This is pretty exciting news.  Aintitcool and several other sources are reporting that JJ Abrams is developing a film version of Boilerplate.  Boilerplate is a pretty great book by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett and tells the tale of the world’s first robot, built in 1893.  It’s an incredibly fun read and the artwork through the years of photographic evidence of Boilerplate’s exploits is nothing short of breathtaking.  Add to the fact that Paul Guinan is probably one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met at Comic-Con and this is pretty special news.

If you haven’t yet read Boilerplate, now is the perfect time to pick it up.  Order it from your local comic-book store (or from Amazon) and read it now.  It’s an excellent coffee table book, too.  Even if you don’t plan on reading the incredibly careful historical text, the pictures are well worth the investment.