009 unedited episode of Fanboy Radio, Bendis confirmed the Torso film which had been greenlit had been canceled and the rights have reverted to Bendis. The story of the failed attempt to make the film was told in Bendis's autobiographical graphic novel, Fortune and Glory.