With the arrival of The Batman and its huge opening weekend, it’s confirmed (again) that our 22-year-old Superhero Cinematic Cycle shows no sign of abating. (This cycle began with 2000’s X-Men.) Since we’re obviously gonna be doing this for a while still:
What comic book or comic-book character deserves a big-screen adaptation? I’d love to hear about some real under-the-radar books or characters!
My choice is hardly under the radar, but I think current events — from what’s happening in Ukraine to what’s happening in the United States — warrant it. I’d love to see an animated adaptation of Art Spiegelman’s Maus. (Spiegelman says he has no interest in this, but I can dream.)
Your turn…
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I’d like to see a Superman movie that includes some of the less ominous villains from the comics, characters like Bizarro and Mr. Mxyzptlk who are barely villains at all. Maybe then we’d get a more hopeful version of Superman, because he could resolve the conflict just by being clever, or by having a conversation. We might also get one superhero movie that doesn’t feature endless scenes of violence and devastation, which would be a huge relief from just about everything in the news.
Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! is a hugely influential comic from the ’80s that for some reason isn’t much talked about today.
But it’s great stuff, set in a not-too-distant dystopian future that’s remarkably prescient in many ways. One bit that I’m always surprised doesn’t get more attention today is related to the real-life technology that allows dead actors to appear in current movies. But why stick to using it on dead actors? The setup of the series is that the hero, Reuben Flagg, is a TV actor playing a cop. He gets drafted into the real-life paramilitary police force because he’s replaced by his CGI lookalike and fired from the show. The technology, btw, is called Tromplography(TM), just one example of the weird, witty humor of the book.
I suppose one problem with an adaptation might be that later works (e.g. Robocop) have already explored its general space, but I think it’d still work great as a prestige series for HBO or the like.
Here’s a good overview/retrospective article on the comic:
https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2018/07/02/howard-chaykins-american-flagg/
There’s a graphic novel that has haunted me called Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá. It’s about an obituary writer who dreams of being a novelist, and the story follows him through the course of his life. Here’s the thing: the story has a “what-if” structure that shows him dying at different points—as a boy, as a teenager, as an older man—with an obituary that sums up his life to that point. It’s a very well-written meditation on what it means to live, and to live with purpose and meaning; and I think it makes the reader examine their own life and ask: “If I were to die NOW… or NOW… or NOW… what would people say about me, and would I have been happy with how it all turned out?” And hopefully take action if the answer is not to their liking.
Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark is another favorite. It’s a dystopian family saga that takes place in a future where nation-states have broken down and the world has devolved into a feudal system run by a handful of families, each protected by their own personal “Lazarus”—a genetically modified warrior with healing and regenerative powers who’s very hard to kill (a theme Rucka also explores in The Old Guard, a great graphic-novel-turned-Netflix-movie). The main character, Forever, is the Lazarus for the Carlyle family, and the story follows her as she questions her identity and purpose. Excellent art and storytelling.
I’d also say the Young Avengers—particularly if inspired by the very excellent run by Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen—but I think Marvel is already working towards that, with individual characters already having popped up (or slated to pop up soon) in various films and series. :-) A new generation of heroes, including lots of queer and/or brown ones, would be very welcome indeed.
Ooh, and Saga.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_(comics)
Marvel has a Mystery Men-ish team of misfits with ridiculous powers called the Great Lakes Avengers. Assuming Squirrel Girl is on the squad along with the regulars, I’d love to see a silly film made that pokes fun at comic book movie tropes. Deadpool could even make a cameo to sell more tickets, a fact that he’d no doubt mention to the audience.
Big Bertha, a super model who becomes obese when she “Hulk’s out” could be a useful character to humorously address the obesity epidemic and body positivity. Mr. Immortal could even be similarly used to discuss the suicide epidemic, although of course it would be incredibly delicate to pull off. Squirrel Girl’s relentless optimism would be a bit obnoxious in a solo movie, however she works well as a foil to Mr. Immortal. The GLA Misassembled mini-series would be a good jumping off point for a script.
Although the comic itself loses steam quickly, I also wouldn’t mind seeing Fraction’s Sex Criminals, about a couple who rob a bank when they realize they can freeze time when they orgasm, as an animated series. It would be cool to see adult animation discuss sexuality in a realistic and complex manner. Speaking of which, I can’t wait to see how well or poorly Turning Red addresses teen girl sexuality and puberty tonight. It’s a crime that it wasn’t released in theaters!