EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Nispel, whose Conan the Barbarian reboot opens today, has made a deal with Liquid Comics to launch the comic book series The Chosen. The plotline involves a Detroit kid who seems an unlikely candidate but who is the latest incarnate of an Eastern spiritual master whose tradition goes back generations. The teen’s awakening to these asweom powers that have been refined over a century’s worth of incarnations, begin to manifest themselves and take him on a journey from the Detroit streets to the underground gangland of Mumbai. Nispel created the storyling with Liquid co-founders Gotham Chopra and Sharad Devarajan. It’s based on an original movie treatment that Nispel has been developing to direct. The three-issue comic series will launch in February.

“I like movies that turn into graphic novels and graphic novels that turn into movies,” Nispel said in a statement. “Everything I direct starts with illustrations, and the pictures tell the story.”

Said Chopra: “Marcus’ vision of a muscled up Kung Fu has been something I’ve loved since the moment he first told me the story. The Master-Apprentice narrative from King Arthur to John Connor is a formula that works and with Marcus onboard something wildly creative is emerging.”