On Reading Graphic Novels discussion
Comic To Film...
I think Kick-Ass will *ahem* kick ass, but Losers I'm less certain about (style looks way too jokey for the material). Wanted was the worst adaptation, though Watchmen sucked pretty well too (outside of the first 20 minutes -- as soon as they started introducing characters it all went downhill for me).
LOEG doesn't even rate in my book, given how off it was from the source material.
I think some "inspired by" adaptions can work, whether from books or comix, but as works in their own right. But LOEG missed the mark...surely when something is mainly CGI you should be able to get it spot on.
Did anybody see the Scott Pilgrim Trailer ?
It looks pretty good to me,but now i have to read alll of the books before i can see the movie.
Anyway i have to wait for the DVD because I am from Germany and i want to see it in the original Language.
here a link to the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtKAfo...
It looks pretty good to me,but now i have to read alll of the books before i can see the movie.
Anyway i have to wait for the DVD because I am from Germany and i want to see it in the original Language.
here a link to the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtKAfo...
Hank wrote: "Did anybody see the Scott Pilgrim Trailer ?It looks pretty good to me,but now i have to read alll of the books before i can see the movie.
It won't take long... they are quick reads, and fun!
I wasn't overwhelmed by the trailer, but a lot of people seem to like it. We'll see, I guess.
Scott pilgrim is a sweet read and i think it could be a very fun film.Kick-ass is an awesome read and i hope they don't pull any punches with the flick.
Iron Man 2 might just break the sequel curse and be a good film. fingers crossed.
Best might be 300 or American Splendour
worst would have to be Spiderman 3
I think Spiderman 2 already broke the sequel curse. I think it was much better than the original, and the original already looked pretty good. I'll definitely need to start brushing up on Scott Pilgrim.
Charles wrote: "I think Spiderman 2 already broke the sequel curse."I stand corrected :)
Well I think it is when they get to the third in a series that it starts sucking up the place. Take the dreadful X Men Last Stand and Spiderman three. Anyway, no one here mentions another great comic to film, Ghostworld. They got Daniel Clowes involved and the film was awesome.
Best Page to Screen adaptation is Sin City, followed by Watchmen (I thought it was a great adaptation!)Best Surprising Adaptation is Blade. A B-level character with a simple origin and a great opening fight scene.
Best Kept to the Spirit of the Book Adaptation -- Spider-man 1 & 2, Batman: The Dark Knight, Iron Man
Best Adaptation ruined by linking Hero Origin to Villain of the Movie Adaptation -- Batman Begins. Great movie up until Ra's A Guhl reveals he arranges to have the Waynes killed.
What do you guys think of the DC animated releases? I thought Green Lantern: First Flight was awful, but the Wonder Woman one was awesome. I just watched Batman: Under the Red Hood last night, and found myself saying... when did this happen? a lot. However, Neil Patrick Harris' Nightwing was great. :)
Charles wrote: "I think Spiderman 2 already broke the sequel curse. I think it was much better than the original, and the original already looked pretty good. I'll definitely need to start brushing up on Scott Pil..."I liked Spidey 2 at first but after repeated watches got sick of Peter Parker whining (thought he was even more clueless around MJ than in the comics) and Aunt May's speeches.
Let's not forget The Dark Knight as a great sequel. Might even be the best comic adaptation out there! Loved Batman Begins too.
I can see that, especially on Aunt May's speeches, but I think the train sequence where the bystanders save Spiderman is one of the greatest comic book movie moments of all time. Speaking of Spiderman, do you think that because there is a new Spiderman and new director this is now a entirely new generation of movies, or an extension of the Tobey McGuire/Sam Raimi franchise?
From what I've read, it's a complete reboot -- Peter is back in high school. My guess is it's going to be along the lines of the Ultimate Spider-Man series.
i think that we are forgeting the worst comic to big screen attempts ever ALL THE BLADE MOVIES, yes one had a great opening fight sceen but wesley got old fast and so did the story line. the worst is the third, horrible villian, weak script, wes is so old and out of shape that he needs long sleves throughout the entire film, the real action is a gift from ryan renolds and jessica beil. parker possy and triple h HA what a joke, one of the worst movies ever made, and i saw heman:masters of the univers
Actually I disagree. I thought the Blade movies were awesome. I really enjoyed how they took a character who in comics was at best a sidekick and turned him into such an interesting character study. The first film was a triumph, the second was less so. The third really scored by bringing in a secondary cast, especially the guy who played Dracula, and jazzing up the film. I think Wesley Snipes did get bored with the character, that became apparent in the third film which succeeded in my opinon despite him.
Jack wrote: "LOEG doesn't even rate in my book, given how off it was from the source material."LOEG was a Hollywood monstrosity. I'm not holding my breath, but the sooner someone comes out with a reboot (the way everything is getting one? sure) the better.
+1Yes. The first Blade flick was something I got excited about. Compared to the two it seemed like a poor cousin, but on its own I think it did well, brought about a resurgence in big screen adaptations. Anybody hoping for Blade 4, maybe?
Katie wrote: "What do you guys think of the DC animated releases? I thought Green Lantern: First Flight was awful, but the Wonder Woman one was awesome. I just watched Batman: Under the Red Hood last night, an..."Ooooh, Batman: Under the Red Hood was all sorts of awesome! (I haven't even read the book, but hey, don't worry - I'm on it as soon as it hits the shelves over here.)
Matti wrote: "oh wait what about Judge Dredd!"Heard somewheres that they might* be rebooting Judge Dredd. I'll certainly be blown away if anyone in Hollywood can pull off Nemesis the Warlock. .o_0.
Agreed on Batman: Under the Red Hood. It was wonderfully dark. Another good animated Bat-film was Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (the uncut version). Bruce Timm must seriously have something against Robin...
Invincible got a movie deal but im afraid that after Kick-Ass came out it's just gonna seem like one big rip-off
I really want to see a movie for The Thunderbolts or The Flash
I always worry about adaptations but there have been a few I have loved. Ghost world is probably one of my all time favourites, I also loved sin city (In my opinion a cinematic masterpiece), 300 and the christian bale batman's. I did love the Tim burton batman movies too but for completely different reasons. i think tim burton created a comic-esque world but the realism of the newer ones is great too.
Here is some great newshttp://www.slashfilm.com/dj-caruso-ta...
I think Shia is much better suited to Arseface than to the main character in Horns.
I hope they can make a good movie of this.
Dana wrote: "Here is some great newshttp://www.slashfilm.com/dj-caruso-ta......"
My fiance and I were talking about Preacher being made into a movie just this afternoon! thanks for posting this.
The problem that I see coming up with a Preacher adaptation to movie is the obvious overtones of anti~established religion. I can see the Catholic Church, as well as the Baptist church standing against this pretty loudly. I think Preacher is not one of those comics that is written with a hope to make it out to the Masses; Quite the opposite, I think it is written more for a Nitch Market in comics that appeal to those that are a bit more open minded and religiously balanced. You have to remember, such as with most of the Alan Moore Film adaptations, when there is something that a director or producer see's as possibly getting in the way of the overall marketability of the project, they will change it, often being received by the author as an afront of his work, and received by those loyal to the property as a perversion of Art. To this day, I still will not watch V for VENDETTA... don't get me wrong, great flick on its own right, but if your going to do a adaptation bassed on a comic and try to stay so true to the comic already, don't do so with profits in mind! Example: Wanted, by Frank Miller. When they did that comic, they based the film loosely around the base concepts and went from there; it was more a movie "Inspired" by the comic rather than taken from the pages themselves. I think it was far better done and well received than it would have been if they would have given us MR. RICTUS being a bad Joker spin off and a Wesley played by Eminem!
Dana wrote: "Just finishing up Preacher, Volume 9: Alamo. Every issues amazes me, it is SO GOOD." That was my reaction to the series as well.
I am so sad that Preacher is over!!! A good ending, not quite what I expected. I just am going to miss JC very much.Now I REALLY hope they make that movie...
I read 30 Days of Night and unfortunately the drawing detracted from the story, for me. I think I will read at least one more volume, as I am intrigued. The stylization of the drawings was a bit much for me.
I started reading Blankets and it has me very disturbed already. Gotta see where this is going though...
I see The Goon, Volume 1: Nothin' but Misery is being adapted for the big screen now.Will be more entertaining than most of the zombie stuff that seems to be flavour of the month...I hope.
Roman wrote: Ghost World is my favorite adaptation, it's true to the book(s), yet completely different. I think that's how adaptations should be. I saw Ghost World as a film first and didn't know it was based on a comic book. Read the comic much later and the film is very true to it. I have to say, in the case of Ghost World, I liked the film better. It captured the quirks of the comic but the relationships developed in a more compelling way than in print.
I always try to keep the book and film separate in my mind; each has its strengths and weaknesses. All I care about - in either form - is a compelling story. Though I do love when comic book to film adaptions incorporate aspects of the original art and reference the reading experience. That's just smart cinematography! Sin City did a really good job of that. I liked Wanted but wish some of that gritty comic style appeared in the film, rather than the sleek Hollywood action style.
Petabyte wrote: "Jack wrote: "LOEG doesn't even rate in my book, given how off it was from the source material."LOEG was a Hollywood monstrosity. I'm not holding my breath, but the sooner someone comes out with a..."
I know I'll be in the minority here, but I loved LOEG as a film. It's in the so-bad-it's-good category for me. I like that it's so literary (Oscar Wilde, Jules Verne, and more come to life) but couldn't bring myself to read the comic books. The movie I could handle. I should probably read the books, though. Maybe I'll change my tune...
Certainly, the Hellboy movies are the best adaptations, no? I think Sin City was terrific as well; Watchmen failed, partly because of the awkward acting and the weird cinematography which made the film look like it was filmed through mud.
Michael wrote: "Certainly, the Hellboy movies are the best adaptations, no? I think Sin City was terrific as well; Watchmen failed, partly because of the awkward acting and the weird cinematography which made the..."I did like hellboy too! Sin city is in my opinion one of the best adaptations ever. You can't complain when its frame by frame. I am not a fan of Watchmen in either comic or film format. The comic art for me just wasn't interesting and I thought the film lacked something.
In comparison with the Hellboy comics, I think I personally enjoy reading them more. This is not the best adaptation in my opinion by far, there are too many inconsistencies. There is a certain darkness and importance to the stories that the film didn't capture, and instead replaced with cheesy dialogue, and though Hellboy is without a doubt a manbeast of one liners, it just wasn't the same. I also kind of disliked Selma Blair's acting, and was a little displeased with the adaption of the film Abe Sapien, who is far less agile and physically adept than the comic version. Some key characters could have been added in the second one if they neglected them in the first...love Kate (good buffer) and Roger...? I say this because they provide good relationships that I wasn't getting from the BPRD average joes. Also, Kraus was way too uppity when in the comics he seems less about annoying Hellboy with his airs. However, I do think that the adaption overall was a very entertaining one, and I'll give them that. Ron Perlman made the perfect Hellboy!I can agree with you all that Sin City was a VERY good adaptation, as well as Watchmen! Again, I guess you would have to like them in the first place, but the character/actor matching was incredible, and the trueness to the style is without a doubt complimenting and perfect (behind the scenes for the Watchmen film, worth viewing!!) ie., the Bob Dylan caption turning out to be in the soundtrack? Nice. Blade was very surprising as well!
And I am going to go out on a limb...I enjoyed the Punisher from the 80s. I don't know, I just did.
Shitty adaptations imo:
Any of The Hulk films
First set of X-Men films...meh
I'm not really caring about any of the new Marvels yet, though X-Men First Class was enjoyable
I liked Losers okay, but had never read the books, so I can't say how good the adaptation element was. Kick Ass did a good job, I thought -- always easier to adapt a one-off than the extended stories, of course. Same for Scott Pilgrim, I thought they did pretty well with that one.The best GN adaptations out there, IMO, are Sin City, Watchmen, 300. The Marvel ones have generally been okay to good, though they kept changing the Hulk stuff around to the point where it created problems, and the X-Men movies were done well but too jumbled, like putting the comics into a blender and seeing what comes out. X-Men First Class was a lot better. Thor sucked pretty hard.
V For Vendetta... surprisingly, I didn't dislike it as much as I expected to, especially given how much was changed and cut out. Overall, I liked it, though if I could I would cut out the end scene with the cheesy V-masked crowds, that was crap. What was wrong with the original ending? That would have been great.
Hellboy was okay I guess, I never read them much (though I meant to). The movies were generally okay.
The new Batman movies were awesome.
As for the worst GN adaptations... top of my list is Constantine. Adapting Hellblazer was a great idea -- I wish somebody had done it. Also terrible was LoEG (as mentioned).
Constantine was a shit sandwich indeed...
Linnea wrote: "In comparison with the Hellboy comics, I think I personally enjoy reading them more. This is not the best adaptation in my opinion by far, there are too many inconsistencies. There is a certain dar..."Yeah I agree that hellboy was far from perfect. I thought the whole aspect of the fabled stories was lost in the film and therefore the idea's behind them were also lost. I think it was dumbed down to some extent to appeal to younger viewers. I did however watch the first film before reading the novels so this is probably why I enjoyed it.
Nathan wrote: "I liked Losers okay, but had never read the books, so I can't say how good the adaptation element was. Kick Ass did a good job, I thought -- always easier to adapt a one-off than the extended stor..."I thought the casting was good for scott pilgrim but for me it felt rushed because they were cramming so many stories into one film. I also thought the humour was somehow lacking. I laughed out loud so many times while reading them and after watching the movie all it really did was make me want to re-read them.
Dana * wrote: "I read 30 Days of Night and unfortunately the drawing detracted from the story, for me. I think I will read at least one more volume, as I am intrigued. The stylization of the drawi..."Personally those novels are some of my favourites. I think Ben Templesmith captures the sheer brutality of the vampires in a much more believable and realistic way than most seem to attempt. His art for me was the main attraction. The film sort of did it justice plus I will never complain about watching Josh Hartnett for hours :D
Old-Barbarossa wrote: "Constantine was a shit sandwich indeed..."
I have to admit a liking for Constantine...perhaps mostly the creepy demon/angel played by Tilda Swinton which was excellent casting.....
I have to admit a liking for Constantine...perhaps mostly the creepy demon/angel played by Tilda Swinton which was excellent casting.....
You know, I have to say, as much as I loathe the movie Constantine -- on its own rights, it wasn't too bad. I really like Tilda Swinton and agree she did a good job as the angel Gabriel, and there were some other good bits. If they'd just released it without any reference to Constantine or Hellblazer, called it "Keanu: Demon Hunter" or something, well, fine.But as an adaptation of Hellblazer (a long-awaited adaptation, for many fans), it blew chunks. Hell, the only parts that had anything to do with the books were, what, Constantine's name, the names of like four or five other people, the presence of Gabriel, and the scene with the fly in the glass... from what I understand, the rest was lifted from some totally unrelated book about demons and half-demons and a war. Turning John Constantine from a 45-year-old Liverpudlian to a 30-year-old LA Keanu was criminal, and turning Chas from a portly middle-aged married faithful cabbie friend to the La Bouef's (or however you spell that guy's name) gawky nervous teen cabby was adding insult to injury.
Agreed man, Constantine...entertaining but shitty shit in the scheme of things. Haha @Nathan..."Keanu: Demon Hunter." I guess I need to watch Hellblazer now.
Dana * wrote: "I started reading Blankets and it has me very disturbed already. Gotta see where this is going though..."AHH! I love Blankets! It was a very personal story, and its one of those bond-making relationships with the character.
I really liked Blankets, too. Was going to ask -- what about it has you "very disturbed", Dana?
On Reading Graphic Novels
Books mentioned in this topic
Blankets (other topics)30 Days of Night (other topics)
Ghost World (other topics)
Wanted (other topics)
The Goon, Volume 1: Nothin' but Misery (other topics)
More...
Should we hope for a slavish interpretation like Sin City, or are we more likely to see From Hell's missing the mark? Somewhere in the middle?
Worst addaption? Best?
LOEG was terrible, thought Watchmen worked real well though.