Conceived and used with the
permission of Matthew Constantine and Brad Gullickson, the original dorks.
Everyone has a “Top 5.” But Brad and Matt, choosing to walk a
different path, amended that to “A Fistful…” over at their blog, In the Mouth
of Dorkness. A film-centric blog where
they also discuss comics and books and TV, these two regularly share their top
5, ranging from “Heroic Kids” to “Spies” to “Summer Movies” to “Punches” to all
things in between. Always fun, often
insightful, and something I hope to regularly pilfer for Warrior27. As they say:
If you’re going to steal, steal
from those you know relatively well, who will not sue you.
We are in the middle of a deluge of
comic books translated to films, with Marvel leading the way, but DC and others
working to grab some piece of that same pie.
With that in mind, I thought I’d look at a fistful of films that were
translated, and expanded, in comic book form.
If you’re a fan of any of these films and have not had the opportunity
to read these comics, I would wholeheartedly recommend you seek them out. They are all great, and many add a lot to
some already rich filmic experiences.
In reverse order:
5. Clerks: the Lost Scene,
written by Kevin Smith, art by Phil Hester & Ande Parks, published by Oni
Press.
If you enjoy the coarse humor found
in Smith’s early films, you will love this.
It fits perfectly into the film, at the point where Randal and Dante
attended the funereal viewing of Dante’s ex-girlfriend. And the art team of Hester & Parks, one
of my favorites, fits nicely with the nastily quirky nature of this short
story.
4. Star Wars (the original run), written by Roy
Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Mary Jo Duffy, et al., art by Howard Chaykin, Walt
Simonson, Cynthia Martin, et al., published by Marvel Comics
There are many who pan these late 70s/early 80s comics as
bad, and there may be some truth to that (one major hindrance was the fact that
Darth Vader could not have much contact with our heroes, and changes in the
status quo were not allowed, as there were movies to be made that would do
that), but this was still a fun series for a kid (me) growing up with those
films. Personally, I think some of the
best issues are those that come after Jedi,
when Jo Duffy was able to play with the characters a bit more, while also
introducing one of the more interesting villains, Lumiya. If you haven’t given these a try, or just
haven’t read them in a while, and want a serious hit of nostalgia, check them
out. I think you’ll be pleasantly
surprised.
3. The Matrix comics, written by the Wachowskis, Neil
Gaiman, Paul Chadwick, et al., art by David Lapham, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Gibbons,
et al., published by Burlyman Comics.
The Matrix was a touchstone, as far as science fiction films
go, and I love it, to this day. The
comics that followed were similarly engaging and exciting. With a murderers’ row of talent—Peter Bagge,
Troy Nixey, Ted McKeever, Geof Darrow, as well as those noted above, and others—there
was no way this could not be a collection of great comics. Overseen by Chadwick, whose Concrete is an all-time favorite comic
book, these short tales fleshed out the world seen in that initial film,
fulfilling the promise that was lost in the sequels. Great, great stuff. Check it out.
2. Ghost Dog, written & drawn by Scott Morse,
published by Oni Press.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, from Jim
Jarmusch, with Forest Whittaker in the lead role, and it’s been a fair amount of
time since I’ve read this comic. But I
cannot recommend either of these highly enough.
I love that movie—maybe my favorite Jarmusch film, though Broken Flowers
is high up there—and I love this comic.
Morse is one of my all-time favorite cartoonists, and he tells a simple,
elegant, and engaging tale within the 20-some pages here. The man can draw anything, and he always hits
you with an emotional impact that will resonate long after you finish one of
his books.
What are you waiting for?
Watch the movie, then read the comic!
1. Aliens (book I & II, and Earth War), written
by Mark Verheiden, art by Mark A. Nelson, Denis Beauvais, and Sam Kieth,
respectively, published by Dark Horse.
This trilogy of Alien comics, all written by Mark Verheiden,
is the best sequel to Ridley Scott’s classic film, Alien. I re-read these three stories every few
years, and they always manage to entertain.
The first book, with black and white art from Mark Nelson, is
appropriately moody, while the second one goes for a brasher approach with
fully-painted art from Beauvais, and it’s all wrapped up with the stylized art
of Sam Kieth, as the aliens come to Earth to be rid of these pesky humans. I love these comics, and they prove that a
strong film franchise can find life in a comic series, exploring more deeply
the world set up on film.
-chris
