Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Jul 7, 2017 22:39:18 GMT -5
Speaking of Star Wars adaptations -- I had the uncommon experience of reading adaptations of the films before I saw the movies, and I read the adaptations out of order. My first introduction to Star Wars was the toys, which led me to read-along storybooks like this one, which had photos and captions from the films that were to be viewed while playing a cassette that had a condensed version of the story (complete with dialog and sound clips from the movies):  Hey, yeah..,I had all three of those Star Wars tape and book sets, along with a couple more that were based on issues of the old Marvel comic series. They were great! "This is the story of Star Wars. You can read along with me in your book. You will know it is time to turn the page, when you hear R2-D2 beep, like this... BEEP-BUUURD-DOO-WEEP! Let's begin now."  By the way -- I also did love the Last Starfighter movie. If that isn't a kid's wish fulfillment fantasy in its purest form, I don't know what is. What other movie told kids that all those hours of playing video games could make you an intergalactic hero? Yeah, I totally agree. The Last Starfighter was targeted directly at us arcade video game playing kids from the early 80s like it was a laser guided missile. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 9, 2017 18:33:39 GMT -5
Speaking of Star Wars adaptations -- I had the uncommon experience of reading adaptations of the films before I saw the movies, and I read the adaptations out of order. My first introduction to Star Wars was the toys, which led me to read-along storybooks like this one, which had photos and captions from the films that were to be viewed while playing a cassette that had a condensed version of the story (complete with dialog and sound clips from the movies): Hey, yeah..,I had all three of those Star Wars tape and book sets, along with a couple more that were based on issues of the old Marvel comic series. They were great! "This is the story of Star Wars. You can read along with me in your book. You will it is time to turn the page, when you hear R2-D2 beep, like this... BEEP-BUUURD-DOO-WEEP! Let's begin now." By the way -- I also did love the Last Starfighter movie. If that isn't a kid's wish fulfillment fantasy in its purest form, I don't know what is. What other movie told kids that all those hours of playing video games could make you an intergalactic hero? Yeah, I totally agree. The Last Starfighter was targeted directly at us arcade video game playing kids from the early 80s like it was a laser guided missile. Well, I was 18 and didn't play many video games; but, Last Starfighter was right up the alley of the great juvenile science fiction stories, like Heinlein's work and the old Skylark books from EE Smith. Young man with a destiny saves the universe. Just classic science fiction. It helped that it was a damn good script, with an excellent cast of mostly character actors, who played characters, not themselves. They never did get the arcade game developed. They could have made a fortune off of that. Kind of like the Wonka candy bars, which were supposed to be released when the original film came out. Quaker Oats was developing them, but ran into problems with the recipe and they were delayed until well after the film was gone from theaters. My brother bought one, on a trip, and hated it. Didn't see them in many places, before they were discontinued and replaced with the later Wonka-branded candy. Tron was the one that capitalized on arcade games, both in the plot and with their arcade game. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
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Post by Confessor on Jul 9, 2017 19:27:35 GMT -5
Tron was the one that capitalized on arcade games, both in the plot and with their arcade game. Tron looked great (for the times), but man, what a crushingly dull film! Surprised that no one did a comic adaptation of that. It was a Disney film, I believe, so you'd think that Whitman might've adapted it, like they did for The Black Hole. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 9, 2017 21:55:16 GMT -5
Tron was the one that capitalized on arcade games, both in the plot and with their arcade game. Tron looked great (for the times), but man, what a crushingly dull film! Surprised that no one did a comic adaptation of that. It was a Disney film, I believe, so you'd think that Whitman might've adapted it, like they did for The Black Hole. Tron came out in 1982. Western ceased newsstand distribution in 1981 and went exclusively to bagged sets, mostly sold on toy stores and toy departments in bigger stores. The adventure titles dried up by 1982, with mostly reprints, at the end. The rest was cartoon properties, aimed at young kids. Western gave up comic book publishing in 1984. I believe Condorman was one of the last Disney films they adapted, in 1982.    They didn't even adapt The rescuers and that was a hit, for Disney. I think the only reason the did the Black Hole (Disney and Western)was that they hoped it would tap into the Star Wars market. It didn't, in either case. Buck Rogers wasn't a success and was stopped after 16 issues, in 1982. They had lost the Star Trek license before the movie came out. I think Disney believed it wasn't going to fit the traditional Disney comic audience and Western just couldn't afford to part with that kind of money on something that wasn't likely to sell. They were exclusively aiming at young kids, not the teenagers who would see Tron. Disney was also pretty much giving up on comics. From the end of Western in 1984, they didn't publish comics in the US, until giving Gladstone a license, in 1986 apart from Bruce Hamilton's reprints of the Carl Barks Library. Disney was a mess then, too, with films failing left and right and their products seeming outdated. Disney produced Tron, but, didn't exactly put their stamp all over it, until later. |
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Post by LovesGilKane on Jul 9, 2017 22:38:45 GMT -5
Tron was the one that capitalized on arcade games, both in the plot and with their arcade game. Tron looked great (for the times), but man, what a crushingly dull film! Surprised that no one did a comic adaptation of that. It was a Disney film, I believe, so you'd think that Whitman might've adapted it, like they did for The Black Hole. A 1980's era Frank Cirocco or Andreas adaptation of Tron would have been brilliant, though. And not been dull. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 10, 2017 3:43:40 GMT -5
RE: Condorman. Never read that comic adaptation, but since it came up, I just have to say that I *love* that movie.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 8:06:59 GMT -5
I'm the opposite of EdoBosnar - concerning Condorman that Disney made it into a movie. I sat through the whole movie with several of my friends and said (white lie) it was a decent movie, with a few laugh, and a fun adventure to begin with. I said to them ... I give it a C+ for originality and in my mind it was barely a D- to begin with. After that showing, I never, ever see it again!
Sorry Condorman Fans ...
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Post by Batflunkie on Jul 10, 2017 9:27:10 GMT -5
Can't say I've read many film adaptations aside from the Dark Horse Star Wars A New Hope Special Edition from '97. It was unfortunately one of a good handful of comics I had that were water-damaged when me and my mom first lived in Alabama  Haven't read it in quite some time, but the cover almost always sticks out in my mind |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 10, 2017 9:38:17 GMT -5
RE: Condorman. Never read that comic adaptation, but since it came up, I just have to say that I *love* that movie. I thought the film is decent, though cliched. It had decent action, for a Disney film, though casting was done on the cheap. It's better than it has a right to be, especially for Disney of that era. The comic is fairly standard, for a Western Disney adaptation. The first 2 issues cover the film, with only slight modification. The third issue has a regular story, with Woody and the lady spy now a couple. Pretty much a by the numbers adventure, without much character development (the new story). I can't recall who did the art, if it's even credited. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jul 10, 2017 12:45:07 GMT -5
Just discovered that this existed - a 1986 Israeli edition of Star Wars, in Hebrew:  |
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Post by tarkintino on Jul 10, 2017 21:15:14 GMT -5
I've always had a bit of a soft spot for comic book adaptations of feature films. As most of you will know, I'm a huge fan of Marvel's old Bronze Age Star Wars comic, which itself spun out of an adaptation of the original 1977 movie. Of course, like all sensible folk, I consider Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson's version of The Empire Strikes Back to be just about the pinnacle of comic book adaptations, but there are plenty of others that I enjoy too. Although no adaptation was perfect, The Empire Strikes Back comes as close as possible. Its as engaging as the film, and overcame the medium "shortcomings" of no live performances, musical score, etc. Marvel reached an all-time high with the TESB adaptation, and would never capture that magic again. On the opposite end of quality film adaptations, in the Eternally Kirby-The King Comes Back to Marvel thread, I examined Marvel/Kirby's adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as in the period when it was first published, I still find it to be quite terrible--a complete inability to capture any of the tone and message of the sci-fi classic. Agreed; one example of a film adaptation using some of an alternate source is Gold Key's 1970 adaptation of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, where some of the dialogue mirrors that in the Michael Avallone novel, rather than the film script, but with the exception of a character motivation at the end of the comic, it reaches the same effect of the film. I've always loved them, as the most interesting films could be a natural fit with the language of comic art/scripting. One of my favorites capturing this fit is Marvel's adaptation of the 1976 MGM sci-fi film Logan's Run. Logan's RunPublisher: Marvel Publication date: January, 1977 (#1) - May, 1977 (#5) Art: George Perez (pencils) & Klaus Janson (inks) Script: David Kraft Elsewhere, I pointed out Perez had superhero leanings when adapting this film, but he was a fine choice and utilized as many film references and angles as the source. Running 5 issues, Logan's Run covered every major plot point of the film, with a visual style supporting the energetic chase theme present in the movie. Perez did make some changes (e.g. the Sandman gun, the kind of weapon "Doc" used), but it still mirrors the heart and purpose of the film, as seen in the comparisons below--  Even the Perez cover took its inspiration from the movie "A" sheet; each shows the fright/desperation on the faces of Logan-5 and Jessica-6, while running from the City of Domes. The comic adds a squad of Sandmen firing weapons in the then-traditional Marvel style, but the "sales point" of cover & poster sends a similar message, even using the famous tag line, "...there's just one catch", in a slightly modified "...and there's only one small catch.."
Of importance to sales and identification with the film, Logan's Run was one of the first adaptations to use a film's distinctive title font, when many predating this ( Star Trek, the Planet of the Apes magazine, Dark Shadows, The Outer Limits, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, etc.) created their own, or used preexisting fonts.
Next, is the "Carousel" scene. In the film, there's a decidedly spooky energy about the ceremony, from the face masks, to their ritualistic disrobing and "flight" to the alleged renewal. Perez replicates this, only using new, dramatic angles and keeps the attention on the masked, soon-to-be victims, but he--and Kraft's to-the-point script takes the reader right back to the film scene--  Below, the film wowed audiences with Logan & Jessica's discovery of the ivy-covered, post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., including being puzzled by headstone markings and (of course) the Lincoln Memorial. The comic used shorthand of impressive, single panel shot selection as a substitute of the grandeur of Michael Anderson's direction / Ernest Laszlo's cinematography, and again, not much is lost in translation--  One of the more difficult scenes to transfer from film to comic is choreographed fighting, as the writer & artist are dealing with motion you're likely never to see in comics, but Perez--once again--finds a way of transferring the Logan vs. Francis fight to the page in his usual, energetic style. The violence is as potent and emotionally edgy as that in the film--  Solid, memorable adaptation that did not fail to please those who saw the movie just six months earlier; with the film fresh in their minds, the creative team had to be on their game and truly understand what they were dealing with. Apparently, they had such understanding and hit this out of the park. Any recent candidates? |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
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Post by Confessor on Jul 11, 2017 7:50:15 GMT -5
Although no adaptation was perfect, The Empire Strikes Back comes as close as possible. Its as engaging as the film, and overcame the medium "shortcomings" of no live performances, musical score, etc. Marvel reached an all-time high with the TESB adaptation, and would never capture that magic again. Completely agree. And what about modern film adaptations? Do today's movie comic adaptations compare to the classics? Any recent candidates? Well, as I mentioned to urrutiap earlier in this thread, I've not been terribly impressed with the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story adaptation that's currently coming out. It very much assumes that the reader has already seen the film, with its focus being to flesh out the story of Rogue One with additional scenes that were either deleted from the film or taken from the novelization. The scenes that appear in the movie are rushed through in the comic in a rather perfunctory manner, with the creative team taking their time on the new scenes. If you hadn't already seen the film, I think you'd struggle to understand exactly what is going on in the adaptation at times (although artist Emilio Laiso's lack of sequential art chops doesn't help matters none). Still, there's little doubt in my mind that the comic adaptation of Rogue One is meant to be a supplement to the movie -- rather than a stand alone adaptation of it. |
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Post by String on Jul 11, 2017 15:17:15 GMT -5
Tron was the one that capitalized on arcade games, both in the plot and with their arcade game. Tron looked great (for the times), but man, what a crushingly dull film! Surprised that no one did a comic adaptation of that. It was a Disney film, I believe, so you'd think that Whitman might've adapted it, like they did for The Black Hole. IRC, the Black Hole adaption had a different ending from the film. It showed the crew traveling through the black hole and ending up in some alternate universe. Black Hole was one film that I really wanted to see as a kid so of course, gobbled up the adaption. Thus I was quite shocked to see the ambiguous ending the film actually had. Totally agree, Empire Strikes Back adaption is a masterpiece and I still hate the fact that I had to reluctantly sell my individual copies of it awhile back. I still have the treasury edition, I believe, of ROTJ which was very good too. I also liked DC's adaptions of some of the Star Trek films:  It was a huge help that they were done by the same creative team on DC's first Star Trek series: Mike Barr, Tom Sutton, and Ricardo Villagran Another adaption that I enjoyed was Marvel's adaption of the sequel 2010:  It may not be as thought-provoking as 2001 but I still love the film (and the resultant book by Clarke) |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 11, 2017 18:06:09 GMT -5
I wanted to post the exact same thing. It's better than the movie. Here is other one instead:   Roy Thomas / Mike Mignola Bram Stoker's Dracula Is this worth getting? I've looked at this many times on eBay and almost pulled the trigger. I'm a big fan of Bram Stoker's original novel and really like Francis Ford Coppela's film version too. This may come as no surprise coming from me, but 100 times yes, you should buy this. Mingnola's lay outs for this are utterly jaw dropping, the images even more lush than the film and the colors are just perfect. This is one of Big M's best works in my mind. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 11, 2017 19:48:39 GMT -5
The new recent Star Wars Force Awakens and Rogue One comic book adapations they're ok I guess but if you've already seen the new movies then its a waste of time and money to read the comic book adaptations of Rogue One or even Force Awakens... Yeah, I'm currently collecting the adaptation of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and what annoys me about it is that, unlike earlier comic adaptations, it assumes that the reader has already seen the film. It's main focus seems to be fleshing out the story of Rogue One with additional scenes that were either deleted in the editing process or are taken from the novelization. The scenes that actually appear in the movie are rushed through in the comic in a very confusing way. If you hadn't already seen the film, I think you'd struggle to understand exactly what is going on at times (although some of this is down to the none-to-great sequential art skills of Emilio Laiso). I guess that the Rogue One comic book existing as a supplement to the movie -- rather than a stand alone adaptation of it -- is only to be expected in our modern multimedia world. I mean, if you failed to catch the movie at cinemas, most of it was up on YouTube within weeks and it was out on DVD or on streaming platforms within a few short months. The adaptation itself didn't appear until four or five months after the film hit cinemas. Still, it's a shame. I would've liked a proper adaptation of Rogie One, rather than something that seems to be designed as supplemental material to accompany the film. I felt the same way, I recently got into Marvel's Rogue One adaptation because the latest cover was amazing so I then picked up the back issues to get the whole thing and other than a few scenes that I thought were pretty decent it seems like a poor copy of the film so far. One thing that left me utterly baffled was how it skipped the reveal of Vader in the bacta tank; his whole castle scene just screamed to be extended and I was sure it was going to be awesome and yet it was barely present in the comic. |
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