Invincible: Why The Science Dog Comic Was Changed To Séance Dog

Mark Grayson’s favorite comic book series returns in Amazon’s Invincible, but the title is now “Séance Dog” instead of “Science Dog.” The reveal is a humourous Easter egg for fans of Robert Kirkman’s comic, but no doubt has some curious why the title was changed.

Kirkman’s groundbreaking comic Invincible is a subversion of the genre centered on Mark Grayson (voiced by The Walking Dead actor Steven Yeun), the son of Superman analogue Omni-Man. Like the iconic Man of Steel, Omni-Man, real name Nolan Grayson, looks human but is actually a superpowered being from the planet Viltrum. The story begins with Mark (finally) coming into his abilities and forming his own superhero alter-ego: Invincible.

The pilot episode of Amazon’s animated series Invincible references Mark’s love of comics, showing him reading an issue of his favorite series: “Séance Dog.” In Invincible episode 3, he describes it as being “about a Jack Russel terrier who’s a master at the metaphysical arts.” Of course, this is a fun twist on the pulp character from the Invincible comics, who is a super-evolved terrier with an impressive command over the sciences. Both have a distinctly pulp-fiction flavor — so why the change? According to an interview with Kirkman in Decider, it comes down to property rights.

After the success of the comic series Invincible, Robert Kirkman and illustrator Cory Walker turned Science Dog into its own spin-off series. Science Dog volume 1 debuted in 2011, and — like the fictional comic book series in Invincible — is about a science-loving canine. In his interview with Decider, Kirkman states that he and Walker wanted to retain to rights to Science Dog as a stand-alone series so that they could pursue using the property down the line:

[…] the nuts and bolts answer is that Science Dog is a separate comic book that Cory Walker and I created that just happened to appear [in Invincible]. It’s possible that we may do a movie or TV show or something at some point. Instead of putting that down in our deal with Amazon, on Invincible, we decided to strip it out and put in something new so that we would have the ability to do that.

In a Reddit AMA, Kirkman elaborated, stating that Science Dog is “a separate idea that was featured in Invincible” and that “While it’s easy to have those things appear in a comic, it’s a legal nightmare to make it work in a show.” Amazon’s X-Ray feature acknowledges the change: “Mark’s reading a Séance Dog comic — a title unique to the television series. It’s a play on Science Dog — Mark’s favorite comic from the original Invincible comicseries.” Amazon doesn’t provide an explanation for why the change was made, but it makes sense that they wouldn’t in this context. Even Kirkman’s more-direct answer is a bit ambiguous, in the sense that it neither confirms nor denies existing plans or intentions to adapt Science Dog. Chances are, Kirkman and Walker are waiting to see how Invincible performs as an Amazon series — and if it does well and gets ordered for season 2, they may want to pursue developing a Science Dog adaptation.

About The Author

Sarah Bea Milner
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Sarah Milner is the Weekend Lead Editor for Screen Rant’s Film/Television features (SR Originals) division. She is a writer, editor, and folk musician. She often watches movies — sometimes she reviews them too.

A graduate of Trent University, Sarah’s MA thesis examines Frankenstein adaptations and their relationship with popular culture. She has a fierce love of all things “spooky,” and a deep appreciation for classic cinema.

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