THE COMIX-TEN #11: THE TOP 10 PROPERTIES TO ADAPT INTO COMICS

[Joel Phillips]

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/comix10_logo.gif" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">The Top 10 Properties to Adapt Into Comics


Writers: Erwin Rafael, Dayna (Magic Rabbit), Jim Lemoine, Jordan T. Maxwell and David Santee
Editor: Joel Phillips

There’s a whole world of, well… worlds out there beyond comics; so many other assorted media that have the makings to be transformed into a great comic book. So for this edition of the ComiX-Ten we asked our five staff writers: which properties would you most like to see adapted into comic books?

The following lists take the best from the worlds of books, movies, television, music, video games and more, and single out those concepts that would make for the best comics.

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<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/avatar.php?userid=28&dateline=1054407531" align=left border=0 alt="Erwin Rafael">Our first list came from the ever adaptable Erwin Rafael:

There are lots of entertaining properties outside the realm of comic books, but I followed two rules when I made this Top 10. 1) It must work well with visual storytelling, which is a big strength of the comic book medium, and 2) I must be able to picture a current creative team that would give justice to the piece of work. Of course, I could always dream of Accounting Principles: The Comic Book, just so I can keep my students from falling asleep when I teach Accounting 101, but then again, it's not exactly the best comic book adaptation in the world. :p So without further ado, my list:

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick10.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#10: Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future

Based from a toy line that got a decent live-action TV series, this is one of those 80s revivals that I wished would have happened. Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future may not be the greatest idea in the world, but it has all the makings of a great comic book series. Post-apocalyptic future. Colorful characters with different armor capabilities. Lots and lots of robots. Plus, in one of its brightest moments in its short-lived TV stint, it has been written by the then upstart sci-fi writer, J. Michael Straczynski. Heck, partner JMS with artist Sean Chen to revive this concept and I would be the first in line to buy this comic.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick9.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#9: Dream Theater

We've heard of comic books inspiring some musical works. But why not do it the other way around? Why not let music inspire a comic book? When I listen to Dream Theater the poetry of their lyrics and the majesty of their sound conjure in my mind images of epic proportions. Just listen to the song, Metropolis, or their opus, A Change of Seasons, to understand what I'm talking about. Put Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean on this and magic would surely ensue.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#8: Starcraft

This is one of my favorite PC games, a three-way war between different interplanetary races - the Zergs, the Terrans and the Protoss. I don't think I have seen a three-way war in a comic book before, and the exciting alien setting of the story presents a great potential for exploration of wild ideas. With swearing roughnecks, insect-like creatures and techno-mystical beings going at it, why not put Grant Morrison on this title and let him go wild with it? And put in his Marvel Boy conspirator, J.G. Jones, to make things more exciting.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick7.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#7: Hero

Hero has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film back in 2003. Sadly, it seems that Miramax, holder of the film's rights, does not have enough faith to make it a major release in the U.S. Very unfortunate, since this is one work of art that deserves to reach a wider audience, which means YOU!!! So then I'm thinking, there's already a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon comic book, and then there's the comic book adaptation of The Ring. And Hero is much more visually intense than those two films, so why not have a comic book adaptation of this film as well? And it should be in full-color, as the colors play a very important role in the film. Eric Shanower should adapt this great film.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#6: Charlie's Angels

Ironically, I was watching the Hong Kong take on Charlie's Angels - So Close - when I suddenly realized the strength of the concept and how it could work well in a comic book. Sexy girls flirting with disaster, doing acrobatic stunts and impressive fight scenes while also delivering catchy one-liners. Definitely a very good recipe for a good action comic book. And then we suddenly have Adam Hughes drawing it. (Hurrah!!!) And then Gail Simone enters into the picture to put in more girl power. (Yay!)

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick5.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#5: Earth Children

Jean Auel's exploration of the adventures of a girl named Ayla during the Neanderthal-era civilization has always been one of my favorite set of novels. Aside from the engaging tale, Auel's deep research and love for anthropological accuracy and detail makes her stories very appealing. This would do well in a comic book with its visually-striking prehistoric landscape. To bring this world to life, I nominate one of the the masters, John Totleben.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#4: Rival Schools: United By Fate

This is one of the best concepts I have seen in fighting games. Different stereotype characters from different schools duking it out in a no-holds barred fight. Don't you just love seeing your school's best baseball player hitting a "homerun" against your rival school's principal? Or the school jock getting messed up by the school nerd? This is fun, fun, fun and I am sure that given a very wacky treatment, it could succeed as a comic book. J. Torres could make this concept shine, specially with the help of everybody's best-loved art collective, UDON.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick3.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#3: Mission: Impossible

I religiously watched Mission: Impossible when I was a child. And I am one of those who got ****** when Tom Cruise murdered the concept on the big screen. Oh, the horror!!! Anyway, maybe they can bring back the respectability of the franchise by launching a well-done Mission: Impossible comic book series. Just imagine Agent Phelps and his crew written by no other than Warren Ellis and ably assisted by the art of Chris Weston. If life could only be that perfect..(I hope Tom Cruise would self-destruct in 10 seconds!!!)

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#2: Harry Potter

This is like a no-brainer for me. Everybody's been asking, "How do you bring in kids to comic book shops?" And the answer is Harry Potter. Unfortunately, not one comic book company seems to be attempting to capitalize on this franchise, and I think it's pretty stupid. Yeah, I know, we already have Tim Hunter in The Books of Magic. But who cares about Tim outside us comic book geeks? All those non-comic book reading people know is HARRY, HARRY and MORE HARRY. Damn it, give those people their dose of Harry Potter!!! AOL-Time Warner Comics, do you not see the big opportunity staring at you?!!! And my dream HP creative team? Sean McKeever and Mark Buckingham.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Erwinpick1.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#1: Wheel of Time

Robert Jordan. Heir to Tolkien's legacy. His Wheel of Time series has got to be one of the best epics ever written in the modern era. And it has enough stories to sustain an ongoing monthly comic book series for the next fifty years. This one's got it all, folks. Action, fantasy, magic, romance, everything. And it should all be brought to comic book life in order for us to see the full splendor of the magical world Jordan has created. Adapted by Kurt Busiek with wonderful art by Steve Mcniven. Hey, I can dream, right? :)

Runner-ups: The Chronicles of Narnia, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Outer Limits. Heck, there's a lot of wonderful concepts outside the realm of comic book!!!

Rebuttals:
Dayna: Dream Theater? You mean like musicals into comics? What’s next? A Chorus Line the comic? Radiohead, the graphic novel? I know Little Orphan Annie was running for a few hundred years in newspapers, but musicals? Maybe a limited series featuring Sweeney Todd, but that’s as far as I’d go. Oh wait – I think there really is a Nirvana graphic novel out there - with a cameo by the bloated corpse of Courtney Love.

And Earth Children sounds too much like Clan of the Cave Bear minus all the sex scenes.

Jim: Captain Power? Captain... heh heh... Captain Power??!?

BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!

Heh, Captain Power, that's a good one. Oops, lost my place. Now where was I....

Charlie's... Angels? Charlie's...

BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!

Oh, God, I hope the rest of the lists are this funny.

Jordan: Congratulations! You went so obscure even I didn't know half the things you were talking about. But most of them sound really interesting, and I've been wanting to see Hero for a good while now... so a comic would be a lovely appetizer to snack on until US distributors can pull their heads out of their asses. However, my laughter at your Charlie's Angels choice is wiped away by your blatant disrespect for the mighty Tim Hunter. Have you no decency? Have you no decency, sir?

David: Charlie's Angel's? Please tell me you were joking. Next you will tell me that you want a CHiP's book. But that wasn't your biggest mistake. Jordan at #1 is a bad choice. A decompressed novel done in the era of decompressed comics? It would be 200 issues before they covered the material in the first novel. Snore :sleep:.

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<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/avatar.php?userid=432&dateline=1080726884" align=left border=0 alt="Magic Rabbit">Our next list came from Dayna, the mysterious Magic Rabbit:

Properties are not always translatable from one media to the next. Taking comic books and turning them into movies or TV shows seems to be a better venture than turning a film, television series, video game or book into a comic. Transferring these forms of media into comic books is a hit or miss undertaking. That doesn’t mean that the TV/film/book/VG conversion to comics hasn’t been attempted often. Some can make the transition beautifully (see Buffy The Vampire Slayer or The X-Files), others, sadly, cannot (check out the Star Trek comics: Or better yet, don’t). But what makes a movie, book, video game or television show adaptable to the comic medium? Is it all about the story? The visuals? A combination of both? Damned if I know. All I know is what works and what doesn’t work. So I compiled my own ideas of what could make the switch into comics and I based this on nothing at all. (Dream writer and artist suggestions included)

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick10a.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#10a (Tie): Doom *

The king of first-person shooter video games, Doom was (and still is, to a great extent) the most influential of first-person shooter video games. It boasts an arsenal of kick-ass weaponry (most notably the BFG) and a level of dynamic, adrenalin-laden action that adds to the creepy, moody atmosphere that runs throughout this game. Not unlike Bladerunner in ambiance, this was a video game study in surrealist mayhem: smoky, eerie, and often times violent and gloriously bloody. The story is straightforward: A Space Marine must hunt down and kill mutants, aliens, demons and assorted devil-spawn. Good versus evil. Herein lies a never-ending feeling of impending dread, as if death lurked behind every corner, or hid in every shadow. What could be simpler, and more suited to comics, than that?
Writer – Alan Moore
Artist – David Gibbons

*And yes, I understand there already was a Doom comic (if you can call it that) but the less said about it the better. Just think what Alan Moore could do!

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick10b.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#10b (Tie): Killer Instinct (I & II)

It’s a death-match tournament game that mixes Kung Fu, sci-fi and oddball comedy into one fast-paced ride. Loaded with great characters, layered back-story, and surprise endings, each opponent must fight their way up to the ultimate challenge – demons Eyedol or Gargos await those exceptional enough to defeat the rest of the lot. Some characters do this by choice, others are not so fortunate. Here we find Orchid, a secret agent whose motives are as suspect as her ties to the Tibetan Monk Jago; Glacius, an imprisoned ice alien who’s forced to fight for his freedom in the tournament; Spinal, the undead warrior who’s more than a little miffed at being resurrected just to fight; and Combo, a down on his luck boxer who has something to prove. Sometimes gory and blood-filled, other times more like a reality show take off (when Spinal defeats Eyedol he gets offered his own TV show), this game had all the markings of a great read: visuals as well as story.
Writer – Scott Lobdell
Artist – Jim Lee

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick9.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#9: Ringworld - Larry Niven

What do you get when you add mystery and intrigue, conspiracy theories, intergalactic war, mutants and aliens, astronomy, cool science and great character development? Niven’s classic series Ringworld. This book series is perfect for comic book translation – indeed comics like the X-Men have had similar arcs such as the Brood and the Dark Phoenix Saga, which support the same action-packed stories that Niven covers in his books. Throw in the fact that Niven uses real science in his explanations of everything from aliens to the construct of Ringworld and you get some wonderful layers to the story. Plus who can resist warrior space cats bent on invasion?
Writer – Devin Grayson
Artist – Patrick Zircher/Andy Owens

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#8: The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.

Devilishly clever and wonderfully warped, this short-lived Bruce Campbell TV show had it all: style, action, adventure, comedy and weirdness beyond measure. With a cast of characters that included the brooding Lord Bowler; the bumbling, wimpy lawyer Socrates Poole; Dixie Cousins, the super-smart dancehall girl; and Comet, a horse more intelligent than his owner, this show brought a surreal quirkiness that would translate well into a comic book format. Add in the sci-fi/time travel angle that surfaced after Brisco’s archenemy John Bly’s history was revealed, and it makes for some great dish for graphic novels.
Writer – Mark Millar
Artist – Adam Kubert

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick7.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#7: Quake III Arena

Kill or be killed – that’s the name of this high intensity game. One of the all time greatest death-match, first-person shooter games, it surpasses Doom but only marginally. The weapons are hardcore - check out the killer rail gun, the rocket launcher so powerful it can kill the person wielding it, and the plasma based BFG. More characters, better visuals, a plethora of hardcore weapons and a more complex story line gives this game added depth and style. Where else can you see such awesome characters as Orbb, a cyborg/alien who resembles a giant eyeball on hands; Slash, the skater girl on sonic roller blades; Klesk, the disgruntled alien; Biker, the cybernetic clown (no really, he’s in full clown makeup); or Minx, the porn star turned assassin? Call this Survivor in a Space Station. And now that I think about it, as great a comic as this would be, it would be an even better reality TV show.
Writer – Warren Ellis
Artist – Chris Bachalo/Phil Jimenez

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#6: The Prisoner

Vintage British sci-fi classic starring Patrick McGoohan as Number Six, a former spy who wakes up one day in the Village: an island that resembles England yet is actually an inescapable prison. This series was not only one of the most bizarre and captivating series ever to be aired on television, it was also well ahead of it’s time: the first show was aired in 1968, and was considered even more surreal than that other gloriously classic British spy show, The Avengers. The constant struggle of Number Six against the powers behind the Village, specifically Number Two, are nothing short of enthralling: this is good versus evil along a much more blurred line. Had Number Six gone rogue and was thus forcibly retired from service? Is he one of the good guys or one of the bad? It’s never made clear, and based on the shifty characters that drop in (and out) of the Village, it’s a mystery worth investigating.
Writer – Grant Morrison
Artist - Ethan van Sciver

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick5.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#5: Wolf Lake

Another short-lived television series only this one has a definite horror twist. A Seattle cop searches for his missing girlfriend and stumbles into a peculiar and disturbing town that isn’t at all what it seems. Creepy with great atmospheric quality, this is a tale of werewolves who are slowly taking over a town in the Pacific Northwest. But is that a bad thing? The characters are so intricate and mysterious, the storyline so complex, that it’s hard to tell if what we think is the truth really is. Mysticism, Native America legends and a bit of magical intercession mix an already convoluted fusion of intrigue, suspense and horror. A great combination: one that has the earmarks for a good comic – provided the moodiness is kept up.
Writer – Chris Claremont
Artist – Alan Davis

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#4: Dirk Gently - Douglas Adams

There are lots of great detectives in the universe. Dirk Gently isn’t one of them. Missing cats, Norse Gods, time travel, spontaneous human combustion, grimy refrigerators and strange happenings at London’s Heathrow airport all collide in Gently’s world. Not that strange happenings don’t always take place at Heathrow – ask anyone who’s ever been stuck there for a two-hour lay over. Or who’s ever experienced the “smoking section” by accident. But I digress. Gently is less a super-sleuth and more a guy with weird, or just plain stupid, luck. Top that off with the fact that his services seem to come so cheap that he usually doesn’t get paid. Where else can you read about a guy trying to solve the mysteries of the entire universe while dodging the hostile attentions of a vagrant eagle? Brilliantly satirical and fun: only Adams (and perhaps Jhonen Vasquez) can make a decapitation funny. And funny it is.
Writer – Brian Bendis
Artist – Mark Bagley

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick3.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#3: Thieves World

A collection of short fantasy fiction stories by various authors set in the town of Sanctuary, these tales follow a collection of complex characters - some respectable, some unsavory – who’s lives all intertwine on one level or another. Magic and power struggles, gods and mortals, all vie for influence, recognition and a good pint of ale. The central focus of Sanctuary is the Vulgar Unicorn, a place where unusual characters come to drink, glean information or to just bleed into the shadows (sometimes literally). Gritty and brutal, this is a place where only those of strong will (or weak moral character) go. And the populous of Sanctuary is just as colorful as the language: a band of mercenary/assassins lead by a demi-god and his insane god-killing sister; a sorceress forever cursed with involuntary necromancy; a painter who sees into the souls of those he paints; a half demon boy who uses his gifts to become a master thief – all inhabit this rather inhospitable place. So many characters, so many stories to tell.
Writer – Varies from story to story
Artist – Varies from story to story

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#2: Firefly

When it comes to creating a band of misfit characters and visions of a bleak future, no one does it better than Joss Whedon. A vicious and terrible universal war has created an alliance of planets under a suspect government system. The crew of the Serenity, captained by a former solider, must keep a low profile to avoid any entanglements from the government. Somewhat desperate, this rag-tag group will take any job that comes their way. The characters are vibrant, complex and well developed: from the unassuming composure of Wash Warren to the tough, dependable and somewhat disagreeable demeanor of Jayne Cobb, each crew member has a unique personality. There are tons of layers in this show: humor, style, character development and, of course, this being Whedon, some creepy villains in the form of the flesh-eating Reavers. If Joss Whedon were so inclined to continue this story with its multifaceted characters and stylish feel in comics it would be one hell of a book.
Writer – Joss Whedon
Artist – Brian Hitch

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Daynapick1.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#1: Invader Zim

ZIM! Yes, yes, it was a cartoon – which is as close to a comic as TV gets. However, Zim never caught the kind of audience it deserved on TV. Quirky, edgy and a little dark, this should never have been marketed to kids. Jhonen Vasquez’s wacky (and I use that word with glee) vision of aliens landing on Earth and the subsequent failed invasion plan span the range of hilariously outlandish to deeply weird. It was ‘Squee light’ with more aliens and less talking demonic teddy bear. Vasquez’s strong point is creating eccentric, original characters in enigmatic, surreal settings while maintaining a witty, satirical edge to it all. Who else could make Gaz so amusing, despite her deep-rooted hate of all things? Vasquez knows comics and he knows them well. To transfer this into the graphic novel medium wouldn’t be that much of a stretch and then the continuing story of Zim’s planned invasion, Dib’s bumbling attempts to stop him, and GIR’s obsession with tacos can continue in a medium better suited for them all.
Writer – Jhonen Vasquez
Artist – Jhonen Vasquez

Rebuttals:
Erwin: Doom. I like that choice. But Alan Moore on Doom? What a waste of talent!!! And what's up with your fascination for shoot-them-up fighting games? Were you beaten up as a kid and have this urgent desire to inflict violence now that you have grown up? Do you need therapy or something?

Well, considering that Jhonen Vasquez is your hero, I think you do need therapy. (Invader Zim's a great choice, btw. :p )

Jim: Yes, some truly inspired picks... and some really, really bad ones. Ringworld? Great. Zim? I'm lovin' it. Doom? Ummm... Quake? Right. Because there was so much story in those games... I can see the script now: "I shall kill things now. What's that? Ah. A larger gun. I shall kill things faster now." That's about it.

Actually, I think that book already exists, now that I think about it. It's called Punisher... but it's less pixelated.

Werewolves? Vampires? Nah, been done. Give me something new, something different.

Jordan: While I shield you from the hordes of drooling fanboys who are now drooling over the possibility of a chick who’s THAT into video games, allow me to applaud you on some truly inspired choices. Doom is one of my all time favorite video games, and it's nice to know I'm not the only fan of Brisco County, Jr. in the world. As for The Prisoner and Firefly... heh... great minds, huh? I'm tempted to just kneel down and worship you for the Dirk Gently mention...but Wolf Lake? Really? Wasn't that the horrible show with Lou Diamond-Phillips and Naked Mandy from 24? If you're going for that kind of environment and quirkiness...drop the horror elements and get Nunzio DeFillipis and Christina Weir to team up with Christine Norrie on a Northern Exposure comic.

David: :clap: Thank you. Brisco was an excellent choice. Heck, any of Bruce Campbell's series would work. Your list would be great, except I don't know half of it.

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<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/avatar.php?userid=25&dateline=1084293195" align=left border=0 alt="Jim Lemoine">Our next list came from Caesar himself, our columns editor, Jim Lemoine:

I should begin this list by plainly stating that I expect it to perform poorly in any poll or voting that accompanies this article - these picks were not selected on the basis of popularity, nor were they chosen because they're things that comic book fans like. Instead, these are ten properties (or genres, perhaps) that would greatly benefit from a translation to the visual comic world.

That said....

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick10.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#10: Family Guy

Y'know, we're lucky there's a Family Guy. We're lucky there's a guy who... well, who positively can do... all the things that make us... Stewie, you didn't just say what I think you said, did you?

Get this: in 2003, the best-selling DVD set in America wasn't Buffy, it wasn't The Simpsons, it wasn't CSI, it wasn't Friends... it was a quickly cancelled show called Family Guy. The wildly irreverent animated series only lasted three seasons on network television, but left enough of an impression to create a strong demand for more. The madcap adventures of husband-father-troglodyte Peter (who makes Homer Simpson look bright), wife-mother-sex-kitten Lois (like a cross between June Cleaver, the Nanny, and Paris Hilton), son-brother-neanderthal Chris (who also makes Homer Simpson look bright), daughter-sister-drama-queen Meg (like a cross between Tootie and Natalie, but not as scary), baby-toddler-evil-genius-homicidal-maniac Stewie (sort of like the rodent Brain, but without the redeeming qualities), and dog-intellectual-alcoholic Brian (a talking Lassie with a weakness for martinis) are surreal and visual enough to make for a perfect transition to the printed comic page. Funny, highly visual, cutting edge comedy... this is kind of thing that made Gail Simone's Agent X so good. Family Guy would be a worthy successor.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick9.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#9: Business Books

Business books depend on convincing their readers that certain courses of action are the avenues to success. They seek to illustrate the consequences of behaviors that don't make sense, while extolling the virtues of the author's own directions. After reading some of Scott McCloud's nonfiction, I became convinced that the visual nature of comics would be a great match for the business genre, one which is plagued by dry and boring authors (albeit dry and boring authors with great points to make). Show us, visually, how to succeed in business. Let us see the body language and expression of the perfect manager as he guides his team to success. Illustrate the tactics used to create a winning stock portfolio and the pitfalls inherent.

Yeah, I know, it sounds weird... but admit it: if readers kept an open mind about the format, it could work.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#8: Worlds of Blizzard

This one's so obvious, I'm honestly quite shocked that none of the major corporations have thought of it yet. Some of the most popular video games of the past eight years or so have been created by Blizzard... and all of them have surprisingly deep and compelling stories behind them. From the science fiction political drama of Starcraft to the horrific fantasy of Diablo to the slightly more lighthearted psychological warfare of Warcraft, there's a lot more to Blizzard games than meets the eye. Sure, they're fun... but the stories behind them are at least as amazing as the gameplay. The thoughtful player is left begging for more plot, even when the game is completed and the final cinematic displayed. Will the Orcs ever truly find peace, and do they truly even want it? What happens next with the Terrans and the Zerg? How will Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal strike back from Hell?

These are questions that thousands and thousands of Blizzard fans are dying to have answered... and the immersive storytelling environment of comics provides the perfect medium to fill in the blanks.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick7.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#7: Political Propaganda

Think about it: the only place comics are seen as 'mature' by everyday society? The editorial cartoon page. As I said in a recent column, the works of political writers... especially those that lean more toward propaganda than true nonfiction (which, partisan-lovers, can be found on both sides of the aisle very easily) are perfect for translation to a more graphic medium, with the opportunity to make a point more clearly and further demonize political opponents. It's a slam-dunk no-brainer.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#6: The Wheel of Time

I'm sure I won't be the only one to mention Robert Jordan's never-ending (literally?) fantasy saga as a possible candidate for a comic adaptation. For those not in the know, Jordan's Wheel of Time is a series of fantasy books... a seemingly endless series of fantasy books... that was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but has recently published an eleventh book in the series. Each installment is a tome of its own, usually coming close to a thousand pages in length and jam-packed with the myriad happenings of the most complete fantasy world ever seen in literature (yes, Jordan's planet is even more detailed than Tolkien's Middle-Earth or any of TSR's many admittedly well-planned worlds).

The biggest problem the series has is its sheer gargantuan scope. It's hard to keep track of the literally hundreds of characters, the many political plots, the powers, the treaties, the wars, and who's been killed so far (especially when they keep coming back... hmmm... sound like comics to you yet?). Translate the saga to comic format, and art will help the reader visually remember exactly who's who and what's going on, while illustrating some of the amazing, mind-boggling, and heart-wrenching moments from the story.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick5.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#5: Dave Barry

Perhaps America's preeminent humorist (and by "humorist," I don't mean some actor who's fed lines by a hidden think tank; I mean a genuinely funny person), Dave Barry is a true comic genius. I've found it impossible to read a single column, book, or essay he's ever written without laughing, out loud, several times. If the past few years have shown us anything, though, it's that his work is even funnier when it's visual. Big Trouble is the perfect example of this; as a novel, it's very funny - as a movie, it's simply brilliant. Barry's ludicrous and biting wit is perfectly suited to the graphic medium that is comics. A more visual presentation would allow Barry to show us exactly what he's envisioning and bring his sketches to life in a way his prose work simply doesn't allow.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#4: The Chronicles of Prydain

Although I've read fewer than ten books by Lloyd Alexander, he's easily one of my very favorite authors. His Chronicles of Prydain will always remain in my mind as the standard, the ideal, that other fantasy epics should aspire to. Sure, it's not as epic and sweeping as Lord of the Rings, or as mature as Wheel of Time... but when it comes to pure reading enjoyment, no fantasy saga beats Prydain and the adventures of Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur, Gurgi, and Doli. Prydain was a magical world that the reader could stay in for far too brief a time, one where heroism was aspired to, magic was truly wondrous, and darkness always awaited just behind the curtain of mist.

Disney once created a movie version of the series in The Black Cauldron, but didn't really do Prydain justice with its hodge-podge of scenes from the five books. Like the world of Jeff Smith's Bone, Prydain is filled with magic and awe, the kind of place that could and should be brought to life through art. A hardcover adapting all five books would be a truly magical read, one that children would cherish and adults would be enchanted by.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick3.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#3: The Bible

Yes, I know most comic fans consider themselves too intellectual, trendy, liberal, or skeptical to buy into any organized religion (their loss, but that's just my opinion). That doesn't change the fact that a comic translation (not an adaptation) of the Bible would be a very cool idea for a lot of reasons.

A lot of the problem people have with the Bible (and many other religious tomes, for that matter) is that they're reading translations that let the translator's personal bias creep in. The most widely read translation of the Bible, the King James edition, is rife with verbiage that doesn't quite mesh with the actual meaning and/or intent of the original Hebrew, both in terms of what the Hebrew words meant way back then, and what the English words mean now. A new translation of the Bible in comics, a graphic format, would go a long way towards clearing up some of the unclear, inconsistent, and obscure of the good book, and making clear the author's original vision. And these stories (whether you believe them to be literal truth, parable, or clever fiction) haven't been called the Greatest Ever Told without reason; they truly are fantastic, oft-epic sagas that can only be properly, inspiringly captured in some kind of visual medium.

And they have nice morals, too.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#2: Agatha Christie

She's been called the greatest author in modern history, and it's hard to argue with that statement. The Grand Dame of Mystery has written almost as many novels as Danielle Steele... but Christie's stuff isn't a guilty pleasure; it's genuinely thought-provoking. Christie is single-handedly responsible for the very greatest mysteries of the twentieth century, sometimes chilling tales that can leave the reader as perplexed as Christie's detectives. Her works are intelligent, compelling, deep, and uniquely suited to the visual medium of comics... the capacity of the artist to hide visual clues within the art, alone, is an exciting prospect for the armchair detective.

Whenever I want a great read that will make me think beyond my limits and keep me thoroughly entertained, I buy an old Agatha Christie novel (And Then There Were None is particularly highly recommended). A more visual presentation would only make these great stories even more enthralling.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jimpick1.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#1: The Final Fantasy Worlds

For years I was what's often called a "PC-snob." I didn't play "console" video games - the endless variations of Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic, Street Fighter, and Mega Man were kid stuff. I had no reason to buy a Playstation or Game Boy; I had my relatively deep PC games like Ultima and Wizardry.

Then a friend had me play Final Fantasy VII, just for ten minutes. And the very next week, I bought myself a Playstation.

Sure, games had had stories before... and games have stories now. But no video game... no video game has ever had a story like the Final Fantasy games have. The plots of games like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Chrono Cross are far deeper and more meaningful than most movies and virtually all television shows currently on the air. I let out a scream of surprise when a certain character died in FFVII, something I'd never done while at the movies. I wiped a tear of joy off my face when I (finally) finished FFX-2, something I'd never had to do while watching television.

The stories of Final Fantasy are quite possibly some of the very finest stories created in the last fifty years (if you haven't played these games, you probably doubt me; that's fine - I didn't believe it either, until I experienced them myself), intensely graphic and awe-inspiring sagas with heart-wrenchingly realistic characters (Vivi, Tifa, and Sora all spring to mind). If ever there were stories left unfinished that needed and deserved continuing... if ever there were characters we needed to see more of... all, preferably, in a graphic medium... it's Final Fantasy.

Rebuttals:
Erwin: I love you just for wishing for business books to be turned into comics. Man, that would solve all my problems when I teach in my accounting class. Students nowadays are just so darned attention-deficient.

Btw, would you like a stack of Gospel comics? I have collected a lot of them when I was still a student in a Catholic school. I've been thinking of disposing them and it looks I finally found a recipient. ;)

Dayna: Business Books? Do you actually expect people to learn something from comics? That’s delusional! If it doesn’t have people knocking the stuffing out of each other how do you expect to keep anyone’s attention? What’s next? Hooked on Phonics, the Comic Book?

The Bible: been there, done that. It’s like Titanic the Comic: you already know how it’s going to end so what’s the point? Unless Jesus becomes a super-spy ninja who shoots energy blasts from his eyes. Oh wait, that would be very cool.

Jordan: For the record...I'm too intellectual, trendy, liberal and skeptical to buy into just ONE religion. Which is why I mix up a very nice theological cocktail with Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism...with a few splashes of whatever else is handy and tastes good. That said...I find it funny that after all the crap I've taken from you in these columns about being dull and boring that you then recommend business books, political propaganda, the wholly dry fiction of Agatha Christie...and the king of banality, Dave Barry? God, Carrot Top makes me laugh more than that guy (and Carrot Top never makes me laugh so much as choke on my own bile). Just for correction, the best humorist in the world today is Eddie Izzard. But you mentioned Family Guy. One of the most clever and funniest cartoons to be produced in years. All else is forgiven...and thus you may pass into Avalon. Oh...um...sorry, all that talk of fantasy novels got to me.

David: Excellent list, Jim. Family Guy, Pyridin, and Dave Berry are inspired choices. I can even forgive your choice of Jordan. You had me until #3. The Bible has been done numerous time, sometimes quite well. There is this thing called Google. Try using it sometime. (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&q=comic+book++bible&btnG=Search)

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<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/avatar.php?userid=1126&dateline=1075825746" align=left border=0 alt="Jordan T. Maxwell">Next up was the omnipresent Jordan T. Maxwell:

We are living in an age of adaptation. It seems like every other song on the radio is a cover of another song, like every other movie is a remake or adapting some other work into cinema. In comic books, it's not too different. Licensed properties are back in all over the place...from Transformers to the Book of Mormon. And I say... great! Except in the case of those cover songs (if I have to hear Fred Durst butcher Behind Blue Eyes one more time...). Honestly, I think just about any work could successfully be translated into a comic book. So, while I sit and wait patiently for that brand new Dukes of Hazzard series to hit the stands, here's a few ideas I'd like to see even more.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick10.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#10: The Bible

You think the X-Men have a long and convoluted continuity? Try this compilation of millenia-old history, mythology, folklore and theology. But rather than a direct translation, I'd love to see a new spin put on some of these stories, updating them into the conventions of modern superheroes! Heck, you've already got super powered heroes, monstrous villains, action and romance...even a return from the dead or two. Dress it up a bit in tights, some Kirbyesque redesigns and you can relate some of the world's most timeless and lasting stories to a whole new audience. Even minus the religious teachings and implications, these are just great tales. Of course, with all the sex and violence, it would have to be a mature readers title. But I think a series of mini series, each covering various sections of the Bible and each helmed by the industry's top creators would sell like hotcakes...really, really blasphemous hotcakes! And if that doesn't work, then I only have four words for you: Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter!

Writer: Various
Artist: Various

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick9.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#9: Shyamalan-verse

Acclaimed and visionary director M. Night Shyamalan is best known for his deeply psychological thrillers like Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. But each of these movies also features something that comic books handle very well. So what if all of his films took place in a shared universe? One where a little boy was gifted with the ability to communicate with the dead and burdened with the responsibility to help them? Where a middle aged father used his super strength and invulnerability to help those in need and combat the urban terrorism of a deranged genius who was once his friend? Where a former clergyman and his family faced off against an agent of an alien invasion? Now, what if these three were brought together by a common enemy or interest to fight towards a common goal? Not only would it give Shyamalan's stories the chance to bloom and grow in another medium, but upon the foundations of this shared universe a whole new comic book world could come into existence and give birth to new stories as well. Put this world in the hands of Brian Michael Bendis, who not only knows a thing or two about the movies, but also has a knack for intense psychological writing and deliberate pacing along with his flair for witty stylized dialogue, as well as for building new comic book worlds either from scratch (Powers) or by putting his own spin on already established characters (Ultimate Spider-Man). Then bring in the dark, detailed and evocative pencils of Gene Ha and you've got yourself a winner.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Gene Ha

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#8: The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of revenge and justice is practically the predecessor of most modern superheroes and crime fighters anyway, with his tragic origins, arduous training, hidden lair, network of assistants and sidekicks and secret identity... you could practically call it the Count of Gotham City! So why not give one of the genre's greatest progenitors his own chance in the sequential art spotlight? The tale of Edmond Dantes is one of romance and idealism betrayed, of a man beset by the injustices of his world and his own failures to recognize the treacheries around him. He trains in prison, becomes skilled and cunning... and with the loss of his freedom, his true love and the three men who were like fathers to him (his father, his employer and the fellow prisoner who taught him all and bequeathed him his fortune), he becomes a secretive force for vengeance in post-Napoleonic France. What ensues is a mix of swashbuckling and Machiavellian cunning as Dantes, under the assumed guise of the Count of Monte Cristo, manipulates those around him to bring justice on the conspirators who put him in prison. One of the finest artists this industry has is the incomparable Barry Windsor-Smith, and his expressive attention to detail coupled with the romantic almost heightened realism of his work would really lend this story both the serious dramatic weight it needs alongside the great sword slinging action and adventure. And I'd like to see Greg Rucka take on something of this kind of historical scope and classic grandeur, both to challenge him as a writer and bring his own more intimate, personal style to the story as well.

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Barry Windsor-Smith

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick7.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#7: Arthurian legend

One of the most enduring mixtures of folklore, myth and history, the tale of Arthur and his knights have been adapted and borrowed from in almost every medium. With its primal character types, relationships and stories, there's much to be explored within these stories and so many directions to take it in. The legend of the Knights of the Round Table and Camelot have inspired so many and grown in their own right, absorbing characters and folk tales as they encounter them. Take any one source and adapt it or combine from different sources. The Once and Future King. Le Morte d'Arthur. The freaking Camelot musical (sans huge chorus numbers). The writer for such a venture is, to me, quite obvious. Chris Claremont has shown his great love for these legends on more than one occasion, incorporating various elements into his X-Mythos. And his penchant for grand romanticism, high action and adventure and flowery prose will come in quite handy here. After handling the comic adaptation of Wagner's Ring cycle, P. Craig Russell would be the finest choice to bring Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Lancelot, Gawain and the rest to chivalric life.

Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: P. Craig Russell

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#6: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai

A forgotten footnote in the history of 80s pop culture, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a cult classic featuring an eclectic bunch of characters, an insane science fiction plot and a hero who was like the love child of Doc Savage and Reed Richards, injected with the ashes of the Buddha and raised by New Order. The weirdest and possibly most awesome thing was that we were dropped into this world with hardly any exposition, as though we were picking up a random issue in the middle of a comic book series and just reading about this adventure. There's a full back story and seeds planted for stories yet to be told. So let's get to telling them already! Buckaroo Banzai is a genius at brain surgery, quantum physics, engineering, Eastern philosophy and New Wave music. A post modern pulp hero with a team of talented and devoted scientists, fighters and musicians (how can you not love a team with a guy named Perfect Tommy?), fighting against global terrorism and inter-dimensional tyrants... I flipped a coin for who should write this and both sides came up as Warren Ellis. He'd be able to spin the kind of mad ideas that only Team Banzai could handle, and shave off the campy edge while maintaining the same fun attitude. Of course, we need an equally talented and versatile artist to handle the big ideas and tongue-in-cheek fun of the book at the same time. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you one of the industry's finest: Mr. Arthur Adams. A team of mad geniuses like this, allied with the insane adventures of Buckaroo Banzai and compatriots... hmm, maybe the world isn't ready for it yet. Eh, who cares? Bring it on!

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Art Adams

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick5.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#5: Donnie Darko

"Have you ever seen a portal?" This is the kind of mind bending, reality warping, dig into your perceptions and screw around with the wiring kind of story I like to read in my comics. Only problem is it got made into a movie (and a sadly under-appreciated one at that) first. So let's rectify that error, shall we? Donnie Darko follows the life of a maladjusted neurotic suburban kid as he struggles with high school, life in the 80s, his new girlfriend, his old therapist, the end of the world, an otherworldly six foot tall rabbit, a motivational speaker who's probably evil and the growing ability to perceive people as they travel through time. There are a few writers who come to mind who could probably fully grasp the intricacies of this plot... Morrison, Milligan, Gaiman... but I say go straight to the source and get the film's writer/director Richard Kelly to adapt his own screenplay with an equally brilliant and mental artist... say, Frank Quitely?... for a full length graphic novel.

Writer: Richard Kelly
Artist: Frank Quitely

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#4: Deltron 3030

Probably the best, and definitely the most conceptual, hip hop album I've ever heard is from the combined team of Del tha Funky Homo Sapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala on Deltron 3030. The result is a dizzying lyrical journey though a post-post apocalyptic landscape. The more you listen to the album and decipher each track, the more a strangely satirical narrative starts to form. Deltron Zero, a former mech soldier turned rebel fugitive ("they said my sentence was equivalent to murder/just another hurdle/I bounced through a portal"), teams up with Automator, an expert in technology and magic ("hard as Slayer/combination cyber-warlord activatin' abominations"), to battle the forces of global unification with battle armor, computer viruses ("I wanna devise a virus/to bring dire straits to your environments/crushin' corporations with a mild touch/trash the whole computer system and revert you to papyrus") and the cultural power of music and art ("If I had to describe the way I survive is like vice squeezin'/the reason I'm black and still breathin'...I'm glad I love music and life/cuz it's easy to see the pain and strife and end it all tonight")...as well as trying to win the jackpot at the upcoming Intergalactic Rap Battle. In the end, the album itself is an exercise in purely conceptual rapping and mixing and a love letter to sci-fi movies and comic books. Jim Mahfood's totally unique style mixes the right blend of exaggeration, silliness and an almost musical style to his visual storytelling...so put him on with former Monarchy scribe Doselle Young for a light hearted tale of a dark hearted future, whose only saviors are a band of starfaring pot smoking anarchist rap musicians.

Writer: Doselle Young
Artist: Jim Mahfood

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick3.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#3: The Prisoner

Probably one of the most influential television shows ever made, Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner combined espionage, science fiction, surrealism, psychedelia and an overwhelming atmosphere of paranoia to produce not only a brilliant television series, but a metaphor for the state of the world and the state of man. It has apparently had an impact on an entire generation of comic book writers as it has popped up in The Invisibles, The Authority and Runaways (to name a few). Chronicling the imprisonment of the nameless Number 6 in the seeming island utopia of the Village, each episode pitted Number 6 against a new Number 2 as his captors attempted to discover his secrets and he attempted to escape and reclaim his name and identity, each thwarting the other at each turn. Even in the last episode, as the identity of Number 1 is revealed and Number 6 finally makes his daring escape... his final victory is denied him. For the Prisoner is mankind. And the Village is our world. Incredible symbolism, themes and characters to play with... either as the further adventures of Number 6 or as an expansion on McGoohan's world. Grant Morrison paid great homage to the show in the first volume of his opus, The Invisibles... so now let him contribute to the mythos itself with his talents for writing multi layered stories, incredibly quotable dialogue, paranoid themes and mad sci-fi and spy tales with metaphysical meanings. And for the disarming color and beauty of the Village, the honor goes to an artist who's written his own share of surrealist tales, Alan Davis. And we will get them... by hook or by crook, we will.

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Alan Davis

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#2: Angels in America

This is just plain flat out the BEST play written in the last century (literally, I suppose, since the century it was written in is now past). Tony Kushner's two part masterpiece follows the strangely interconnected lives of a group of gay friends, a miserable Mormon married couple, a repressed mother, the most vile right wing lawyer to come out of the Reagan era and an angel sent to prepare the world for its final days. A gorgeously written examination of love, sex, religion, AIDS, family, relationships, politics, life and living, Kushner's plays were recently adapted into a beautiful HBO mini series. And I think they would translate just as well into a graphic novel (two parts, of course...Millenium Approaches and Perestroika. Dramatic structure must be maintained). Now, if Kushner were straight and British, he'd probably be Neil Gaiman. Team these two up and let Neil add his own gorgeous poetry and flourishes to Kushner's work, collaborating to bring the work fully into another medium. And then hand it to the emotionally intense and achingly beautiful pencils of Jae Lee. Then, any town that tries to shut down performances at their local theatres (as has been done on many occasions... some people just don't like gay communist Jewish playwrights, for some reason), we can be more subversive and just sell the comics to their kids.

Writer: Tony Kushner and Neil Gaiman
Artist: Jae Lee

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Jordanpick1.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#1: Firefly

I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan. I think he's one of the finest writers working today, and his awesome science fiction western hybrid, Firefly, is probably my favorite work of his. The shame of its cancellation is of course now offset by the joy at the upcoming feature film. But these characters work so wonderfully in a serialized form. So get Joss Whedon and a superstar artist like Bryan Hitch who can handle the conventions of both genres and let the crew of Serenity keep flying on a monthly basis. As the show left off, there were still so many potential stories to tell. The romance between Mal and Inara. The mysterious agents of the Blue Sun Corporation and their hunt for River. The secrets of Book's past. The rocky marriage of Zoe and Wash. The hope that Simon would someday pull the stick out of his butt and kiss Kaylee. The threat of the Alliance and the Reavers. And of course, Jayne's hat. And those are just the stories introduced in a handful of episodes. Imagine what Whedon could create with the free reign of a monthly series. Heck, just think of the new villains he could create. Because if there's one thing that Firefly had in spades, it was awesome villains. I'd love to see a return of sadistic crimelord Adelai Niska and existentialist bounty hunter Jubal Early, alongside a wholly bevy of new threats. Of all my choices listed, I hope that this one is the most likely. But whatever medium Serenity keeps flying in, it's good to know that they'll NEVER take the sky from us.

Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: Bryan Hitch

Rebuttals:
Erwin: (Drools at Shyamalan-verse) That was a very inspired choice. As well as Deltron 3030. What's up with Firefly, though? If it's such a good show, why don't they show it here in the Philippines? (Come to think of it, I may need to address that complaint to our cable network operator not you. Damn you cable network operator!!!)

Dayna: The Count of Monte Cristo? After that one, should we do The Mighty Hamlet comic? When I hear this title I think of two things: the movie Sleepers and the sub shops located on pretty much every corner of northeastern Massachusetts. Sleepers is pretty self-explanatory. The sub shops, I have no freaking idea. Maybe it’s just all that Machiavellian-ism makes me hungry.

Jim: What? Jordan did a list? Aw, crap. Okay, Jim, strength. You can make it... you can stay awake... you can do this... hey, the Bible, he didn't open up too bad... Shamaya... Shyalama... Shamarama... whatever... *yawn*... Monte... <small>Monte.... </small>

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<small>... who? What? You're my mother? Ummm... does that mean I get a discount?...</small>

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David: Again with the Bible. It's a great book, but it's been done. Same with Arthur. Now if somebody would convert Peter David's Knight Life, then that would be a good choice.

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<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/avatar.php?userid=446&dateline=1086346935" align=left border=0 alt="David Santee">And finally we came to David Santee, who promised not the smash the place:

For any type of media to be converted into a comic book, it really should have at least one of these traits a) an environment that would work well with the visual aspect of comic books, b) a creator who knows the comic book form and can use it to it’s fullest potential, or c) characters deep enough to support the vast number of stories a successful comic book stories.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick10.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#10: Atticus Kodiak Series (http://www.gregrucka.com/novels/atticuskodiak.html)

This one just barely made my list, and only on the strength of Greg Rucka. Rucka has done some very interesting work on Wolverine, Wonder Woman and Queen and Country. He understands what the comic book medium has to offer a creator. Having Rucka write some new adventures of the bodyguard Atticus Kodiak would just make my day. This series if full of interesting characters, and Rucka has the skill set to present them in comic form.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick9.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#9: The Belgariad (http://eddings.cjb.net/)

I’m sure one of the other lists will contain J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, but since there was a comic published in some countries (http://koti.mbnet.fi/psychic/eng_tsh.html) after that disastrous Baskshi version was released in 1978, I’ll go with a comparable series, David Edding’s Belgariad. Much like Tolkien’s saga, Edding develops a glorious world of gods and magic for his heroes to adventure in, then sets them loose to grow and develop. I actually think this series is more accessible than Tolkien to modern readers, and much funnier. Eddings grand vision would make a great comic book, in the right hands.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick8.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#8: Halo (http://www.bungie.net/Games/Halo2)

There have been many comic books based on video game characters. Street Fighter, Sonic The Hedgehog, heck almost every popular video game has tried a comic book. Halo has space ships visiting ring worlds infested with alien bug-eyed monsters, big guns and bigger tanks, zombies trying to eat cyborg warriors encased in steel. Everything a comic book creator could want. Heck, if a bunch of guys can make some very funny movies (http://www.redvsblue.com) using the game itself, why can’t a comic book publisher?

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick7.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#7: Xanth (http://www.hipiers.com/index.shtml)

It’s no surprise that this series made my list. Before I became a reviewer, I posted under the alias SmashOgre, a character from one of the twenty-eight novels of this series. I spent most of my childhood reading two things, comics and Xanth novels. Seeing the two combine has been one of my dreams for a very long time. This fantasy series would make a great book to introduce young readers to the comic book form. This fantasy world full of puns and magic could be an illustrator’s dream. Actually, one of the novels was started by ElfQuest in the early 90’s (http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/xanth/Display.html?page=1) but I don’t think it was released.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick6.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#6: Caves Of Steel (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553293400/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/102-9500259-7166559?v=glance&amp;s=books&amp;st=*)

Isaac Asimov has created some interesting worlds, but one of his most cinematic was the early novels of the Robot Series. the Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun in particular would make great comic books. Asimov’s portrait of a crowded desperate Earth dealing with both overpopulation and the effect robots have on culture is fascinating. While these books do what all great Sci-Fi books do, explore how technology affects humanity, they are also very written mysteries. There were comic books released in the mid-90's, but they did not deal with the interesting relationship between the human Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw, his robot partner. This relationship, and the world it's built in, deserves a good comic adaptation. While I’ll keep an open mind about the Will Smith movie, I regret they just didn’t keep closer to the original material.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick5.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#5: Kill Bill (http://killbill.movies.go.com/)

I think this one is fairly obvious. Much of Quentin Tarantino’s movie work was influenced by both American and Japanese comic books. The adventures of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad would make a great adult-themed book. Just take a look at the Anime chapter in Volume 1.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick4.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#4: The Incredibles (http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/incredibles/main.html)

You are probably asking yourself why I’m including a movie that hasn’t been released yet on my list. Well, I think any of Pixar’s movies, be it Toy Story, Monster’s, Inc. or Finding Nemo, would make a interesting comic book. They are the masters of digital animation. A comic book with just clips from any one of these movies would be interesting to see. What lifts Pixar movies from their competition is their grasp of storytelling. They know how to write great stories. Let’s face some facts: 90% of the comics being published are superhero books. So when the great talents at Pixar decide to write a superhero tale, you would think it would make a great comic book. If Disney was smart, they would offer a book to introduce these characters to the public as soon as possible.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick3.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#3: Neverwhere (http://www.neilgaiman.com/books/neverwhere_pb.asp#)

Neil Gaiman is one of the masters of the comic book form. His work on Sandman stands as one of the best stories ever told through the comic medium. Why not go out and grab one of his most interesting novels and see if he could the same for it? The Alice-in-Wonderland-on-LSD-like adventures of Richard Mayhew in London Below are a couple graphic novels just waiting to happen. Luckily, I won't have to wait long, since Gaiman announced last month (http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2004/06/wrap-up.asp)that DC is working on a comic adaptation of this world.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick2.jpg" align=right border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#2: Harry Potter Series (http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/home.asp)

J.K. Rowlings, in just five novels, has made one of the most interesting exciting worlds ever. Magic, mystery, mayhem, everything a successful comic book needs. It has a built in audience that comic book publishers have wanted to connect with for years. It would also appeal to older readers, much like the books do. Fans are starving for more stories from this universe, so why not give it to them in comic books? With Scholastic launching a graphic novel line next year, it just makes sense to milk Scholastics biggest cash cow for some more easy cash.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/cx10-11/Davepick1.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="ComiX-Ten">#1: Firefly (http://www2.foxhome.com/firefly/main.html)

Fireflyhas all three of the traits I listed that would make a great comic book property. The creator of Firefly, Joss Whedon, has already shown his skills as a comic book writer with both Fray and his current run on Astonishing X-men. His previous TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still a property Dark Horse uses quite effectively. The mixture of space opera and western make a really interesting environment. The characters are well written and interesting. I’ve shown this series to over ten people, and those who didn’t immediately run out and buy the DVD collection keep trying to borrow my copy. The world of Firefly would do well on any medium, as long as it doesn’t get the shaft from the Powers That Be (damn you Fox! You should have given this show a better timeslot!).

Rebuttals:
Erwin: I hate you for your rebuttal of my list. What's wrong with Chips? Don't you like Eric Estrada? I hate you so much I won't even dare comment on your list. Hmp.

Dayna: Atticus Kodiak Series – I have no clue as to what this is. But if it’s French I have to taunt you. And if it’s French Canadian then I taunt you more.

Kill Bill: A Comic Printed With REAL BLOOD! Yup, that’s right kids, you too can own your own blood-ink comic. And here you thought comic books gave up that gimmick after the KISS comic bombed. Nope! We just love to bleed out talent – literally! And for you real sick bastards, we offer another Quentin Tarantino treat, Reservoir Dogs Scratch and Sniff!

The Incredibles – I’m asking myself “Why is Dave including this on his list?” Points in your favor here: the Disney connection. Since Pixar and Disney are no longer partnered, one would think The Rodent Chop Shop would capitalize on Pixar as much as they can for as long as they can.

Jim: There are two problems with a comic based on Xanth: (1) there's so much nudity, sex, and bestiality in it that it would be impossible to create it for all ages, and (2) the author, being one of the biggest egomaniacs on the planet, would probably never allow it to see print without 100% of the gross. So, that one's right out.

Neverwhere and Caves of Steel are certainly redeeming picks, but the rest? Reminds me of Jordan's list.

Jordan: You gave a nod to Red vs. Blue. We like you now. And Kill Bill. Ooh, double plus good points. You lose me a bit on the Harry Potter stuff...not that I love Potter less, but that I love Hunter more. And again with these Tolkienesque fantasy novels...really, guys, should I just leave y'all alone to roll your own ten sided dice for a couple of hours? Seriously, I can get y'all a couple of liters of Shasta, a huge bag of Cheetos. You can make a night out of it!

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We hope you’ve enjoyed our lists. Be sure to vote for your favorite in our poll, and we’ll see you again next time!

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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writers, and are not reflective of ComiX-Fan or its other staff in general.

[CrazyFool83]

Erwin gets my vote simply for mentioning Dream Theater. You really could make good comics based of of their music, expecially Scenes from a Memory.

[Eric J. Moreels]

David gets my vote for The Belgariad alone. As much as I enjoyed the LOTR movies and games, I'd love to see Eddings' masterpiece translated into other mediums!

[jernenputsch]

I have to give my vote to Jim. I have always wanted to see a Final Fantasy comic with art by Amano. I think thats his name. He does all the FF art and the Robotech covers. That would be sweet.My question for Jim is what game would be the best to adapt? I would go for 6 or 7.

[Zeb Aslam]

Good lists everybody. While everyone had one or two choices that stood out (David's Xanth, Dayna's Brisco County, Jr., etc...) I had to give my vote to Erwin for the simple reason that I knew most of his entries. Some of the others were so obscure I;ve never even heard of them. So, Erwin wins by default.

Also, I should remind you people...Robert Jordan's series is getting the comic book treatment sometime this year. It's starting with a prelude...not sure how long it'll last (heck, does anyone know how long the bloody books will last?) Also, Final Fantasy already has a comic. You people should really do your research more ;)

[Alkalinesorcery]

Isn't there a Rival Schools book being done by UDON already in development?

[Blessed]

As always liked it :)
Still thinking what to choose.
Oh , or my mind is weird or I remember that i read a Warcraft graphic novel :?

[Dylan McKay]

With all these 80's revivals I can't believe no one mentioned My Secret Identity....

[raul grau]

Dayna earned my vote. Sure, Firefly and Prisoner got multiple mentions, but she easily edges out the others with her nods to Niven, Brisco, and (my favorite author of all time) Douglas Adams. I do prefer Hitchhiker's to Gentry, but any DNA reference is a great one. :)

However, good lists everyone, though I doubt any writer-artist combo could adapt the Bible into a comic book that would interest this agnostic. :)

- Raul

[Wolverine]

great lists guys. If I had written a list I would have put the british cop show The Bill as one. it would work perfectly as a comic I would think. I would love to see family guy and firefly as a comic though

[Vector]

I'd love to read a Chrono Trigger comic. I'm imagining a story where Magus searches for Schala.

[Cannonball1138]

What about the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Doesn't anyone else want to see a true to book version?

[Gat0r-ManX]

Invader Zim and Killer INstinct got me.

Nice list, Dayna!:D

[MrFantomex]

The West Wing

[Wheeze]

Final Fantasy 8 has a good story? Chrono Cross? Sure they do, if you haven't ever read or played any other book/game in your entire life. I'll give ya 7, but the other two...booooo!

Seems to me most of the ideas on these lists would be poorly recieved independant titles. Even if they are good ideas, in the end most of these properties end up catching few eyes. They should adapt Lineage 2 into a comic book, or possibly Andromeda (don't judge me!).

[Blake]

So I take it I was the only one that noticed that the picture for the Belgarid was actually for a book by Raymond E. Feist?

Anyway. I didn't know that Neil Gaiman is translating the Neverwhere series into a graphic novel, so I thank this list for telling me that and I'm as excited as **** about that..

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally posted by Nalyd Psycho
With all these 80's revivals I can't believe no one mentioned My Secret Identity....

to be fair, i was a hair's breadth from putting "Greatest American Hero" on my list. believe it or not. ;)

and Jim...gah! You put forth the anti-Christ into our midst! Die, Ann Coulter, die...you neo-Con fascist lying harpy! :{

[ToddThompson]

Originally posted by CrazyFool83
Erwin gets my vote simply for mentioning Dream Theater. You really could make good comics based of of their music, expecially Scenes from a Memory.

Well, I agree with you and that was why I voted for Erwin, too. There is a shortage of intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics (not to mention music that's powerful enought to back them up) out there but Dream Theater has some of the best. And Scenes would make a great story with nice, atmospheric art.

Todd

[Steve Pirrie]

Well, the obvious no-brainer pick for me was The Prisoner. Of course, Grant Morrison would have to write it - I'd have Steve Yeowell do the art.

I might be getting confused here, but didn't GM do a treatment of the Prisoner for some other form? Or was it the Avengers? (Not those Avengers, the TV show.) Hell, Morrison and Yeowell doing either the Prisoner, Dangerman, the Avengers or Department S would do it for me. (Morrison already did an homage to Dept. S in the Invisibles.)

MR gets my vote, because she included Dirk Gently. The stupid luck. The eagle. Valhalla, and a guy who I always visualised as Tom Baker's Dr. Who stumbling through it without a Tardis but with a genius for synchronicity. I'd want to see Alans Moore and Davis on this.

(Having said that, MR's Doom choice did make me take a long hard look at Jordan's list...)

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally posted by The Fool

(Having said that, MR's Doom choice did make me take a long hard look at Jordan's list...)

hmm...well, at least someone did. ;) ah well...every streak must come to an end. i stand by my choices (obviously, since i'm the only vote i've gotten at this point :LOL: )

[spiral48]

Maybe it's just me, and I know these lists are meant for fun and whimsical imagining... but I can't help but look at some of the choices and think "why bother translating them into comics?"

The video games make sense, flesh out a visually based story that people are familiar with and that essentially isn't going to be retold elsewhere.

The TV shows I can kind of see. Specifically the canceled shows... okay really Firefly I can see, because it would be a continuation of a story you're never going to be able to get elsewhere. But otherwise, why not just rent/buy the DVD's?

But everything else... why bother? And I say that because all of these stories have already been told in their intended mediums. I love Angels in America. And I agree it's one of the best pieces of drama of it's time. And it would loose most of that brilliance in the translation. So much of Kushner's work is in the sound and rhythm of the dialogue. You have to <i>hear</i> Roy's wrangling with the telephone, you have to hear Harper's quasi-hallucinatory ramblings. And also, the effect of having actors play multiple parts... there's no way to effectively translate everything that happens on stage into a two-dimensional time lapsed based medium. So why bother.

And the same goes with many of the books. In all honesty what, besides added revenues, is a Harry Potter comic going to add? It couldn't match the visual spectacle of the films, nor could it fit in the depth and details of the story that the novels achieve. Even the movies themselves have never really conveyed the true breadth of Harry Potters' world because without Rowling's narration, it doesn't work. She, like any author, holds the key to those world in her narrative voice and word choice.

You could make a cool comic adaptation of A Farewell to Arms... but without Hemingway's sparse narration... you loose the creeping sense of existential dread.

And I don't say this to denigrate comics as a medium, because comics can do things that movies and prose can't even begin to try.

I don't think Watchmen should be made into a film. Again, why bother? There are levels of that story that depend on the panels being structured the way they are. Hell, the movie would drop that entire pirate comic section because screenplays <i>have</i> to maintain a narrow focus on the plot. But damnit, the pirate comics are incredibly important to the overall meaning of the work.

So I just thought I'd throw that out there. <i>should</i> any of these properties be adapted? Is it worth the time and effort to retell a story in a translated medium?

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally posted by spiral48
Maybe it's just me, and I know these lists are meant for fun and whimsical imagining... but I can't help but look at some of the choices and think &quot;why bother translating them into comics?&quot;

The video games make sense, flesh out a visually based story that people are familiar with and that essentially isn't going to be retold elsewhere.

The TV shows I can kind of see. Specifically the canceled shows... okay really Firefly I can see, because it would be a continuation of a story you're never going to be able to get elsewhere. But otherwise, why not just rent/buy the DVD's?

But everything else... why bother? And I say that because all of these stories have already been told in their intended mediums. I love Angels in America. And I agree it's one of the best pieces of drama of it's time. And it would loose most of that brilliance in the translation. So much of Kushner's work is in the sound and rhythm of the dialogue. You have to &lt;i&gt;hear&lt;/i&gt; Roy's wrangling with the telephone, you have to hear Harper's quasi-hallucinatory ramblings. And also, the effect of having actors play multiple parts... there's no way to effectively translate everything that happens on stage into a two-dimensional time lapsed based medium. So why bother.

And the same goes with many of the books. In all honesty what, besides added revenues, is a Harry Potter comic going to add? It couldn't match the visual spectacle of the films, nor could it fit in the depth and details of the story that the novels achieve. Even the movies themselves have never really conveyed the true breadth of Harry Potters' world because without Rowling's narration, it doesn't work. She, like any author, holds the key to those world in her narrative voice and word choice.

You could make a cool comic adaptation of A Farewell to Arms... but without Hemingway's sparse narration... you loose the creeping sense of existential dread.

And I don't say this to denigrate comics as a medium, because comics can do things that movies and prose can't even begin to try.

I don't think Watchmen should be made into a film. Again, why bother? There are levels of that story that depend on the panels being structured the way they are. Hell, the movie would drop that entire pirate comic section because screenplays &lt;i&gt;have&lt;/i&gt; to maintain a narrow focus on the plot. But damnit, the pirate comics are incredibly important to the overall meaning of the work.

So I just thought I'd throw that out there. &lt;i&gt;should&lt;/i&gt; any of these properties be adapted? Is it worth the time and effort to retell a story in a translated medium?

I think it can be. For one thing, it exposes the material to an audience that may not have had a chance or inclination to check it out before (such as the recent slew of comic book movies, even beyond just superheroes. eg: Road to Perdition, Ghost World, American Splendour). Another thing that i think is most important...this is not translating the work into another medium, it's adapting it. and that's an important distinction. Because you're not lifting directly from the original source material and plopping it wholesale into another form of communication. You're taking that source material, looking at the core of it and changing it to so that it communicates just as strongly through the adaptive medium. You play it to that medium's strengths. Yes, Angels in America would lose some of the strengths it has live in the theatre (or filmed, for that matter). But the character relationships, vibrant dialogue and intense visuals are still strong enough to carry over...and there are plenty of things that you can do in this medium that you can't do with theatre or film. Play with perceptions of time and pacing. Go totally abstract in the visual representation of events and characters. Play with the fluid relationship between space and perception.

In short, i think that adaptation IS a valid and viable form of communicating original and creative ideas into other media. If not, we'd have no Buffy TV show, no X-Men or Spider-Man movie...heck, when you think about it even Homer's Iliad/Odyssey, Milton's Paradise Lost and most of Shakespeare's works are all adaptations that other might have asked "why bother?" Because the expression of ideas and emotions through ANY media is at its core a good thing...even if they started out as someone else's ideas and emotions. ;)

[James Groves]

Wow, somw great lists.

I was torn between Jims (mostly for Final Fantasy), Jordans and Davids, but in the end it had to be Davids.

Xanth by Piers Anthony is one of my all time favourite reads, i love the series and that was the clincher for me.

Plus Harry Potter, Neverwhere and The Incrdibles, were excellent choices.

One name i would put into the hat (not sure if a comic has been done bythem though) The Dragon Lance series?? That for me together with Piers Anthony and JRR TOlkien is the best fantasy series ive ever read!

Caromon, Raistlin, Tanis, GOld, Blue, Red Dragons, the relationship between the 2 brothers. Man that would make an amazing comic.

Written by Neil Gaiman or Alan Moore and painted by Mike Dell'otto. Mint.

[Dylan McKay]

Originally posted by Jordan T. Maxwell

In short, i think that adaptation IS a valid and viable form of communicating original and creative ideas into other media. If not, we'd have no Buffy TV show, no X-Men or Spider-Man movie...heck, when you think about it even Homer's Iliad/Odyssey, Milton's Paradise Lost and most of Shakespeare's works are all adaptations that other might have asked &quot;why bother?&quot; Because the expression of ideas and emotions through ANY media is at its core a good thing...even if they started out as someone else's ideas and emotions. ;)

Funny you mention Paradise Lost. I was thinking that adapting Paradise Lost would be more interesting than the Bible. And get Gaiman or Carey to do it. It seems clear to me that the Vertigo Lucifer is based on the Milton Lucifer.

[Dr. Hank McCoy]

The Riftwar Saga by Feist
or Diablo II
That is all.

[Anand Khatri]

Mainly on each list it were few things that got my attention.

Erwin = 'Hero' (really amazing movie and very underrated)

MR = Doom, Killer Instinct, Invader Zim! Great Stuff.

Jim = Family Guy. (BEST SHOW EVER!)

Jordan = Shyamalan-verse and Donnie Darko (really great movie. The site is even crazier!)

David = Halo. One of the greatest games ever made.



I had to give it to Dayna cuz there was more stuff that appealed to me.

Plus Family Guy a comic...Sounds good, but probably not. I don't think it would have the same effect as the show has. I mean they have already made a Tokyopop Cini-(?) book. If wasn't that great.

PS. everbody watch Family Guy. BEST SHOW EVER!

[ugaryan526]

Jim,

I hope you're happy, seeing Ann Coulter unexpectedly has caused my testicles to retreat back into my body. :-)
~Ryan

[Alex Guillen]

Jordan, you earned my vote. the most interesting top 10 for me was yours but not todiscredit anyone else because you all made good cases for your picks.

[gnosis]

Jordon got my vote because I dig a lot of the picks, particularly Count of Monte Cristo, and the fact he mentioned Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter.

I am sort of surprised that the Discworld series was left out of the lists. Is there no love for Terry Pratchett here?

[Frank Castiglione]

done properly with the right artist, i'd definatly be into a diablo2 comic

[glecharles]

#9: Shyamalan-verse

The one thing on any of these lists that would be a must-buy for me, so Jordan gets my vote.

Now, can someone explain why no love was given to The Chronicles of Riddick?

[Erwin Rafael]

Originally posted by glecharles
Now, can someone explain why no love was given to The Chronicles of Riddick?

maybe it's because of the bad bad name? Riddick...LOL!!!

anyway, i would like to pimp out my ist. it looks like the only people who voted for my list are those that loved Dream Theater. cm'on, there's HERO. and Mission Impossible.

Captain Power. Power On!!!

Uhm...Charlie's Angels!!! i know you like it. vote for me!!!

the poll is misleading. now everybody's thinking that the Angels is the focal point of my list. i demand a recount!!!

[James Groves]

Originally posted by Erwin Rafael


maybe it's because of the bad bad name? Riddick...LOL!!!

anyway, i would like to pimp out my ist. it looks like the only people who voted for my list are those that loved Dream Theater. cm'on, there's HERO. and Mission Impossible.

Captain Power. Power On!!!

Uhm...Charlie's Angels!!! i know you like it. vote for me!!!

the poll is misleading. now everybody's thinking that the Angels is the focal point of my list. i demand a recount!!!


:LOL: I do think the polls are a little misleading to be honest. Its as if your voting for just one thing rather than the actual 10!

[ImpossibleM]

Originally posted by jernenputsch
I have to give my vote to Jim. I have always wanted to see a Final Fantasy comic with art by Amano. I think thats his name. He does all the FF art and the Robotech covers. That would be sweet.My question for Jim is what game would be the best to adapt? I would go for 6 or 7.

Jim's first choice is great. I'm even going back to precinematic FFs and beating those. The storylines for the later FFs are great sagas. But, Jim, did you really shed a tear at the end of FFX2? Man, to me it was insanely anticlimatic, after all the great character development among all the supporting characters and Yuna. My jaw was dropping when it finally sank that I was watching the end.

As for other selections, I think Blizzard stuff is good--and out of that, Starcraft would be awesome. I'd like to think Halo would be cool, but, like Doom and Quake, what'll happen outside of firefights involving big guns?

[Erwin Rafael]

Originally posted by ImpossibleM
As for other selections, I think Blizzard stuff is good--and out of that, Starcraft would be awesome. I'd like to think Halo would be cool, but, like Doom and Quake, what'll happen outside of firefights involving big guns?

so you're talking about Garth Ennis' Punisher? :p

[M-Angel]

Speaking of Music inspiring comic books, a long time ago I wrote a script for a book called "Unhallowed" (I'm not posting it , it sucks) but It was the story of our Beloved Edward (The Iron Maiden Mascot) I think that will be a pretty good Idea.

Videogames inspiring comic books that has been done and It's only a matter of time before big succesful videogames get their book (Halo)

Harry Potter, I've read the first two book but I really think the market is too cluttered with Harry Potter for the moment, let's wait until it cools down a little.

But I guess you people forgot about something, the licence for doing videogames based on the Marvel Characters doesnt belong to Activions anymore (X-men:legends will be their last game) it now belongs to EA a company well known for it's sports titles (Madden, NHL, FIFA, etc) and their fist idea was making a fighting a game Marvel Vs EA, all the characters from EA will have to be brand new and in that deparment comics will have inspired a whole new generation of fighters which sounds good to be.

in my opinion comics dont need to drag out ideas from other sources but come up with new ones of their own and I mean something truly revolutionary, dont you think?

[Mason Dixon]

David's lot for sure!

Xanth, Belgariad, Kill Bill, Firefly...

I'd have to add them all to my pull list!

[Nathan J. Wilson]

Wheel of Time comic sounds.... interesting.

Maybe when he's finished writing it ;)

[NicholasRogue]

I'd love to see C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia turned into a comic....but he probably has copyrights to that.

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally posted by glecharles
#9: Shyamalan-verse

The one thing on any of these lists that would be a must-buy for me, so Jordan gets my vote.

Now, can someone explain why no love was given to The Chronicles of Riddick?

um, because it was only a pale shadow of its predecessor, the amazing Pitch Black? ;) Personally, i'd like to see Riddick team up with someone named Ulus. Oh, the fun that could be head with those two names. ;)

Originally posted by NicholasRogue
I'd love to see C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia turned into a comic....but he probably has copyrights to that.

well, to be totally accurate, his estate would most likely hold the rights to Chronicles of Narnia and his other brilliant works (i think Screwtape Letters would make a great mini). I don't think enough time has passed for them to be considered public domain so, yes, they would have to get permission to adapt them from the executors of his estate. But that's true of just about ANY of these properties so i don't see why that would stop a Chronicles of Narnia comic getting made.

[Molotov]

Erwin's list, all the way.
Captain Power? ****, it's been a long time since I seen that show.
Wheel of Time? Hell f-ing yes. Maybe the comic would make the latest book be good.
Besides, Erwin reviews all the best comics here. So he got my vote, even if all ten of his choices had been My Little Pony.

[Paul Shinn]

Jordan - my favourite film: Donnie Darko; with my favourite artist: Frank Quietly? You had me at "hello"! ...what? You didn't say hello? How positively forward of you!

[Jon Hancock]

Jordan's stacked the vote! ;)

I'd love to see Screwtape letters. Man I'd have voted for you Jordan then!

people liked Pitch Black? we booed my housemate for making us watch that. He came back hyping it as the next major epic and we sat, watched it, scratched our heads as to why we watched it and then as a body of ridicule booed him till he whimpered back to his room

[abaddon667]

GARGOYLES!!!!! Nothing needs a comic more than Golith and crew!!! There is more to tell.....Tell me some of you loved this show as much as i did....


Dream Theater?!! Thats funny....great albums make bad comics....

[Niels van Eekelen]

To make a bunch of you happy...

A Firefly/Serenity comic is tentatively scheduled as a tie-in to the movie next year. Presumably written by Whedon.

Got it straight from the editor's mouth.

Let's be sure to all buy it. Good things could happen if it sells really well.:D


(And BTW, that Xanth book was published, adapting the first half of one of the novels. It was later reprinted in installments in ElfQuest vol.2.)

[Airhead]

Your Kill Bill got me, David, so I'm voting for you! :D

[benbacca37]

Dayna's list was tops for me with Zim, Brisco and Killer Instinct

Also, Udon IS doing a Rival Schools comic along with a Darkstalkers comic with I'm looking even more forwards too.

I'm sorry to say that I saw a couple episodes of Firefly and I did not see what all the big deal was it actually kinda bored me.

[gatorgav]

Jordan, you got my vote and are forever my hero for including Buckaroo Banzai! I remeber making a pact with my friends when I was like 8 that we would grow up to Rock n' Roll stars/ Super heroes. Yeah, to bad that didn't work out. We even recorded a song about Buckaroo on our little sony tape recorder. Good times. Rock on brother!!!


Edit: Aargh to dunk to spell duckroo Bonzi right on 10th try ahhh there we go night night time ahhhh

[David Santee]

Originally posted by gnosis
Jordon got my vote because I dig a lot of the picks, particularly Count of Monte Cristo, and the fact he mentioned Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter.

I am sort of surprised that the Discworld series was left out of the lists. Is there no love for Terry Pratchett here?

Believe me, Discworld would have been my #1, but there have been a few Graphic novels, including a great illustrated novella (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060507772/qid=1090467750/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/002-9738452-4666438?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).

Originally posted by Niels van Eekelen
To make a bunch of you happy...

A Firefly/Serenity comic is tentatively scheduled as a tie-in to the movie next year. Presumably written by Whedon.

Got it straight from the editor's mouth.

Let's be sure to all buy it. Good things could happen if it sells really well.:D


(And BTW, that Xanth book was published, adapting the first half of one of the novels. It was later reprinted in installments in ElfQuest vol.2.)

*Does the Dance of Happiness*

Thank you. You have made my day.

Originally posted by ImpossibleM

As for other selections, I think Blizzard stuff is good--and out of that, Starcraft would be awesome. I'd like to think Halo would be cool, but, like Doom and Quake, what'll happen outside of firefights involving big guns?

Did you take alook at the link in my choice?

[Victoronehalf]

Okay, my favorite choices were:

Starcraft
Charlie's Angels - Get people to read comics
Mission Impossible
Harry Potter - Helped kids rediscover books. Why can't it help kids rediscover comics?
Doom - but not with Mark Millar, not Alan Moore.
The Prisoner - Hot damn!
Business Books - I'd read 'em!
Final Fantasy - It's asking for it, but then, all the Final Fantasy adapations I've seen have been terrible.
Angels in America - mmm, Kushner. Acting in A Bright Room Called Day was a fantastic experience.

My least favorite choices:

Quake III - Sounds dreadful
Invader Zim - I am so sick of Vasquez.
Political Propoganda - Simply because it's already being done. Many places, many ways.
Dave Barry - I think Dave Barry really showcases what's wrong with humor today. Completely hollow.
Shyamalan - Something about him rubs me completely the wrong way. I come out of his movies bristling
Belgeriad - The series seems really flat and childish to me. I loved it when I was in middle school, though.

Dayna's rebuttal to Dream Theater reminds me of an idea of mine, albeit a non-comic related one. Radiohead: The Saturday Morning Cartoon. Follow Tom and friends on their rocket ride through Dystopian Computer World!

[Patrick James]

Jordan almost got my vote this time for his nod to Arthurian legend and the Shyamalan-verse, but Jim's Family Guy and Agatha Christie picks were great.

Big thumbs up also go to David for Neverwhere and Dayna for Killer Instinct. I like those unpredictable choices *coughFireflycoughHarryPottercough*

[Jibril]

why is there a picture of Raymond E. Feist's Magician next to the mention of The Belgariad?


it does bring to mind the fact that Raymond Feist's world is pretty massive, and therefore full of room for lots of stories.

[David Santee]

Originally posted by Jibril
why is there a picture of Raymond E. Feist's Magician next to the mention of The Belgariad?


it does bring to mind the fact that Raymond Feist's world is pretty massive, and therefore full of room for lots of stories.


Oops. That was my fault. Feist was also on early versions of my list, but I didn't want to have so many fantasy books. Consider it 8b.


Originally posted by Patrick James
Jordan almost got my vote this time for his nod to Arthurian legend and the Shyamalan-verse, but Jim's Family Guy and Agatha Christie picks were great.

Big thumbs up also go to David for Neverwhere and Dayna for Killer Instinct. I like those unpredictable choices *coughFireflycoughHarryPottercough*


You can not deny that Firefly or Harry Potter would make a good comic book, can you? Why should I deny some souce material it's props just because it's popular.

A well translated Harry could do for the comic industry what the books have done for the book industry. It would bring in new readers, something comics need badly.

[Cloud]

Jim's list for Final Fantasy alone!!

The best gameseries out there!

[Tyche]

What about the Sweet Valley High books?
That could make an exciting comic ...

[Kevin Sutton]

Jim's list was the best. His choice of Family Guy was so good, someone decided to do it already. ;) TokyoPop has advertised a manga for it already in last month's previews.

[Lord Sun]

Originally posted by Jordan T. Maxwell


to be fair, i was a hair's breadth from putting &quot;Greatest American Hero&quot; on my list. believe it or not. ;)

and Jim...gah! You put forth the anti-Christ into our midst! Die, Ann Coulter, die...you neo-Con fascist lying harpy! :{

GAH is definitely on my soon-to-be published list of the toppest properties that are ready for comic book adaptations.

[Anand Khatri]

Originally posted by Kevin Sutton
Jim's list was the best. His choice of Family Guy was so good, someone decided to do it already. ;) TokyoPop has advertised a manga for it already in last month's previews.

Thats what I said before. But they come out so horrible! It's those Cini-Manga books. Sorry to say this, but they stink. I read the Jackie Chan Adventures and it was horrible. It killed one of my favorite cartoons. :(

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally posted by David Santee


You can not deny that Firefly or Harry Potter would make a good comic book, can you? Why should I deny some souce material it's props just because it's popular.

A well translated Harry could do for the comic industry what the books have done for the book industry. It would bring in new readers, something comics need badly.

Harry Potter would make a fine, fine comic indeed. In fact, it already did before there even WAS a Harry Potter. Books of Magic, people. Read it and learn. ;)

But i am joining you in that happy dance over the Firefly comic. Can't wait to hear who they're getting to do the art. :) Now, is this just going to be a one-shot or mini to tie in with the movie, or are they launching it alongside the movie as an ongoing?

[Roberto Polanco]

is it me, or are ALL of those lists a bunch of "oh look at me, I know a lot of obscure stuff, I'm indy!" crapola?


go drink a latte or something guys, jeez . . . . .:p

[nekretaal]

There was a whole section of Guriermo del Toro's movie "The Devil's Backbone" where the plot involved the trading of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO comic books. So, I think that suggestion shouldn't count.

Good lists Everyone!

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

Originally posted by Roberto Polanco
is it me, or are ALL of those lists a bunch of &quot;oh look at me, I know a lot of obscure stuff, I'm indy!&quot; crapola?


go drink a latte or something guys, jeez . . . . .:p

it's just you. :rolleyes:

oddly enough, this post comes off as "i'm too HIP to dig any of these lists."

[Dylan McKay]

I can't help but think that Azzerello and Risso adapting Usual Suspects to comics would be awesome...

[Anand Khatri]

Originally posted by Nalyd Psycho
I can't help but think that Azzerello and Risso adapting Usual Suspects to comics would be awesome...


Get Identity Disc. Its Super Usual Suspects basically.

[Dylan McKay]

Originally posted by Anand Khatri



Get Identity Disc. Its Super Usual Suspects basically.

I don't want a poor knock off of a classic. I want the real thing. Plus Azzerello is the only writer I trust to reveal as little information as possible. (Well, maybe Morrison as well.) Which is necissary.

[dopplegager]

I've always wanted to see Final Fantasy in comic book format.

Float On

[AngelinLeather]

Jim all the way. Family guy is one of my most beloved shows.

FFVII is my famorite game (and I was shocked to, the burial secene made me get all teared up, and Cloud is hot to heh. Cant wait for FF7: Advent Children movie!)

Diablo II The comic? I would buy that in an instant.

Now as for business books as comics? That would work for peole who are more visually stimulated, and need pictures to learn better so yes I think thats a good idea.

The Bible? Yeah ok that would be interesting.

[Michael "Glaivester" Jose]

Hey! How come no one mentioned this one:

Two words and one phrase:
Vampires
Cops
CN Tower backdrop

Yes, folks, I want to see a Forever Knight comic book!

I think Dayna gets my vote, btw, just for Brisco County Jr.
Did you know that they played the theme from Brisco all the time on TV during the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer? Every time they checekd the score, I heard doo... doo doo DOO da doo - doo doo DOOOO da dooooo... etc.

[Jon Hancock]

had some more ideas.

I want to see a Space Invaders book. Like the crisps. Might be just a UK thing. They're little maize pickled onion crisps in the shape of aliens but on the back it tells you that the aliens are going to invade earth and only the sound of crunching crisps can keep them away. Oh and that Siamese Cats are evil.

On a similar theme, the adventures of Ronald McDonald and Co written by Mark Millar and Garth Ennis

[Zeb Aslam]

C'mon people...everyone keeps mentioning that they would like to see a FF7 comic...well there is already one!!! It's a manga so you might have to go out and search a bit, but it's a pretty good comic. Fun stuff...just needs some searching on the part of the reader.

[Erwin Rafael]

yup. there is a Final Fantasy comic book...

[UltimateFan]

Comics based on music? What the... Dayna spends way too much time playing video games. Family Guy should be a comic? Excuse me... <THPPPBBBTTT> Has Jordan ever heard of Classics Illustrated? Kill Bill should be a comic? Great! What a wonderful way to convince parents to let kids read comics!

Let's start over from scratch and create the ONE, TRUE list of wannabe properties:

#12: Animorphs or Pokemon. Remember when these were huge?

#11: Monty Python's Flying Circus. True humor books are a neglected field.

#10: Travel Guides. And over there is the Eiffel Tower, which reminds me about a funny story concerning the Eiffel Tower...

#9: Harry Potter. The book that got people back into "books" that you "read". Get this girl onto a comic immediately! (HP would be a BETTER comic than BoM!)

#8: Ray Bradbury novels and short stories. This guy was a master of sci-fi and even horror.

#7: School Textbooks. People will get better grades in science when they see a funny or background story. This could work in other fields, even math, as well. (More about this below...)

#6: FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and other Michael Moore documentaries. Hey Jim, if you think Al Franken and Ann Coulter would work so well as comic book writers...

#5: Mainstream Children's Books. A wholly untapped field. It would be WONDERFUL if comics really were even suitable for kids under 5. Great stepping stone up from picture books.

#4: Non-Greek Myths. Whether it's Norse, Egyptian, Aztec or just the stories of King Arthur, people created some great stories before there ever were novels. Bring 'em to life.

#3: History Books. Okay, we get it. Kids Don't Like History. As taught in history textbooks, history is bland, boring, full of unrealistic heroes that all seem to fall just short of Superman, full of dates, and devoid of reality (or, to a shocking extent, accuracy). But wouldn't it be cool if we could illustrate history, and give it a life and ambience it never had before? Witness James Madison debate the Virginia Plan! See George Washington take the oath of office! Watch in horror as a slave is brutally tortured! Step right up and listen to Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun debate slavery and states' rights! Be stunned at the collapse of the Confederacy! Get down and dirty and live in the Hoovervilles! Witness blacks get prosecuted for a crime that never happened! All that and the kitchen sink!

#2: The Bible. Pat Robertson's first reaction: You're trivializing and possibly blaspheming the Good Book! Second reaction: Yay, you're getting kids into the Good Book! (And please, get rid of those guys who force-feed middle and high-school kids Christian propaganda. Sure, it gets comics in the hands of kids, but in a way that gives us absolutely none of the results we want, and is just trying to brainwash the kids.)

#1: Classical/Greco-Roman Mythology. I'm surprised this one hasn't been done. It shares so much with today's superheroes - far more than the Bible does (I'm talking to you, Jordan!). Superpowers? You'll find plenty, and not just "I'm really strong because Zeus is my father... really, really strong". Secret identities? Zeus gotta hide his love affairs from Hera, ya know. Returns from the dead? They abound left and right. Sex? Comic books look celibate compared to the lovefest Greeks got into, especially the gods. Violence? Greeks wrote more violent poems than anyone since. Quests for vengeance? You'll find quite a few. Bizarre births? They don't come much more bizarre than popping out of a guy's head. Convoluted continuity? Okay, so Guy X is the grandson of Guy Y, whose brother was Guy V, who tried to kill Guy W who went to Troy with Guy R, whose mother was drunk while pregnant so it must occur after the birth of Dionysus... Hera is a sitcom character in the making, Aphrodite is a bit too afflicted by her own duties, Hades appears to be the inspiration for every subsequent ruler of hell or equivalent, and the gods and goddesses all act very un-divine. Influences are seen everywhere from Wonder Woman to Bugs Bunny. We're passing up a golden opportunity. Let's start cracking immediately!

You may disagree with some of my choices or even the whole list, I just wanted to throw in my two cents!

[Dylan McKay]

UltimateFan, have you read Age of Bronze? To my knowledge it is a comic book retelling of Homer's epics.

[Patrick James]

If I never have to see Micheal Moore attempt to write a comic, I'll live a much happier life.

[fatterdaysaint]

Ok I came in this late, so I had to pick Dayna. I like to think it was done for two seperate reasons:
1) Briscoe County, Jr., and
2) Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter is a work in progress (Jordan, we need to talk.)

For the record, though, Dirk Gently is a piece better suited for Chris Claremont than Bendis...even though Bendis rocks...

Oh and before I go, Erwin, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future? Where do you guys store these insane old TV shows? Seriously, I'd like to know. I used to play with my Captain Power plane when that show would come on. When you think about it, though, Soldiers of the Future is kind of egocentric, don't ya think? If they're in their own present, then why do they feel the need to be soldiers from the future?

Just so you know, The Misfits of Science should have been everyone's #1 adaptation. The blend of amazing powers, coupled with Courtney Cox's more plastically-surgeoned physique, would make a more interesting story placed on paper than on film anyday.

[tormented_spawn]

This may sound silly but what about adapting HBO series into comics. Such as Sopranos, OZ and Sex in the City.

Sopranos... well, you know, story of the life of a italian Mafia boss and other supporting casts. I know there a Vertigo mini-series like it with the expection of the casts are vampires. So, who need these vampires mumbo-jumbo, beside Buffy fans.

OZ... comics that follow the lives of inmates, prison guards, medical staffs, priests, physiologists