The core group of actors who could star as regulars in the potential ABC series, S.H.I.E.L.D., have all been cast.

So far there’s only an order for a pilot episode to see how it looks, with The Avengers writer and director Joss Whedon also directing the pilot episode and co-writing it along with brother Jed Whedon and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen.

Up until two years ago Joss Whedon was a beloved cult figure among fans of terrific science-fiction, horror, and comic books who still had to fight tooth and nail to see his creative visions make it to screens both big and small as unmolested as Hollywood would allow. Cut to last May and his epic take on Marvel’s mighty superhero cadre The Avengers rakes in more than a billion dollars in global box office. Now Whedon has become Marvel Studios’ personal génie en résidence; three weeks ago he officially signed on to write and direct the inevitable Avengers sequel, and a day after that news broke came the development that Whedon would be contributing creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe, including overseeing production of a television series for ABC based on Marvel characters.

It looks like ABC, Marvel, and Whedon have decided to waste no more time figuring out who the new TV series will revolve around, as the network has ordered a pilot for S.H.I.E.L.D..

Dollhouse, Vol. 1: Epitaphs
Written by Andrew Chambliss, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon
Pencils by Cliff Richards
Inks by Andy Owens, Cliff Richards
Colors by Michelle Madsen
Letters by Nate Piekos
Cover Art by Phil Noto
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: April 11, 2012
Cover Price: $18.99

Dollhouse, Vol. 1: Epitaphs is the trade paperback that collects the first five volumes of the post-apocalyptic follow up to Joss Whedon’s short-lived Fox series.

For the unfamiliar, Dollhouse was about the secretive Rossum Corporation, who serviced a high-class clientele by providing them with male and female escorts who would be anybody (and do anything) they’d want. To achieve this, they leveraged a technology allowing them to wipe the minds of their escort “actives” and imprint custom personalities to suit the client. After each mission, the actives would get back a docile blank personality and have no memory of their escort mission.

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse Epitaphs #3
Written by Andrew Chambliss, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
Art by Phil Noto
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 14, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

I’ve only ever watched the first season of the show Dollhouse produced by Joss Whedon and starring frequent collaborator (and overall kickass chick) Eliza Dushku, who starts as Echo, one of the “dolls” in a facility that programs applicants to take on a different identity for each assignment that they’re called to do. I thought the show had a decent concept, especially as some of the “dolls” became more suspicious of the facility and programmers, especially Echo. With that in mind, I thought the graphic novel might have an interesting storyline, especially since some graphic novel adaptations of television shows, like Dark Horse’s Buffy comics, offer some more intriguing takes on things the show couldn’t necessarily execute.

Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1
Writer: Andrew Chambliss, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon
Penciler: Cliff Richards
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
BOOM! Studios
Cover Price $3.99; Release date: July 6, 2011

Based upon the creation of Joss Whedon, Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1 is directly linked to the television series. The first issue here introduces us to a world gone crazy with “imprinting.” Imprinting is essentially the forcing of another life and set of memories onto an individual to basically rewrite their brain. New skills, new languages, even new likes/dislikes can be learned in short order. Originally this process was used only on the “dolls” at the different houses across the world, but the comic opens up to mass imprinting via basic communication devices.

We get to meet Trevor, a young boy who is altered to be able to accept information and skills in a slightly different method than the reader/viewer is used to seeing. There are several new characters, well, new to me anyway, that seem to be pivotal to the building storyline.