BMW puts car hero in comic strip

Car manufacturer BMW is to turn one of the characters from its series of short advertising films into a hard-edged comic hero.

BMW Films is working with Dark Horse Publishers to produce a comic featuring the mercenary driver from the series, played by British actor Clive Owen.

BMW Films has made eight 15-minute films so far, using famous directors such as Tony Scott and Guy Ritchie and featuring stars such as Gary Oldman and Madonna. The first film came out in 2001 and the one constant character has been the mysterious driver. The films are available to view at bmw.com.

The comic is being developed by the Oregon-based publisher as a six-part series for a summer release and will be titled BMW Films’ The Hire.

Dark Horse is known for producing comic books under licence from film studios and featuring characters such as The Terminator, Alien and Predator.

A spokesman for Dark Horse says: “We thought that the character of the driver would make for some exciting adventure comics.”