Which comic book *should* be made into a movie?

[jducoeur]

It was occurring to me this morning, as I reflected on the rash of (mostly surprisingly good) comic-book movies coming out this summer, that there were some I've always wanted to see. And that seems like a good topic for a conversation.

So: what comic book(s) do *you* think would make a good movie? Feel free to assume that it's a competent adaptation, not a hatchet job, but assume that it has to fit into the usual constraints of a movie: about two hours, and has to be able to make enough money to be worth its budget. (If it doesn't require as many special-effects, it doesn't have to make as much money.) Obscure is fine -- some great blockbusters have been made from little-known comics.

I've got a couple of favorites, but I'll provide my own answers in comments, so as not to bias things too much upfront...

Comments

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

I am gonna toss a question back:

"Girl Genius?"

How would you do it?

"Preacher" would be cool, but they would have to emasculate it to get it down to an "R."

There's certainly always sequel potential, too.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Ohhh... yeah, they'd never get Preacher past the MPAA. But oh, what fun!

"This day, you shall be with Me in Paradise."
"Fuck."

(Although interestingly, there are some dribs and drabs on the 'net about HBO picking it up. Samuel L. Jackson as the Saint of Killers!)

[new-man.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell, Samuel L. Jackson is either the manwhore of geekdom films (Star Wars, Nick Fury in the Marvel stuff, Unbreakable, The Spirit, etc.) or there's been some law passed recently that says you can't make a comic book based film without him.

"Changed it into wine! Humper dumper dido do!"

[jducoeur]

Well, he's defined his on-screen persona as The Avatar of Badass. So he's a pretty natural fit in many circumstances. (And Ultimate Nick Fury was pretty much tailor-made for him -- they *had* to get him for that...)

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I think the Ultimate Nick Fury was pretty clearly Avery Brooks as Hawk in "Spenser for Hire" and the lamentable spin-off "A Man Called Hawk".

And Elijah Price was hardly a badass... and, come to think of it, neither was Frozone -- despite being a superhero.

[jducoeur]

"Girl Genius?"
How would you do it?

Hmm. Challenging. The problem is, much of the fun of GG is in the details, and I'm not sure that the wacky humor would translate well. Indeed, I'm having a lot of trouble imagining this story done live-action. But I suppose it might be possible to do a reasonably good animated version *if* it was written properly.

I suspect it would be a travesty if written by anyone other than the Foglios, though.

"Preacher" would be cool, but they would have to emasculate it to get it down to an "R."

Heh. Oh, yeah -- I'm trying to imagine how the American movie-going public would react to Arseface...

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Could start by showing them this...

[jducoeur]

Wow. Until you pointed that out, I had never believed, deep down, that you could *do* that face in real life...

[dreda.livejournal.com]

I appreciate (but from a distance) how they incorporated the drooling.

Now, would they be able to film the moment when he kissed Laurie? Who knows.

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

Heckle and Jeckle! Wait. No. They already did that.

(Sorry. I didn't read superhero comics growing up.)

[jducoeur]

Well, as you can see in my comment below, I'm not especially focused on superheroes. While it's true that Hollywood is currently a little obsessed with them, I suspect that the best opportunities aren't confined to traditional superhero fare...

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

Are they ready for talking magpies, though? The world may never know...

I am not the demographic

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

Marvel's Longshot limited series was a pretty decent once off story. It would have to be revamped and edited and ideally directed by Guillermo del Toro. He would do a good job making the Mojoworld scary and make Longshot's amnesia interesting. I also simply like luck as a power. Ideally, few Marvel cameos.

Re: I am not the demographic

[jducoeur]

Intriguing -- yes, I can see del Toro having a very interesting take on that, and there's lots of "message" to be played with. Mojoworld is a scathing commentary on modern American consumer/media society, and probably works even better today than when it was written...

[jducoeur]

Okay, here's two ideas offhand from me:

Oz Squad -- one of those obscure classics that are much-loved by the ten of us who remember them.

Oz Squad takes the L. Frank Baum books very seriously and literally, but assumes that the real world gradually intruded after them. The portals from Oz to Earth, numerous enough in the books, finally got discovered by the mundanes, and all hell broke loose. The backstory is never fully explored in the issues that got published, but it's clear that there was a truly grim alliance between Nazi Germany and the wicked witches, with the result that Oz has had to change a lot.

The story takes place in the present, as a relatively grown-up Dorothy (20-something in physical age) and her friends from the books have wound up as part ambassadors, part agents in the now-complex relationship between Oz and Earth.

For those who know Fables, this is one of its precursors, and has much the same flavor. And I suspect you could turn it into a truly excellent movie: it has enough relationship to the well-known classic to intrigue people, while having all the elements of a good action story.

Nikolai Dante -- this isn't precisely a comic unto itself; rather, it's a long-running story in the British magazine 2000 AD. But it's my favorite in that book, and I've been following it for well over a decade now.

It's probably best described as the role that rickthefightguy was born to play. The setting is a far-future version of Tsarist Russia, mixing aircars and nanotech with sword duels and chests covered with medals. At the beginning of the story, our "hero" Nikolai is the classic young rogue: a scourge of polite society, thieving his way across the land and bedding every woman he can. He is the bastard son of the Queen of the Pirates, strictly out for himself. The comic is the tale of his life after that, as things get complicated.

To be fair, this isn't *one* movie -- it's actually a fine series of them. Act one is the story of Dante discovering that his father is the patriarch of the rebel Romanov clan, pretenders to the throne. In a series of misadventures, he winds up with a Weapons Crest, a powerful AI that binds to members of the clan and grants each one a power appropriate to them. Nikolai gains a limited touch of shape-shifting: in a pinch, his arms become swords, sort of like the the T1000 from the second Terminator movie. Eventually, the Romanovs grudgingly accept that, while he might not be their kind of people, he is family, and he becomes the black sheep of a *very* black brood.

In the second major arc, the Romanovs declare war on the Tsar, and Nikolai starts becoming a hero despite himself. He is granted a tiny principality to defend; unlike the rest of the family, he finds himself defending the people more than the land, and winds up a small-scale peoples' hero. In the meantime, he begins to develop the relationship that will define him, a love/hate affair with the Tsar's daughter Jenna.

In the third story, the war having been lost, Dante is on the run, and hooks back up with his mother. This one is a pure adventure tale, as Dante confronts a rather terrible monster and is forced to take over the pirate fleet himself. (There are actually a whole bunch of little adventure stories in this phase; that's just the most important of them.)

In the fourth arc (which we are still in the middle of), the Tsar decides that killing Dante never seems to work, and he is dangerously popular. So the clever old bastard co-opts him instead, naming him "Sword of the Tsar". The now older, sadder and wiser Dante (probably mid-30s at this point) is walking a tightrope of trying to undermine the despotic ruler without doing anything quite overt enough to get himself executed, as he gets sent off a variety of missions, generally with automated cameras tracking his every move.

It's great stuff: adventure in the most classic sense, well-executed, showing a man who is, despite himself, slowly turning into the hero that the populace desperately needs. There's enough adventure and action for a good blockbuster, combined with enough arc to provide real depth. Well worth reading, and tops on my list of items I'd like to see Hollywood notice...

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I still vividly remember the spread with "MUNCHAUSEN!!!"

[vairavi.livejournal.com]

Too many of the comics I read have story lines too lengthy to lend themselves to movies. Strangers in Paradise would fill several seasons worth of an HBO drama, but I digress...

I love Bendis' work, so I'd say that Alias or selected storylines from Powers would be awesome.

I'm also eager to see Warren Ellis' work in film. I'm sad the Global Frequency pilot didn't take off. I suspect almost anything else he's done would be too dark for most audiences. :( Which is a sham, because I think he's brilliant.

And as for comics that have already been optioned for film, I'm omg-get-a-fire-extinguisher-my-pants-are-on-fire excited about We3, and I really hope it doesn't die on the vine.

And of course while researching this, have discovered that two other favorites, both by Brian K. Vaughn, have also been optioned: Y: the Last Man and Ex Machina. Hold me down. Seriously.

[jducoeur]

Strangers in Paradise would fill several seasons worth of an HBO drama, but I digress...

Heh. But it *would* be fun to watch, wouldn't it?

I love Bendis' work, so I'd say that Alias or selected storylines from Powers would be awesome.

Oooh -- or Jinx or AKA Goldfish! Have you read them? They're his hard-boiled crime classics, the pieces that really put him on the map in the first place. Much more self-contained than his Marvel work, and *very* cinematic.

And as for comics that have already been optioned for film, I'm omg-get-a-fire-extinguisher-my-pants-are-on-fire excited about We3, and I really hope it doesn't die on the vine.

*Blink*. I hadn't heard about that. I'm having trouble imagining it, I confess -- marketing it would be a sunnuvabitch. I mean, I can just imagine all the parents going, "Oh, look -- a sweet uplifting movie about intelligent animals!"

And of course while researching this, have discovered that two other favorites, both by Brian K. Vaughn, have also been optioned: Y: the Last Man and Ex Machina. Hold me down. Seriously.

Excellent choices. Indeed, Ex Machina continues to be incredibly timely, and would make a *great* film. Although it may have to wait until the story finishes. I mean, we're only up to 2003 so far -- about a third of the way through, far as I can tell...

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Strangers in Paradise occurred to me, too; but too much of what I like about it is in Moore's art--I'm not sure I'd trust it to live actors, no matter how good their intentions.

Failing that, the story where Flash and Spectre fight the German ghost pilots from WWI? And what was that DC comic from the '60s, with the WW2 tank fighting dinosaurs?

[jducoeur]

Failing that, the story where Flash and Spectre fight the German ghost pilots from WWI? And what was that DC comic from the '60s, with the WW2 tank fighting dinosaurs?

Don't think I know the first one at all. As for the second -- you mean The Haunted Tank? The one with the ghost of a Civil War general constantly kibitzing the folks in the tank? Fun stuff...

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Haunted Tank, yeah that's the one! I think it was just begging to be made into a movie.

Correction: No, I'm thinking of "War That Time Forgot," which ran in Star-Spangled War Stories at about the same time as I was reading Haunted Tank, so they got conflated. But now that I've got that straightened out, I think Haunted Tank is the one that could make a cool movie.

And the Flash/Spectre was a single-issue Brave & the Bold team-up, in an age when B&B almost always meant Batman plus Somebody. Fighting ghostly WWI biplanes - also very cinematic, at least in my memory.

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

Marvel/Gaiman's 1602. (too hard, I know, but that is the one that makes me swoon)

[cellio]

PS 238 could be lots of fun. (Animated, not live-action.)

I find myself wanting to nominate Sandman but being unable to identify an arc that would be likely to translate well. This is probably due to faulty memory; there's got to be something there, right?

[dsrtao]

Well, the one that almost had a half-decent script written was a sort of microencapsulation of the series, focussing on Morpheus from his capture through his defeat of the Corinthian. The problems were many, however.

[jducoeur]

The problems were many, however.

Doesn't surprise me. I mean, Sandman was never really *about* the plot. So compressing it down to movie-length and focusing on the plot kind of misses the point -- it's hard to imagine it feeling right.

This touches on one of my major points about good comic-book movies. The ones that work aren't the ones that are slavishly loyal to the plot and story of the original; they're the ones that *get* the original, that grok what it's about on a thematic level. That's what has made most of the recent Marvel movies relatively good, and Hellboy great -- they're kind of right on a story level, but more importantly they understand what makes the character tick.

But Sandman is *about* storytelling. The digressions aren't detours: they're the heart of the story. I mean, which issues do people talk about a decade later? Not, broadly speaking, the plot-focused ones -- rather, it's things like A Dream of 1000 Cats, or Midsummer's.

So I just have to suspect that a Sandman movie would wind up unsatisfying, even if it was totally loyal to the plot...

[jducoeur]

I dunno. It's an interesting question. Sandman has some distinct issues for this. On the one hand, translating the underlying theme of Storytelling to the screen may be a bit tricky. On the other, I found that the overall series was stronger than any individual bit; the contrast of the varying pieces was part of what gave it its power. I almost wonder if it would be best as something like a Showtime series, that could build gradually but sometimes almost acts as an anthology (since the series itself was sometimes that way).

Haven't actually read PS 238 -- really need to check it out sometime...

[dryfoo.livejournal.com]

Forget 'arc' -- don't even attempt it. My pick would be one of the somewhat disconnected stories, "Three Septembers and a January". Done with a good visual style and little or no attempt to "explain" who all the characters are -- it could be beautiful.

[I've another idea for a comic to be movie adapted, but I'll put that reply elsewhere, out of this thread.]

[its-just-me.livejournal.com]

Sandman - Benn wanting that for AGES. Of course Annie Lennox is a bit to weathered for the part of Desire these days.

[jducoeur]

Oh, I don't know -- a bit of well-done makeup, and I suspect it would still work. Hadn't occurred to me before, but you're right: put her in a 20s-style pantsuit and she'd be perfect for the role...

[its-just-me.livejournal.com]

True - make up and airbrushing can work wonders. To date I haven't thought of anyone else who could fit the role quite as nicely. Cathy Bates of course would be the perfect twin sister.

Do overs?

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Can I ask for "do overs"? There are a bunch of films that were done so badly the first (or second) time, that I think still have real potential. Marvel started the trend with The Incredible Hulk, but they really needed to since the first one was such a snoozefest. I'd love to see most of the Marvel movies redone -- the recnt Hulk, Iron Man, and the first Spider-Man movies being the exceptions.

I'm still waiting for a decent Punisher movie; The Fantastic Four and sequel were execrable, and Ghost Rider wasn't any good.

Re: Do overs?

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

Agreed: Punisher, Captain America, Daredevil... all worthy of another look.

Nick Fury, Wolverine, Thor, Doctor Strange and (done well) Power Man and Iron Fist all could handle their own movies. I'm imagining Power Man and Iron Fist more as a Rush Hour with super powers - high humor, good stunts, low angst.

Re: Do overs?

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I had blocked Daredevil and its sequel. Ugh.

Re: Do overs?

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Marvel started the trend with The Incredible Hulk

Would you count Batman Begins, from a couple years earlier?

Re: Do overs?

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Hmm... yes, I would... except I liked some of the earlier Batman films.

Superman Returns is a weird one -- technically a sequel to the 1978 Superman movie -- it's sort of a do-over.

Re: Do overs?

[jducoeur]

Hmm. Good point. I tend to remember the good ones, but it's true that even in the recent batch most of them have been less than perfect...

Re: Do overs?

[new-man.livejournal.com]

And as Cristovau has helped unblock my repressed memories, let's add Daredevil to the list.

Re: Do overs?

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Having just seen another preview for it, I already want a do-over on The Spirit. Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus? A good choice. Showing his face? Not so good a choice. Putting his face in Frank Miller tribal-fetish-scary-black-man makeup? Aaaarrrgggh!

Re: Do overs?

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Saw another movie poster. This one with Silken Floss (and you can see the others) and I thought "WTF?". Sand Saref is clearly P'Gell -- so why not call her that? Because no one can agree how it's pronounced...

Re: Do overs?

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Sand Saref is an important character in the Spirit canon -- Arguably, Frank Miller stole Elektra's origin directly from hers (childhood sweetheart who gets traumatized by losing her father to violence, then later returns as an adult on the wrong side of the law). I'd be surprised if Miller didn't use those aspects of her character.

My guess is that she's being combined with P'Gell because Miller wants P'Gell in there as well, but the film is already overloaded with Femmes Fatale. I'm all for combining minor characters in adaptations, but not major ones, and these both loom pretty large...

Re: Do overs?

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I know I'm replying to my own comment, but as long as I'm asking, can I get a do over on "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" too please.

Re: Do overs?

[jducoeur]

Well, I'd be happy if Alan Moore could just get *one* good movie. (V was a noble failure, and that's the closest they've gotten so far...)

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Ed Brubaker's "Criminal". Great noir storytelling that would work equally well on film. Also, the magazine is clearly struggling to survive in the direct market, and a movie might help the source prosper.

[dryfoo.livejournal.com]

How about "Transmetropolitan"? Could you cover a reasonable amount of it in standard movie length? Would another format (series? mini-series? opera?) be more appropriate?

[jducoeur]

Innnteresting. I don't know if it could be pared down to length, but it's possible that you could at least catch its essential spirit -- it would be kind of dense and messy, but that's somehow appropriate. And little could be more timely...

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

"Kingdom Come".

But it's (a) so "not the [superhero] you know" and (b) so full of "superheroes you've never heard of" that J. Random Moviegoer would probably be too weirded out.

I'd love it, though.

OTOH, "Watchmen" may be the test, at least of (b). Have to see how that works out.

[jducoeur]

Well, "Superheroes you've never heard of" is clearly no barrier -- the success of Hellboy proves that. The comic isn't especially well-known now, and was downright obscure when the first movie came out, but they've been broadly quite successful...

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

Good point. After all, someone even greenlit "Birds of Prey". For what that was worth %^). But in Kingdom Come, all of Our Heroes are old, so they risk alienating their core demographic, which is, I suspect, somewhat younger than myself (59 yo boomer).

[jducoeur]

True, although there are enough Young'n'Sexy heroes in the story to provide the necessary eye-candy.

I do agree that it would be a hard sell, and I don't know that it's possible to make it into enough of a blockbuster to be worth the SFX budget. But it's interesting to contemplate...