Movies, links, and approval.
You folks brought up some good suggestions for some solid movie-inspired comic books…I’m ashamed I didn’t think of the Creepshow adaptation by Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson, for example. You also reminded me of the slew of two and three-issue movie mini-series Marvel churned out throughout the 80s (usually reprinted from, or reprinted in, the Marvel Super Special magazines)…Dark Crystal was a favorite of mine as a young Mikester…in fact, and my nerd-credibilty may be completely shot by this admission, but I’ve never seen the movie. The comic remains only exposure to this particular story.
Buckaroo Banzai was another Marvel mini, and I remember sampling the first issue but never getting the second. As long as I’m destroying my geek-cred for all time, I wasn’t much of a fan of the movie either, finding it to be a mostly unwatchable mess. Now, before you jump all over me, keep in mind I haven’t seen it since it was in theatres, and now that I’m older perhaps I could appreciate it more. Maybe I’ll throw it onto the Netflix queue and give it another go someday.
Dave mentions something I didn’t realize…that there was a comic book adaptation of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie drawn by Al Williamson! What th–?!? Now, I loved this movie (yes, I loved Flash Gordon but not Buckaroo Banzai — keep reading for a more appalling admission), and I know the movie’s no damned good. But, it is fun to watch, and it’s certainly visually beautiful…I’d love to see what Williamson did with this material.
Another interesting adaptation was Hook, a four issue series from Marvel released in the early ’90s and featuring work by Charles Vess, Gray Morrow, John Ridgeway, and several others. It’s certainly an attractive-looking book, regardless of what you think of the film…it’s a guilty pleasure of mine, despite featuring Steven Spielberg at his Steve Spielbergiest and Robin Williams leaving his toothmarks in every bit of scenery. Yes, I liked Hook more than Buckaroo Banzai…the beatdown line begins to the right — please, no shoving.
I’m also glad to see Topps Comics getting some credit for their adaptations: I personally never warmed to the continuing Jurassic Park series, but the original adaptation featured Gil Kane art, inked by George Perez, so how bad could it be? And some issues featured standout covers by Michael Golden. Also, Mike Mignola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is bit of a hidden treasure, perhaps better than the inspiring film.
Please keep adding your thoughts to the discussion…I’ve been enjoying what you’ve had to say!
Some linkage from around the interweb:
James Sime of Isotope Comics fame has been running a Legal Download Fest on his site: go download a PDF preview of Oni Press’ Leading Man here, and enjoy new downloads every day for the rest of the week. Go check it out!
Laura “Tegan” Gjovaag has a couple entries about her visit to the Emerald City Comicon…lots of photos, Kurt Busiek, Aquaman, and trolls. It’s a fun read.
Pal Dorian reviews the next batch of DC’s One Year Later titles.
And have I mentioned the (not by me, I swear to God) Swamp Thing Blog?
