Comic Pants Podcast #19
D3 (David Martindale), Nick Budd, Randy Lander, Dave Farabee and Dan Grendell are back, and they’re talking about licensed books! Newly announced books like Marvel’s HALO, previous favorites like G.I. Joe and Star Wars, surprising kid favorites like Sonic, horror licenses like Silent Hill and Friday the 13th, book adaptations like Anita Blake and Dark Tower, even a few nods to “where are they?” licenses like Harry Potter and Heroes. These licenses, all points in between and a general discussion of licensed comics, the pitfalls and the promise, in the latest Comic Pants podcast.
As always, commentary is welcomed and encouraged. Let us know what you thought of the podcast, and if you have suggestions for future podcast topics, leave us a comment or write in to the show! Listeners who write in could win cool comics with each broadcast! Please drop us a line at comicpantsfeedback@gmail.com to give us some questions or comments for the next show.
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As this downloaded I have been re-reading my brothers old stash of G.I. Joe comics (we are talking the 80’s books here) and it’s not bad… Speaking of rereading, have you guys thought about doing a podcast on the subject revisiting older series/runs?
02 Mar 2007 at 10:40 pm
QuoteAs for Buffy comics, have any of you read Fray? It’s a story about futuristic slayer. Actually I think it’s Whedon’s best comics work yet (hopefully AXM will end great and I’ll change my opinion)
03 Mar 2007 at 12:18 am
QuoteYup, I’ve read Fray. It’s right up there with my favorite of his work, though I think the stuff he did for Buffy’s Tales of the Vampires and Tales of the Slayers was actually a bit better. I’m not one of those who considers him a great comic writer, honestly, in any case- his character work is often great, but his plots and storytelling tend to need work.
03 Mar 2007 at 12:37 am
QuoteThey’re doing Young Jack Sparrow young adult books - four books make an “arc”… fairly good reading for kids, would do VERY well in comic form.
03 Mar 2007 at 1:27 am
QuoteI tend to stay away from this type of stuff, because most of it sucks, but I really enjoyed IDW’s Metal Gear Solid series, with some sweet Ashley Wood art. I was a big fan of the game, too, so that certainly doesn’t hurt.
03 Mar 2007 at 1:10 pm
QuoteI think part of the secret of a success of a license is writing it like a *comic book*. DC’s Star Trek run, GI Joe, and so on did continuing plots, subplots, and so on. So many books are written like unproduced TV shows and do stand alones, and worse yet, ones that don’t again play to the strengths of comics like infinite effects and scope. Joss Whedon wrote a four part “Angel”, and he wrote the kind of stuff he couldn’t do on a TV show budget.
The Buffy gang trading quips on TV is interesting. In comics it’s people standing around with lots of word balloons.
The other thing is a license that works for comics. Things that are tight arcs with secrets (like “Lost” or “Heroes”) suffer from not being able to be important, to advance the larger plot. I suppose you could do an expanded universe, or prequel or something, but for the most part, licenses that are built to have stand alone episodes like Star Trek the first couple seasons of Buffy, or licenses whose original form aren’t a competitor, like GI Joe and Transformers, where the comics and the cartoons didn’t have to match, work better.
Also, more cartoony licenses seem to work. I know Bongo is the Simpsons, but those comics capture the humor of the series in a way that I wouldn’t have thought possible. Same way, Looney Tunes, Dennis the Menace, Sonic, etc., all seem to have an easier time. Maybe its because it’s less interpretative likenesses and more staying on model.
Unfortunately, as legal stuff and rights get more involved, it becomes tougher. Godzilla was barely policed by Tojo, as I understand it. But the Trek books had to deal with more and more license rights, actor approval, and plot approval as it went on.
03 Mar 2007 at 2:55 pm
QuoteIt’s funny that you mention From Dusk Till Dawn, because there was a comic adaptation of that in the mid 90’s and its ad in Wizard gave me my first comic boner :p.
As for properties that would make for good licenses, I think a Zelda comic drawn by someone like Mike Weiringo would do great. Has anyone done a Kingdom Hearts comic? I know that game has a huge fanbase, especially among girls. A Sopranos comic written by Brubaker or Bendis could be good too.
03 Mar 2007 at 4:36 pm
QuoteAnyone besides me remember all the liscences Liefeld got as soon as hit made it big? They were Six Million Dollar Man, the Bionic woman, and Battlestar Galactice. I remember reading the solicits and thinking, “If I had that kind of money to blow on such a bad business deal, I would definitely put out a Twin Peaks comic.”
-RT
03 Mar 2007 at 4:47 pm
QuoteYup, there’s a hugely popular Kingdom Hearts manga series by Tokyopop .
03 Mar 2007 at 4:52 pm
QuoteWhat a coincidence you should show up, Mr. Zahler. I was a winner a in a podcast a few weeks ago, and my prize included the first few issues of Love and Capes. Having just read the first issue, it’s probably my new favorite series - seriously. Everything about it just worked. I gotta recommend it to anyone who enjoys Spider-man Loves Mary Jane - I think the alternate title for this book could be “Superman Loves Lois Lane” - and I mean that in the best possible way. Sad to see it will only be 6 issues, but still…damn fine book.
Thanks to you for making it, and thanks to the Pants for sending it to me.
03 Mar 2007 at 4:53 pm
QuoteI was waiting for someone to mention the Street Fighter comics and no one did… disappointed. I think Udon did a fantastic job bring a videogame license to paper, like wise with their ill-fated (?) Darkstalkers title.
03 Mar 2007 at 4:59 pm
QuoteJust thought of another license idea, but this one’s a little more “out there”. I know so many women who gobble up everything related to Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. If even a small percentage of those shows’ audiences followed a comic series it would be a huge hit by comic industry standards. Besides, I think anything that can expand the female comics readership is worth trying
03 Mar 2007 at 5:06 pm
QuoteThat’s incredibly kind, and made my day. Thank you very much.
To gently correct you, it’s not “only” six issues, it’s “at least” six issues. It may not seem so for a quartely book, but between my non-self published work, and the vagaries of the Diamond schedule and Valentine’s Day and FCBD, I’ve had to pump out three books in six months, and I’m in danger of flaming out. So, I’m just taking a pause after six. Think of it as a summer hiatus.
Besides, with the ending I have in mind, people are going to demand it.
03 Mar 2007 at 5:18 pm
QuoteYeah, Liefeld could really jazz that snoozer up
Actually, have you ever read Strangehaven by Gary Millidge? Seems that Twin Peaks is often mentioned in conjunction with promoting the title, and while I’ve never seen Twin Peaks, I can vouch for Strangehaven’s greatness. Not that I’d want Millidge doing any other comic projects - he only puts out Strangehaven once or twice a year as is - but as long as we’re in the realm of hypotheticals, seems he’d be a good pick for a Twin Peaks comic (writing *and* art).
That or Bionic Man.
03 Mar 2007 at 6:10 pm
QuoteGood to hear. I also received a Raider t-shirt, but I didn’t have a clue wtf that was, besides a cool symbol. Lo and behold, I look up up the website on the back and see it’s a series of GNs by…you. Sounds very different than Love and Capes, but there was some praise from Randy on the website, so it can’t be half-bad
I think versatility is an overlooked attribute, so to speak, and it’s what makes writers like Antony Johnson some of my favorites. Definitely gonna have to check it out.
03 Mar 2007 at 6:11 pm
QuoteThat’s why we need the safety net of our listeners!
I remember looking in on the first few issues of Street Fighter, and while I’ve never played much of the game (more of a Tekken/Soul Calibur kind of guy), I got a kick out of ‘em. Ultimately I got lost in all the characters, but it looked like fun going with particularly strong art.
Have you ever read the Dark Horse miniseries Battlegods? It’s not a licensed series, but its story is absolutely entrenched in the traditions of the fighting game. I thought it was a blast. Art (and story, if I’m not mistaken) by Francisco Ruiz Velasco, with great coloring by Studio F, and a cool backdrop of South American mythology. Oh, and assloads of fights and angst.
Well worth tracking down for anyone who ever got caught up in the cheesy plots of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc.
03 Mar 2007 at 6:18 pm
QuoteBeing a big Street Fighter (the game) fan, I bought the first digest, and I thought it was pretty mediocre. Great art, but the story is just what you would expect from a comic based on a game where people punch each other for a tournament.
I would love to see an adaptation/sequel/spinoff of the Playstation-era Final Fantasy games. On the other hand, though, they probably wouldn’t end up very good. But still…
03 Mar 2007 at 6:29 pm
QuoteStrangehaven is a great book. As you say, though, it’s a rare day when it arrives, which is a shame. There are three trades of it available, if anyone is interested in checking it out, and I’d suggest it - it’s cool stuff. There’s a somewhat similar but much less strange vibe in Neal Shaffer’s Last Exit Before Toll graphic novel, though they quickly go different directions.
03 Mar 2007 at 9:27 pm
Quote“If I had that kind of money to blow on such a bad business deal, I would definitely put out a Twin Peaks comic.”
Oddly enough, I would read a Twin Peaks comic book. I would buy a Twin Peaks OGN, which would just be cool. It would have to be a strong writer and artist team to do it (i.e. not Rob Liefeld), but depsite what Dave thinks, this wouldn’t be a snoozer.
I watched the show quite a bit (the first season, the movie and part of the second season) and there’s no doubt in my mind that it could make the transition. It was a weird show and if you’ve seen any of David Lynch’s films (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet) you get the kind of weird that I’m talking about. I don’t know anything about Strangehaven, but if both Dan and Dave vouch for it, it must be good.
03 Mar 2007 at 10:44 pm
QuoteThe main similarities between Strangehaven and Twin Peaks are that both stories are set in small towns full of strange people and both have some supernatural elements. While there are probably more differences than similarities between the two, I don’t doubt Millidge could pull off a great Twin Peaks comic. However, as you pointed out, his glacial production rate makes that pretty much an impossibility.
04 Mar 2007 at 1:07 am
QuoteOoooh, licensed comics! I wanna play!
What’s depressing is that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre comics by Antony Johnston (at Avatar) and Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (at WildStorm) are freakin’ AWESOME and so much better than the remake and the prequel.
New Avengers/Transformers is something I’ve dreamed about for 20 years. Which means if it sucks, MARVEL WILL HAVE RUINED MY LIFE.
Lost comics would only work if they did a GN about the Dharma Initative. How it began, how Ben got there, because they’re never going to be able to do it in a satisfying way on the show.
Daniel Knauf has recently said HBO quashed his attempts to do a Carnivale comic at Marvel.
Now and Again, which was a modern superhero series, albeit a very, very strained one, deserves a comic book resolution to its cliffhanger storyline (Season one ended with the hero and his family on the run, and Mick Foley as a new villain).
I don’t know what they’re thinking with Bendis and Maleev on Halo, but Bendis’ superhero work has been so repulsive as of late that I’d rather he try something that’s not about capes. Who knows, it just might work. Would you rather it have been Jay Faerber and Ron Lim?
(actually, I wouldn’t mind Ron Lim)
Street Fighter by UDON, despite some nice art, just got on my nerves. It’s obvious Ken Siu-Chong wanted to write Cammy more than anyone else, so they should have put out a SF: Cammy comic. Darkstalkers is a game with wonderful characters and plenty of interesting opportunities for stories, and UDON went nowhere with it. Rival Schools suffered from a confounding first issue- Rey was depending on us all remembering the dynamics of a 9 year old PS1 game- but the second issue was a marked improvement. Too bad with all the delays it’s been canceled with #4.
Dark Tower takes my least favorite DT novel, and lending it to comic form does it wonders. I like it so far.
04 Mar 2007 at 1:08 am
QuoteExactly where did Daniel Knauf said this, and did he so with any more details?
04 Mar 2007 at 1:38 pm
QuoteOh, yes. I love Strangehaven, but since I wait for the trade, I get one new comic every five years.
I don’t know how much people like unfilmed David Lynch screenplays, but when I read, “One Siliva Bubble,” I thought it would be perfect for a Jim Woodring adaptation. Just like I thought Paul Pope would be great to adapt, “Ronnie Rocket.”
I’m genuniely surprised no one wanted an “Ugly Betty” comic.
05 Mar 2007 at 4:22 pm
QuoteNever read the Avatar stuff (that was Johnston? Huh!), but I was impressed with the first issue of the WildStorm series. And I guess I’m not a person who really wants more than the original movie (thanks for the lend, Murphy!), but I certainly wish more franchise comics were so tonally “on” and well-crafted.
I just jumped ship on Lost, but I like this idea. The big Dharma stuff could’ve been revealed on the show (I think I’d have liked for season 3 to have been the wrap up), but comics would be a cool place for lots of Dharma backstory.
05 Mar 2007 at 6:39 pm
QuoteOh, I wasn’t actually knocking Twin Peaks - I never saw it! - but Gamookie mentioned Liefeld and I had to wed the pair in my mind. Having just seen those images of Rob Liefeld’s Bible project floating around the internet, the notion of his X-TREME!!!! take on a moody Lynch project was something that had to be envisioned.
And for those who haven’t had the pleasure to know how Liefeld would fix up the Scriptures…
http://tinyurl.com/2kq897
You should really check it out, Nick. Dan or I will bring in the trades.
And I just saw my first Lynch flick a week or two back - Blue Velvet. Still making up my mind, but on a gut level it didn’t much enthrall me. An interesting experience, though, if only for its mood and sheer “differentness”; enough to look for some of his other stuff. Any suggestions on what next?
05 Mar 2007 at 6:52 pm
QuoteThe little arrows you used to denote you were quoting somebody are actually used in website coding, and that’s why they hid what you intended to quote.
I went in and changed what you were using to denote a quotation, but I didn’t alter any of the text itself.
05 Mar 2007 at 7:09 pm
QuoteEric Reanimator said:
It’s definitely a thought. I’ve really wanted to do a Milestone podcast, but that requires getting Dan, D3, Nick and Dave (pretty much everybody but me) to read my longbox worth of Milestone books. We’ll probably keep bringing older series and runs into topics as they pop up, like our constant referencing of the ’80s Suicide Squad or G.I. Joe or the numerous nostalgic callbacks in this podcast or our “personal comics history” podcast earlier on. Specific suggestions are always welcome, though, if you’ve got something in mind!
Michael Mastropietro said:
I agree with you 100%. Fray is Whedon’s best contribution to the comics medium, and I’ve actually been kinda lukewarm on a lot of the other stuff he’s done.
Thomas Zahler said:
Interestingly, I agree with you and disagree with you here. In general, I think you’re right that writers and artists are best off considering that they’re writing a comic, not a movie or TV show on paper, and to pace for that kind of thing. However, the Angel mini I thought was kind of odd, tonally inconsistent with the series and way too superhero for the series. I fear the same is going to happen with Buffy Season 8 in comics. It seems to me like a little restraint is called for, or else the joy of that particular genre blend (monsters plus superheroes plus teen drama) on TV becomes yet another New Mutants/Teen Titans style book. And really, is that what Buffy should be?
Bongo has indeed done a very nice job with Simpsons and Futurama.
Kiel said:
It’s not entirely a coincidence… Thom generously donated copies of Love and Capes (as well as T-Shirts from his action-adventure series Raider) for the prize packs, and I made sure to send them off as soon as possible. I’m a big fan of Love and Capes as well, and I really need to dive in and read the rest of the Raider trades… the first one was a lot of fun. Glad you dug the book, Kiel!
Greg said:
I think if they could get Grey’s Anatomy or Desperate Housewives (or Ugly Betty?) in manga, that could indeed be a pretty solid success. IDW was sort of groundbreaking in doing CSI, since it’s one of the few licenses that doesn’t have some kind of genre element to it, aside from a slightly off-kilter, mildly morbid sensibility.
Dave Farabee said:
I will second Dave’s recommendation on Battlegods, which was a really fun, gorgeous book that fans of Street Fighter and the like should definitely seek out. I will also say that I wasn’t crazy for Street Fighter, but I would read a Soul Calibur comic in a heartbeat. Hell, while we’re talking videogames, a God of War comic would be fantastic.
Dan Coyle said:
Ohhhhh, so *you’re* the one!
Actually, if they did this after closing down the show, I’d be all over it.
RIGHT ON. I was just the other day (in preparation for this podcast) talking with Dave about Now and Again and how it ended on a cliffhanger and a comic series picking up from that cliffhanger would just rock the house. For those who are unfamiliar, go hit the torrent sites and see if you can track down Now and Again… it was a great series.
Actually, that sounds like a pretty solid team. Faerber’s got good action/characterization chops, and Ron Lim is a solid action artist when he’s on.
Rob T (aka gamookie) said:
I haven’t seen many (maybe even any) Lynch films, and I wasn’t a Twin Peaks fan, but knowing what little I do know, it seems like David Lynch and Paul Pope would be a match made in heaven.
05 Mar 2007 at 9:04 pm
Quote06 Mar 2007 at 10:55 am
QuoteYour recommendations in the now defunct TheFourthRail.com have almost always led me to bidding wars in eBay. Thank you for continuing to publish noteworthy reviews.
Always appreciative of your work. Cheerio!
06 Mar 2007 at 9:55 pm
Quotei think the only way to go with licenses is to avoid trying to be more episodes of the tv show or something like that - they have to take a new angle on things - like i’ve never read any star trek adaptations and i’m not likely too as i’m not much of a trekkie but it seems to me that rather than having the further adventures of kirk or picard comics should have their own ship and crew that aren’t in any other medium…like wise backstories and stuff. if there was a lost comic it’d have to come from someone working on the show and not be about the island….
07 Mar 2007 at 4:46 am
QuoteI’ve read the first 9 issues of Shogun Warriors recently. They’re okay, but not at the same level Godzilla was (if you can imagine anybody ever saying that). I think Moench got some bizarre pleasure out of writing it that I can’t quite comprehend.
16 Mar 2007 at 12:45 am
QuoteI totally agree with D3’s assesment of the Baroness sexiness. While in college I picked up a girl because she was the mirror image of the Baroness. We dated for six months until she dumped me and now 15 years later my friends still bring her up as “Remember that chick you dated who looked like the Baroness?”
Sadly that is the highlight of my college dating history.
09 Apr 2007 at 4:10 pm
QuoteOh, I dunno… that’s a pretty good highlight. Beats any of mine, to be sure.
09 Apr 2007 at 6:11 pm
Quote