Oscar Isaac latest actor getting into the comic book game with a character that looks just like him

(Image credit: Legendary Comics)

Oscar Isaac is diving into comic books - not only is he is starring and producing in a movie adaptation of DC/Vertigo's Ex Machina, he is now developing an actual comic book of his own - featuring a lead character who not-so-coincidentally looks like the actor.

Head Wounds: Sparrow is planned as a 2021 original graphic novel (OGN) published by Legendary Comics, with an eye towards a live-action project of some kind produced by Legendary's film division and Isaac's production company Mad Gene. The protagonist of this story is Leo Guidry, who happens to look a lot like Isaac.

Just last week actor Keanu Reeves announced a new comic book series he'd co-write starring a character that looked just like Reeves.

(Image credit: Legendary Comics)

"Leo Guidry is a bad person and an even worse cop. When he suffers a psychic head wound, his life on the edge slips into spiritual warfare," reads Legendary's description of the OGN. "In a landscape of angels, devils, and everything in between, can a person utterly devoid of empathy find a way to overcome the forces of darkness that have infiltrated his reality? This is the world of Head Wounds: Sparrow."

The OGN will be drawn by Christian Ward, based on a story by John Alvey, a script by comics writer Brian Buccellato, with Isaac as producer/developer.

Head Wounds: Sparrow is based on the real-life experiences of a childhood friend of Isaac and Alvey, Bob Johnson. 

"When diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and as a way to cope, Johnson turned to his passion of writing and created the character of Leo," Legendary explains in the announcement. "Inspired by a dream, Johnson conceived the supernatural affliction that haunts Leo throughout the story and forces him to face his own past trauma and lack of empathy."

Head Wounds: Sparrow is scheduled to go on sale in early 2021.

Isaac's not the first - nor will he be the last - actor to moonlight as a comic creator; we've actually run down the most notable thespians to date who tried their hands at comic books

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)