Graphic Novel Adaptations
This post is a barter deal with a fellow PFCite who successfully bribed my by mailing me the link to a Kanti Shah opus called “Gunda”. The fact that raw stock gets exposed on stuff like this just boggles the mind. No wonder he finishes a feature in 4 days. Hats off man !!!
Well anyways coming back to the juicy prospect of adapting graphic novels into film, instead of listing the best, I’d rather talk about the ones I’d love to see on screen. The best ones yet choose themselves in a snap with Road to Perdition, A History of Violence, V for Vendetta, Ghost World and Sin City topping the list. Before anyone cries foul over the exclusion of 300 I have to let it be known that though I’m a huge fan of the book, I have serious idealogical differences with the film.
I also haven’t seen Persepolis yet which is my bad.
Also in case anyone is wondering why I’m not talking about the X-Men ,Batman, Superman etc those are technically ongoing comic book series and are not considered graphic novels. By a general rule of thumb only those titles which can be collected into a single trade paperback can be considered a GN. Sin City is an exception coz the books are for the most part standalone stories.
I also won’t be touching on manga as that really deserves a separate post. Titles like Oldboy and Battle Royale are a whole different state of mind.
It would seem that adapting an acclaimed GN would be a sure shot path to success coz of the existing fanbase, sadly it’s not always the case. Films like “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” are asinine and even the first Hellboy film didn’t do full justice to the potential of the franchise despite the presence of Mike Mignola, del Toro and the amazing Ron Perlman. In truth to adapt a GN in a way that satisfies the fanboys ain’t an easy task.
Happily enough 3 of my favorite GNs are in post production and should be hitting the screens this year. They are
1) Wanted – Fucked up and revisionist take on the superhero genre by Mark Millar.
2) Whiteout – Gripping mystery set in Antarctica by Greg Rucka.
3) Watchmen – This adaptation is the most highly anticipated films coz Watchmen is the most acclaimed GN of all time. I am holding my breath coz Zack Snyder is nobody’s choice to direct a film of such subtlety and intricacy. He has visual acumen but lacks the depth and intellect to understand the themes posed in the book. I’m praying to be proven wrong and that 300 was just a one off piece of shit. Alan Moore of course has already disowned the film as he’s done with all previous adaptations of his work.
In addition to the above there exists an entire plethora of GNs waiting to be adapted which would bring fanboys all over the world fall down on their knees and give thanks,
1) Fax from Sarajevo – Joe Kubert
A family caught between the crossfires during the Balkan conflict struggle to stay alive and keep in touch with the outside world with the help of a fax machine.
2) Murder Me Dead – David Lapham
Brilliant old fashioned noir complete with femme fatales, plot twists and a unsavory protagonist.
3) Scene of the Crime – Ed Brubaker
Brilliant neo-noir with tributes to Raymond Chandler and Weegee. A personal favorite despite its relative obscurity.
4) Scion
My favorite tale from the short-lived Crossgen comics stable. Great story and characters in the Tolkien vein.
5) Cages – Dave Mckean
I have no clue on how anybody would even start writing the script for this and even if that were possible, the magnitude of bringing Mckean’s vision to the big screen is no mean feat.
6) Book of Lost Souls – J Michael Straczynski
Just read the books. I won’t even try to to write a synopis. JMS is GOD.
7) Signal to Noise – Neil Gaiman
Think “Pyaasa” on Meth and Mescaline.
8) Local – Brian Wood
More suited for a mini-series rather than a film but could be effective in the hyperlink genre.
9) Ronin – Frank Miller
The book which started the legend that is Frank Miller. An apocalyptic tale which spans feudal Japan to a dystopian future.
10) The Pride of Baghdad – Brian K Vaughn
The story of a pride of lions who escape an Iragi Zoo and try to survive during the Gulf War.
I have to admit there are 5 mindblowing GNs on this list which I have not mentioned as we’re trying to get the options for the Hindi adaptations. Till that happens it’s all very hush hush.
PS – Just saw the promo for Wanted during the Superbowl. Looks pretty good but then it is helmed by Timur Bekmambetov.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Yes, Watchmen will be interesting to watch though I expect a Vendetta like screwup. My take is that graphic novels ought to be either adapted as a TV series or a series of films. 300 was different because it was so short. Not so with Alan Moore’s works which are deep.
I saw Persepolis last month and it was actually quite good, though they modified some crucial story elements.
On a related note, how does one adapt something like Lost Girls?
I actually liked Vendetta a lot despite the decision to tone down the anarchy overtones.
I guess someone like Catherine Breillat or Larry Clark would be best suited to attempt an adaptation.
Even Michael Winterbottom might be a good choice though I’m only basing that assumption on “9 Songs”.
Honestly though I don’t see it being made. Too much controversy and not enough of a fan base.
have you read Ennis and Dillon’s Preacher series?
my fav GN with the best wit and sarcasm. film adaptation has been in the works for years with James Marsden cast as The Preacher. Miscast already.
i don’t think that Preacher will ever get made. Too anti-christian, anti-everything but beautifully illustrated and oh what wit!
SPOILER ALERT – God dies in the end!
How can u not love that?
Yeah I love Preacher but with 75 issues it ain’t a GN anymore. Vertigo publishes the best stuff hands down with unbelievably fucked up shit. What’s best is that they have the balls to wrap up series with incredibly high sales coz the TPB sales are so high.
You think Preacher is nasty ? Check out the mindfuck in Lucifer. In some ways its even better than Sandman though Sandman just wins out in the end.
They just wrapped up Y The Last Man and a trilogy is in the works.
actually the new Batman series (batman Begins, TDK) can be considered ad influenced by (though not directly adapted) from the graphic novels in their tone and content, presenting a much grittier superhero franchisee than any of the existing ones.
Batman Begins was directly influenced by Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween. Dark Knight’s point of ref is The Killing Joke and The Man who Laughs.
Nolan’s masterstroke was to go right back to the source material and ignore the existing films and TV shows.
Iron Man is coming soon as well. :d
also not using CGI and using actual stunts….
i nearly vomited after what they did to DareDevil
I guess u and I will differ about 300, which i found pretty entertaining (although it pales in comparison to the new Rambo) :d anyways have you read From Hell by Alan Moore? its based on Jack The Ripper and for me most ideally suited for an onscreen adaptation
They already did it with Johnny Depp. It’s good not great.
Alan Moore is notoriously difficult to do well coz he works on so many levels. Tom Strong is his most straightforward work yet and is apt for a blockbuster franchise.
was that movie a direct adaptation or inspired? i found it waaaaaay too dumbed down
Adaptation but didn’t do it justice.
Still if you think what happened with X-Men The Last Stand , Superman Returns and Spiderman 3 it aint bad.
i am really skeptical about the watchmen adaptation. watchmen is not the greatest graphic novel just for it’s story but for it’s structure as well, which shows how comics can combine the best elements of a book and cinematic medium. wonder what they are going to do with the autobiography excerpts of the first night owl. bottomline, watchmen is absolutely unfilmable. but i would love to see rorschach on screen. which actor is playing him?
i quite liked the v for vendetta adaptation. i would have loved to see the same ending in the movie though as in the GN. i think v for vendetta comic had the best ending ever.
another shitty graphic novel adaptation: from hell. it was my absolute favourite graphic novel. how could johnny depp do this to me?
even though frank miller’s ronin and lone wolf and cub haven’t had any direct adaptation, i think they have influenced a lot of creative works across all media.
yes preacher series is awesome. as good as sandman. how many of us also want to see 100 bullets being adapted on screen? that could be one hell of a movie….
my future adaptation wishlist:
the originals, kingdom come, bacchus, the spirit, love & rockets, blankets……
also, has anyone read the indian graphic novel kashmir pending? i think it can be adapted really well on screen. great visual presentation.
i would love someone attempting a raj comics adaptation complete with their corny dialogues like nagraj saying “meri yeh flying kick teri pasliyon ko chaknachur kar degi kutte!!”. it would give great competition to all the mithun or rajnikant hits.
Lone wolf has had many Japanese adaptations but no Hollywood one.
Jackie Earl Haley is Roscharch. I only remember his as the short kid from Breaking Away but he did get nominated for Little Children.
100 bullets would be a wet dream. The Spirit is in the works. I hope nobody makes Blankets till I’m good enough to photograph it. Just need 3 more years.
Actually Super Commando Dhruv actually has some awesome storytelling and plots. If done right it could be pretty sweet. Hmm maybe I should inquire bout the rights.
The most fucking insane Raj Comic series was Doga which was a cross between The Punisher and Luke Cage.
naagraaj > *
:d/
Anything written by Aunpam sinha was excellent…Super Commando Dhruv was his creation and lately he started writing stories of Nagraj also… Some Comics of Super Commando Dhruv was excellent in terms of plot and storyline likes “Udantastari ke bandhak”,”Maut ka Olympic” and “Mahamanav”…
@ Mithun , Nice article
and the hype was huge when nagraaj and super commando dhruv came together for the first time.
i know sometimes super commando dhruv can have really good plot and storytelling. but the question i am asking is that if we want to really see a raj comics adaptation onscreen, would we want it to be really good?? if a tribute has to be paid to these comics then the dialogues must be retained. like in the sin city adaptation, all the pulp absurd heroism elements were aptly made to cross over on to the screen. my take on it would be sin city type of story telling. like:
“nagraj ka jeevan jurm hi hai tum jaise samaj ke deemakon ke khilaaf” aur fir naagraaj ne uski antadiyon mein aisa prachand ghusa de maara ki woh tatkal mitti mein mil gaya.
i would like to think of a grindhouse or sin city style of adaptation. you know, pulp but with panache.
do inquire about the rights man!
Doga was the best of them all. i think he was the first indian superhero who actually was in favour of ‘finishing’ the bad guys.You’ll not believe it but I have been harbouring the thoughts of making a movie on him someday:).
@ KJ
The nagraj dialogues were hardly corny and I take that as an offence.
‘Kobi’ was also one of my favourites.Apart from Doga ‘Kobi and Bhadiya’ has the highest potential to be turned into a movie.But I dont think any of these adaptions can be done right now in our movie industry….
It would really guess on the filmmakers interpretation of the work. Sin city is a direct adaptation but it’s also a fucking good read with amazing artwork. To tamper with it would be stupid.
Raj Comics on the other hand has a lot of corny and pulpy overtones which might appeal to someone and not to orders. I was really attracted to SCD coz of it’s dark storylines and bleak outlook compared to the sunny and cheery Diamond Comics.
If you see all the Batman comics before Frank Miller rebooted it, it’s pretty campy and light hearted. Its only after Year One that the Dark Knight sociopathic persona really emerged.
If it were upto me I’d lose the campy outfit and the superpowers and just focus on the conflict inherent in the stories. Also lose the boy scout persona of Dhruv in favor of something more gritty.
@Avijit
If you do Doga are u gonna keep the Dog faced mask too? Now that would be a movie worth going. It’s really sad that we don’t have too much Indian fanboy stuff.
Btw does anybody remember this fucking awesome TV serial on DD called Indradhanush which dealt with aliens, AI, Time Travel and other sexy stuff.
It also had Karan Johar acting in it.:d
problem with doga was storyline…starting comics of Doga was good but lately Doga story lines got messed up thanks to some characters like Inspector “cheetah”,”Monica” and some alien races…
Diamond comics’s “Fauladi singh” was also a nice character….
avijit
the examples that i gave you are actual excerpts from the comics. i am not saying that nagraj had corny dialogues but i would say crude or raw is the right word. the more wierd ones used to be found in bankelal, bhokal or fighter toads…
all i am saying is that if you ever read the back issues of raj comics, the whole conversations seem so dated like the early 90’s bollywood movies. why is that so? well, because they have dated. but i love these dialogues. they can be laugh out loud funny and testertone filling at the same time. calling them pulp does not mean i am demeaning them.
shatrughan, maut ka olympic was fucking awesome….
anyone remember target magazine which used to be published in the early 90s for kinds? really liked that magazine. remember detective moochwala anyone?
i think Doga’s latest avatar.. BORn in Blood.. would transalate wonderfully on teh screen.. one is rid of the monica nonsense and Suraj finally gets over his Hritik Roshan fixation and plus he finally gets to pull on teh safety catch on his automatic and do some introspection.. sure it’s a ‘Batman Begins’ knock-off but it can be done..
Damn Im outta date. Havent kept up with Doga and Company. Does anyone have a torrent link ?
mithun, there is a super commando dhruv fan club in yahoo groups. you can find a lot of links there….
mithun, check this link…
http://www.esnips.com/_t_/Doga%20raj%20comic?to=120&gen=Any+Gender&t=1&sort=0&cnt=Any+Country&uf=0&page=1&st=0&from=13&pp=10&q=Doga%20raj%20comic
Regarding Batman comics before Miller revolutionized it in Year One, I’m not sure that was the case i.e. they were funny and light-hearted.
As a matter of fact, these portrayals were a result of the campy Adam West series. And when the series started waning in effect, there was a definite effort to take Batman back to his grim roots. Remember Batman was inspired from Zorro and The Phantom, so he was always supposed to be dark. Only the definition of dark changes with time. There was this comic I read THE SECRET OF THE WAITING GRAVES which was quite grim.
I remember when I was in my first grade reading Burton’s Batman was dark. When I actually came around to watch it a few years later, I hated it with my living guts for all its third grade nonsensical campiness.
Road to Perdition is a GN? ok!
arey! all you guys seem to like Doga! where are all the Dhruv fans :((
Oh yeah, a graphic novel and much different from its source, and the violence is toned down a lot. One of Hanks’ long-standing work principle is his detestation for gratutious violence.
Guys, I know exactly which indian comic book would be suitable for an onscreen adaptation. Kindly see, Nagraj vs. Shakoora the Magician:
http://www.alanhunt.ca/images/nagraj/index.htm
=))
@Shatrughan
thanks for the link.
A lot of people have misgivings about the Watchmen film myself included. Im just afraid of a repeat of what happened to “I am Legend”. If curios read my earlier post.
I was lucky enough to read David Hayter’s script when it was leaked and briefly posted online before being taken down. It was fucking brilliant and had almost universal acclaim. Even Moore liked it coz it was true in every sense to the book.
Now the script being shot is written by somebody called Alex Tse and the script has been totally revamped. I really don’t understand this compulsion to try and fix something which ain’t broken in the first place.
I’m willing to stipulate that Tse’s version might be even better but in all honesty the Hayter draft was ready to shoot. :((
@Shatru
Thanks man
@Neeraja
Dhruv is the man. I’m seriously considering telling my homeboy to get the rights. It’s really sad that the only indigenous superhero we have is Shaktimaan.
@Satish
You’re probably right about perceptions changing but after reading Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns everything else seems a bit tame. Having said that the Knightfall arc was jaw dropping in terms of Batman having to deal with his disabiity.
Of course pastiches like The Authority take the Batman mythos to insane levels. Imagine Batman and Superman being lovers and raising a super powered child together.
Amit dude stop commenting on Facebook and join the party here. The Indian Fanboy/Fangirl does exist. :d
Personally I rate the Year One above anything the graphic world of Batman has to offer, and moe importantly Miller.
The Dark Knight Returns is a masterpiece, and nothing will ever be the same again. Having said that, I guess Miller lost it a bit with The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
Knightfall is one of my favorite arcs, and I find myself increasingly fascinated by Azrael. But nothing ever is going to rise above Moore’s The Killing Joke. Moore might have been displeased by his effort, but that artwork by Bolland is probably the best I’ve seen for Batman. One Bad day does it all, or does it. Looking back at it, that work with its perceptions about one’s self, struggling between the truth and lie is the Nolan brothers’ territory for the taking.
Speaking of which, has anybody noticed the eerie coincidence that every Nolan film has had a Bat-signal in it.
Following – when they decide to rob the room, there is the Bat signal right on the door.
Memento – When Dodd is running behind Lenny, you can catch the Bat symbol for the briefest of moments, on a thrift shop alongwith the Superman symbol.
It appears in Insomnia too, and bats appear in The Prestige.
It is eerie but it is true.
@Mithun
Still considering???? do it, do it, do it! :D
by the way, as far as I remember, there were two females in the Dhruv series. One was his sister Shweta. Does anyone remember who the second one was?
Second girl was his girlfriend Natasha, daughter of Grandmaster Robo if I remember correctly. She was a reporter initially, but later joins forces with her father against Dhruv.
And Shweta had an alter ego as well; Chandika.
I had a huge crush on Shweta :d
thanks for link. i have downloaded all doga and dhruv issues. going to read…:d/:d/:d/
@Shailesh & Mithun,Plz read Dhruv & Nagraj’s “Kaluag”… its awesome man,one of the best comic till now.:d:d
Man all the Raj comics online are either out of focus or very poor quality scans. Does anybody know of any good quailty cbrs?
I just borrowed a shitload of manga from someone and its fucking awesome the kind of storylines these guys do. No rules or limits at all.
@Shatrughan
Do u have the link? I remember the tie up in Kirigi ka Kehar was fucking balls to the walls stuff.
Thought i would join with some dialogues from “Gunda”
“Mera naam eebu hatela..maa chudail ki saheli..baap shaitaan ka chelaa..khayega kela”?”
“mera naam pote..jo apne baap ke bhi nahee hote”:)):))
@Mithun,Dhruv & Nagraj
@Sheikhchilli
Yup Natasha! thanks.
Indian fanboys have always existed , its just that they have hardly been allowed to express themselves through movies,television etc. This discussion we are having here just goes to prove that.Just look at the fanbase of Andaz Apna Apna.Its widely regarded by my generation as the best ’slacker’ movie ever . why rajkumar santoshi stopped making comedy movies and why amir stopped acting in them beats me.Anybody who is going to write a post on AAA will surely get a lot of replys….and i would love to read all of them.
,what he has done with the joker in the DK is just so perfect…if the promos are anything to go by , the late Heath Ledger has comprehensively beaten jack nicholson……
@ mithun
the mask is an integral part of ‘doga’ , without it he was just another 6 pack wielding guy(who could still beat the shit out of any bad guy the raj universe ever had…except maybe MAHAKAAL). Sadly my idea of a perfect mask has been stolen by nolan
moving to a different topic Bankelal was like way ahead of its time….I kmow that what I just said might be an over reaction …but what the heck….the writers of the series made me realise that humor in the HINDI language exists…and sometimes that just scares me because 90% o of how I percieve ‘Popculture’ is based on the creations in the queen’s language…..but well that is a topic of discussion that I’ll contribute to on some other article.
Wow! You’re actually adapting graphic novels in Hindi? That is awesomely cool. Who might direct a movie like this?
Have you checked out The Losers?
Also Ex Machina, 100 Bullets and Y – The Last Man?
@Neerja,Shatru,Avijit,Mithun and all
Hey guys, I am also a big fan og Dhruv and other Raj Comics Heroes…
Dhruv’s comics’ adaptation would certainely make a fantastic movie with super visual effects and Brainy stuff tooo…
Nowadays, I am not very well updated abt all these heroes since aajkal time hi nahi milta hai yaar(Job,Girlfriend, u know..)
But its nice to see that such intelligent members of PFC have been fans of our own hindi super heroes ..I AM GLAD
>:d< Guys, keep these kind of discussions alive …
@ Mithun : I also had a crush for shweta ;-)
Shweta
my first love
Guys Ive sounded out couple of producers who might be interested in the project provided the packaging is done right.
Whom do you think would be the right choice for director to helm such a film?
Also does anyone have experience in writing coverage? If yes then can you please mail me a couple of samples.
Why cannot it be a fresh director? Or can it be?!
Well if someone has the directorial chops why not ?
You have somebody in mind who has a good reel?
Mithun, not really, but there are quite few authors here who are capable of it.. not talking about featured authors.. just regular authors..
(i’m not one of them, btw)
And have you had a read of this article:
http://passionforcinema.com/bloody-murderers-of-cult/
Awesome post. Thanks for pointing it out.
Unfortunately in an extremely weird and fucked up situation, I find myself incapable of reading almost any form of fiction apart from comics these days. Guess the charm of visual storytelling proves to be too much. The only authors I can read nowadays without losing my patience are the magic realist ones like Saramago and Murakami.
I swear I’ll start reading novels again once I get through all the photography books. Sigh.
And who are these regular authors yaar? I seriously wanna develop some projects.
I do not read novels! I do not read books! Hum Goonda Hain!
Anyway.. (I hope they do not mind me mentioning their names and i hope i have not missed out anybody..)
Srinivas – he has directed a short film called Tea Break and worked on The Pool. I think, currently he is directing a new short..
Kartik Krishnan, Vasan Bala, Ashish Shukla, Mainak, Dabba, Shripriya, etc, etc, etc. they have directed a few short films as well. and they all are very multi talented. There are a lots of them..
(But that is my thinking.. you just have to speak with them.. just have an open discussion with them on here…if they are interested or not.. and hope something works out…)
And there are PFCONe people…
->I seriously wanna develop some projects.
I sincerely hope you do and find the talented people you are looking for on here.
:d
i too do some shaart phillums.. which noone has seen
@ 51 mithun –
I write coverage for a small production house that produces B horror and scifi films, and the occasional western or comedy. email me.
dabba.. humor me.. what’s coverage?
script analysis. the whole thing i wrote in my post about being a reader. when I’m given a script, i have to write a 2 page synopsis of the story, a paragraph synopsis of the synopsis, a 1-2 page comments on the script, rating grid for story, character, dialogue, writing, a logline that summarizes the hook (1st act, 2nd act; – an example; When —– happens Then protagonist must ——-, but ——-)
very few people read the actual script unless it is from a known and good writer. some times movies go into production without the director or actor having read the acript. the star will read his or her part.
most people just read coverage.
http://passionforcinema.com/gimme-some-sugar-i-am-your-reader/
Ok so Ive read about 10% of the gigantic pile of manga I’ve borrowed and to use a typical delhi turn of phrase “gaand phat ke darwaza ho gaya hain”.
What fucking artwork and storytelling. I’m so mindfucked right now after reading Biomega.
Happy Days are here again. There is a complete reboot of the Punisher franchise with a release of September 2008.
Guess who is gonna play Frank Castle ???
RAY STEVENSON. How fucking cool is that ?
And that’s not all. The film is gonna be based on Garth Eniss’ run on Punisher MAX. :d/
And Kevin McKidd is rumored to be the forerunner to play Thor !!!! Guess the folks at Marvel really loved Rome and who can blame em.