Big Finish Productions has signed a licence with STUDIOCANAL and DC Thomson to produce full cast audio productions of The Avengers comic strips which were original published in Diana in 1966 and 1967. The eight episodes will be released over two box sets in April and November 2016, and will run alongside The Avengers: The Lost Episodes, which recreates the TV show’s first season.
David Richardson, the producer of this series, said, “I’m so thrilled that we have been granted the opportunity to open a new chapter in our audio adaptations of The Avengers. Working on these productions has been an utter joy, and it’s so exciting to step into the colour era of the show and to bring in another iconic figure from its rich history…”
Along with the audio plays, the original strips are going to be reprinted by Big Finish into a single graphic novel in November 2016. “I was blown away by the strips when they were sent to me by StudioCanal,” says David. “They are gorgeous – the artwork is absolutely exquisite. So it’s wonderful that they can now be seen again 50 years on, side by side with the audio adaptations.”
Julian Wadham will be reprising his role as John Steed, while at this time Big Finish are still searching for somebody to play his sidekick Emma Peel.
You can still purchase the first three volumes of The Avengers: The Lost Episodes starring Julian Wadham as Steed, Anthony Howell as David Keel and with Lucy Briggs-Owen playing Carol Wilson from www.bigfinish.com. A fourth boxset is due to be released in July. The episode “Hot Snow” – from Volume 1 – has recently been nominated for Best Thriller in the prestigious Audio Awards by the Audio Publishers Association. The winner will be announced at the Audies Gala in New York on May 28.
You can find out more information about Big Finish via their main website, bigfinish.com, or on Twitter, on Facebook and on Soundcloud.
You can also purchase The Avengers Series 1-6 on DVD from Studiocanal here.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONsp_bmDYXc
Originally published March 20, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
