The 1980's saw a tremendous boom in independently produced comic books with more mature storytelling. One of the most successful pioneers of that boom was a book called, "Jon Sable, Freelance", created and drawn by Mike Grell. Grell made a name for himself with "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" and his own book, "Warlord", a mix of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. "Jon Sable" told the story of a man who worked as mercenary/bodyguard, and also wrote children's books on the side. He lost his family in Africa when they were killed by poachers, as a warning to Sable, a game control officer. Sable hunted down the killers and returned to his home in the US. There, unable to sell his story (he had done some sports writing before going to Africa), he fell back on his only other skills; hunting and killing. Eventually, an agent contacts him about publishing the stories he used to tell his kids. He writes the stories using a pseudonym, BB Flemm, and they become a big hit.
The series was full of humor and adventure, and featured a depth of characterization often missing from comics. The series was optioned for a movie, with people ranging from Eddie Murphy to Gene Simmons interested in the project. Eventually, it was turned into a TV series, starring Lewis Van Bergen and a then-unknown Rene Russo.
In the series, Sable is wanted for murder in Africa, and must hide under the name of Nicholas Fleming, which he uses to publish his stories about leprechauns, based on bedtime stories he told his children. Meanwhile, he acts as a bodyguard and troubleshooter for people in need. He is aided by a blind computer hacker, named Cheesecake. Rene Russo was his literary agent and love interest, and the only good thing in the series. Despite his routine use of a gun in the comics, Sable never uses his gun to kill in the show; probably due to it's early time slot, on Saturdays.
Lewis Van Bergen delivered his lines out of the side of his mouth, and was boring as could be. Cheesecake was meant to be comic relief, but failed miserably. Only Rene Russo showed any charisma or talent (she also had the best legs on TV). Only one of the episodes showed any spark; that being the one where the son of the man who murdered Sable's family comes looking to kill Sable. It finally brought up some of Sable's past, but didn't capitalize on it.
The comic series had a wealth of material that would make a great movie or TV series; but, leave it to Hollywood to screw it up. It became another in a long line of comic-to-screen failures. Bootleg video dealers often carried this series at comic conventions, but time wold be better spent hunting down the comics. They were classics.
