Do Film Comics tell too much?

sketch for postapocalyptic science fiction  graphic novel comic
Below are some character sketches I did for a postapocalyptic graphic novel. The woman standing on the right is a study from artist whose name unfortunately I do not know.

It was initially intended for a story in the universe of the science fiction horror film The Wendigo Effect (which I hopefully will get to do as soon as I finished the animated science fiction short film Echoes). But I am not sure at the moment, if publishing a comic before a film comes out is a clever idea. It would mean that all the major story twists would already be known and there would be no surprises any more. I think, that I´ll do a story on its own.

I don´t want to bore people by redoing the same story just in another medium in two years.

Maybe it is something different when the comic is not a one shot, but an ongoing, character driven story like The Walking Dead, which I love as much as a comic as well as a tv series.

What do you think? Is redoing the same story in a different medium boring? Drop me a line in the comments!

sketch for postapocalyptic science fiction  graphic novel comic
sketch for postapocalyptic science fiction  graphic novel comic

17 responses to “Do Film Comics tell too much?

  1. I should think it’s ok. It’s like movies that are based on books, and the endings are all told. People still flock to the movie especially if they love the book. I understand your concern though.
    I wonder if this suggestion is do-able: is it possible to have a different ending in the latter medium, whether by a little or a lot? A twist to surprise your readers.
    Gorgeous sketches by the way. The face portrait of the girl immediately makes me think of Claire Forlani.

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    • Thank you, Halim, I was a big fan of Claire Forlani as a teenager 🙂 So you think, that different endings might not be as well received as identical endings? And what do you think, if they where completely different stories but from the same universe? Like some of the protagonists from the comic who suddenly disappear in the comic (The Wendigo Effect is a horror story) and the movie tells what happened to them after they marched into that cursed desert…?

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      • I don’t know about that, how either one might be better received. I probably should mention I don’t really follow comics (yet), although I loved the occasional graphic novel I stumbled upon, so I don’t know what the ‘typical’ comic fan wants or expects from the authors they follow. For me personally though, I would be fine with either ending.

        Your idea to have a continuation thing from comic to movie in terms of plot for some of the protagonists, sounds good, very interesting indeed. So it wouldn’t be just a standalone movie for people who have not read the comic, but for those who did follow the comic, it would sound that they are in for a great treat. So I think this should be highlighted in the promotion for the movie. (or not, for a surprise element.)

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      • Yes, I think I could try out something that starts or has some kind of tie ins in a comic and then continues in a film or movie. And I also don’t think there there is a “typical” comic reader, as everyone is different. I just was curious what you people out there think about that 🙂 Again, thank you very much for taking the time to comment, Halim. Which kind of graphic novels did you read?

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      • My pleasure, John, and many thanks to you too for replying and sharing your thoughts as well. The novels I remember are Persepolis from Marjane Satrapi, and another one is Fax From Sarajevo by Joe Kubert.

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      • My pleasure, too, Halim 🙂 I’ve was holding Persepolis a few times in my hands, but I was never sure, if it wouldn’t be to depressing, so I haven’t bought it yet. It has gotten a lot of good reviews, though. Oh, and I gotta check out Fax From Sarajevo, never heard of it before 🙂

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  2. That’s great, John. Persepolis was sad at parts, but there was actually a lot of humour injected in the storytelling as well. It was Fax From Sarajevo that I found more of a difficult read as it was heartbreaking, about wartime atrocities. Anyway, I hope you’ll like both as much as I did. Cheers.

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  3. Your artwork is mesmirising to say the least. I sadly can’t draw as well but I adore comics and enjoy the details artists put into each sketch. I don’t think it’s boring to repeat history in a diffirent manner as long as you have a strong nackstory to support your ideas. I intially had a idea myself to create a story for the Joker from the Batman series but idea’s are still running in my head. Love your drawings as mentioned. p.s thank you for liking my warm bodies post.

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    • Thank you very much for your kind words, Sonea. I try to do my best 🙂
      And you got a very nice blog, too 🙂
      There was a time, back then as s storyboard artists, when I did not draw for fun, but only when I had a gig and it was not as satisfying as doing the random crazy stuff, that was going trough my head, which I knew no advertising agency would buy.
      But now, I try to make some time for my own projects, even though I do not make any money of it, just for fun. The hard thing is deciding which project to choose, when there are so many of them.

      So, if you are thinking about doing the Joker story you mentioned, why don’t you choose the one that comes first to your mind, when you think about it and – most important- make it short. A cool written, finished 5 page story is much better and much rewarding than a giant epos that never gets finished, I think. Believe, I learnt it the hard way :)))

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      • Thank you . Yes that’s a good idea. I always believed its better to do a smaller story than attempt the possible butnot entirely going tohappen type.

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      • Yes, the feeling, that you reached a goal finishing a project can be very rewarding and therefore keeps you motivated doing creative things. I read a blog article about that and there were other good ideas that help you staying motivated, too. I’ll see if can find the blog again and will post a link to it 🙂

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  4. Thank you very much John for the link, I shall have a look at it after I type this. heh. And thank you for following my blog, I hope I can be somewhat of an interesting read.

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