Draft:Eight Billion Genies

Eight Billion Genies is an eight-issue American comic book series created by writer Charles Soule and artist Ryan Browne. On December 10, 2021, the first issue became available directly from the creators in a limited "Special Preview Edition". The comic book formally debuted, as published by Image Comics, with a direct market on-sale date of Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

Publication history
On December 10, 2021, Eight Billion Genies debuted at C2E2 when the comic book's creators, writer Charles Soule and artist Ryan Browne, released a full-color "Special Preview Edition" of the first issue. In addition to the entire "standard" contents of the first issue, this Special Preview Edition also included an additional prose short story titled "The First Eight Milliseconds". Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, signed by both creators and sketched upon by Browne, the Special Preview Edition was printed without the help of Image Comics and solely bore branding for 3-D Cowboy Comics as the publisher.

Eight Billion Genies to formally debuted, as published by Image Comics, with a direct market on-sale date of Wednesday, May 11, 2022. This first Image Comics-published issue featured seven variant covers: three "regular" covers, three "retailer incentive" chase covers, and one "retailer exclusive" chase cover available from select shops. The regular covers featured illustrations by Browne (Cover A), Jenny Frison & Steve Seeley (Cover B), and Declan Shalvey with Browne (Cover C). The incentive covers were a photo of actor Andrew Divoff (who portrayed The Djinn in the initial two Wishmaster films) on a 1-in-10 "Famous Genies Variant Edition" (Cover D), an illustration by Browne satirizing his previous collaboration with Soule on a 1-in-25 Curse Words Parody (Cover E), and a 1-in-50 "Glitter Cat" Variant Edition (Cover F). The retailer exclusive cover was "The Curse Words Vanniversary Variant!" by Browne, which was limited to 500 copies and was only available from shops that sponsored Soule & Browne's 2017 Curse Words Wizard Van Tour.

On June 15, 2022, Eight Billion Genies #2 was released. This second issue featured two variant covers, one illustrated by Browne (Cover A) and the other illustrated by Andrew MacLean (Cover B).

Simultaneous to print release, Eight Billion Genies issues are also available digitally on several platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

On May 14 & 15, 2022, Third Eye Comics hosted a two-day Eight Billion Genies launch signing event at their Annapolis and Lexington Park, Maryland locations, respectively, with co-creators Soule and Browne present on both days.

Background and creation
At Emerald City Comic Con in 2015, Ryan Browne had a "drunk[en] idea" about "What happens when everyone on Earth gets a genie at once?", which became the genesis for Eight Billion Genies.

On October 2, 2020, after reading the first issue's script, Browne first hinted at the series on social media under the project code name of "8BG". In this initial mention, Browne noted that the series was intended to debut in 2021. On December 6, 2021, Eight Billion Genies was officially announced by Soule in his e-newsletter and a Curse Words Kickstarter campaign update.

At a C2E2 "Saturday spotlight" in 2021, Browne and Soule discussed the then-recently-announced comic series with moderator John Siuntres.

In February 2022, Browne described Eight Billion Genies as "the ultimate hypothetical thought exercise" with an "infinite [number of] ways for this scenario to play out", though he noted that they "focused on a direction that shows us a lot about humanity and how we balance our personal desires with that of the greater good".

In addition to illustrating Eight Billion Genies, Browne revisited personally coloring his interior comic art for the series, a task he hadn't professionally undertaken since 2012's Smoke and Mirrors mini-series.

Synopsis
The title Eight Billion Genies refers to the number of genies that mysteriously appear simultaneously, everyone's personal genie granting each person one wish at exactly the same moment. The comic book's main protagonists are a group of people who are trying to survive the "wishpocalypse" (or "Genie-pocalypse") while being stuck in St. Clair Shores, Michigan's The Lampwick Bar and Grill, a fictional establishment which is based upon Chicago's The Empty Bottle.

Each issue of Eight Billion Genies is structured around a different period of time in the "Genie-pocalypse" (or "wishpocalypse"), such as how: the first issue concerns the first eight seconds and the first eight minutes, the second issue concerns the first eight hours, the third issue concerns the first eight days, and the eighth issue concerns the first eight centuries.

In other media
In June 2022, it was announced that Amazon Studios had purchased the film and television rights to Eight Billion Genies, with Soule and Browne serving as executive producers. In March 2024, it was announced that Rodney Rothman had been hired to serve as the film's screenwriter, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg serving as producers on the film.

Reception and critical response
, the review aggregator Comic Book Round-up assigned the Eight Billion Genies series an overall weighted average critic rating of 8.8 out of 10, indicating generally favorable acclaim based on 43 reviews. Users on Comic Book Round-up gave the series an overall weighted average rating of 8.7 out of 10, indicating generally favorable acclaim based on 98 reviews. The highest rated issue on Comic Book Round-up is #2 with a weighted average critic rating of 9.1 out of 10, indicating universal acclaim based on 4 reviews, and a weighted average user rating of 8.9 out of 10, indicating generally favorable acclaim based on 15 reviews. The lowest rated issue on Comic Book Round-up is #6 with a weighted average critic rating of 8.7 out of 10, indicating generally favorable acclaim based on 4 reviews, and a weighted average user rating of 8.5 out of 10, indicating generally favorable acclaim based on 12 reviews.