Comic book invasion
At the counter of DJ Comics and Collectibles, Buddy Bond smiles from where he’s leaning. Thirty-two-year-old Bond is talking with his co-workers about the subculture he’s been immersed in for 22 years: Comic books.
As the three workers debate about the future of their interest, there’s a calendar hanging in front of them, previewing “30 Days of Night,” a horror movie from Columbia pictures opening Friday about an Alaskan town besieged by vampires in the middle of winter.
First, it was a graphic novel only Bond and other comic book readers knew about. Now, it’s a movie starring Josh Harnett with ads on MySpace.
The world of Bond has begun leaking into pop culture.
“30 Days of Night” isn’t the only comic book to be snatched up by Hollywood. In addition to the resurgence of superhero movies, like “Superman Returns,” “Batman Begins” and “Spider-Man 3,” longer, more mature comic books, or graphic novels, have been adapted as well.
There was 2002’s “Road to Perdition,” a period drama that won an Oscar for best cinematography and 2005’s “A History of Violence,” which was nominated for best supporting actor and best adapted screenplay.
At the University of Nevada, Reno, English professor Nadine Attewell teaches the graphic novel, “V for Vendetta” as part of her 20th Century British Literature course. Warner Bros. made “V for Vendetta” into a movie starring Natalie Portman in 2006, 14 years after the comic was originally published.
“They’re getting more mainstream,” she said. “I’m hearing about them more and more.”
Attewell said she chose to teach the 265-page comic book in her class because of the themes involved in it, but also because a comic book itself is an experimentation with narrative.
“The 20th Century has seen a lot of innovation in terms of form and experimentation in the novel,” Attewell said.
Rachel Wearne, a 21-year-old geology major, has been reading comic books since high school. Wearne said outside of comics, she doesn’t really enjoy reading.
“I like the illustrations,” she said. “I have more of an attention span when I’m reading graphic novels. They’re really entertaining and they’re usually really well-written.”
The leap from comic page to silver screen isn’t necessarily a big one. Steve Savage, founder and treasurer of the Great Basin Film Society, said comic books can feel set up for adaptations.
“Filmmakers use storyboards, which is the movie drawn out shot-for-shot,” Savage said. “Comic books already look like that.”
Attewell said adaptations of comic books also allow moviemakers to tell new stories with a built-in audience.
“People are going to say, ‘I love graphic novels. I love Frank Miller’ and go see it,” she said.
That fan base is important in Hollywood, an industry that runs on movies’ grosses. Savage points to an earlier trend in movies with an already established audience.
“A few years ago, they were taking old shows and making feature films out of them—‘Charlie’s Angels,’ ‘Starsky and Hutch,’” he said. “The industry is always so hungry for stories.”
For longtime comic book readers like Bond, the movie industry’s hunger means two things.
He sees one possibility in which comic books will be written geared toward Hollywood and not the market they sprang from.
“It used to be soap opera-like, they continued always,” Bond said. “Now they’re writing story arcs.”
But comics-to-movies can also attract newcomers to the market, he said.
“It shines a better light on it,” Bond said. “People who haven’t read comics think of Superman, Batman, guys in tights punching each other. When people see the movies, they think ‘Oh, it was a comic book. Maybe comic books aren’t all bam, pow, utility belts and Batmobiles.’”
Graphic Novel to Movie Timeline
This Friday, “30 Days of Night” bites into moviegoers, continuing a successful line of movies that made the transition from illustrated page to screen. Here’s a list of other movies that hit the box office after leaving the comic bookstore:
2007
300
Based on a series of comic books titled “Honor,” “Duty,” “Glory,” “Combat” and “Victory” published in 1998. It was then bound in a graphic novel as “300.”
Domestic gross: $210,614,939
Spider-Man 3
Based on the series that started in 1962.
Domestic gross: $336,530,303
Stardust
Originally released as a four-part comic book series in 1998 before Neil Gaiman published it in traditional book form a year later.
Domestic gross as of Oct. 10: $38,088,256
Ghost Rider
There are two Ghost Rider series. The one with the movie’s Johnny Blaze ran from 1973 to 1983.
Domestic gross: $115,802,596
2006
V for Vendetta
Was first a black-and-white serial that ran from 1982 to 1985. After a three-year hiatus, the story was finished, then bound as a graphic novel.
Domestic gross: $70,511,035
Superman Returns
Based on the comic book series started in 1938.
Domestic gross: $200,081,192
2005
Batman Begins
Based mostly on three comics in the franchise, 1987’s “Batman: Year One,” 1989’s “Batman: The Man Who Falls,” and 1996’s “Batman: The Long Halloween.”
Domestic gross: $205,343,774
Sin City
Based on a series that ran from 1991 to 1992, a 128-page graphic novel and various compilations.
Domestic gross: $74,103,820
Constantine
Based on a character in the “Hellblazer” comics, which have been published continuously since 1988.
Domestic gross: $75,976,178
A History of Violence
Based on a graphic novel of the same name, published in 1997.
Domestic gross: $31,504,633
2004
Blade Trinity
All three “Blade” movies are based on a supporting character that first appeared in a “Tomb of Dracula” comic in 1973.
Domestic gross: $52,411,906
2002
Road to Perdition
Based on still-ongoing series of graphic novels “On the Road to Perdition.” The movie is based on the first book, published in 1998.
Domestic gross: $104,454,762
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October 16th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
This year, one of the best movies that I had the opportunity to see was 300. I loved the blending of special effects with excellent acting. Which, by the way, had to be extremely difficult to accomplish in any comic book-to-movie adaptation. The mere fact that the movie was shot entirely on a CGI sound stage and the end result is, simply put, spectacular gave me goosebumps. George Lucas should take note!
Finally, an article that gives Nevada comic fans a reason to read the paper! (I’ve read the 300 graphic novel and I don’t recognize the picture. Is that picture above drawn from the movie?)
October 18th, 2007 at 8:42 am
The illustrations were done by Winter Carrera.