TV Tuesday: New Look

[yourlibrarian]

Have you seen comics or video game adaptations you found well done? What about them worked for you? Or if they didn't, how did the shows fall short?

Comments

[jo]

I have seen plenty of (mostly) films but also TV shows that were adaptations of either graphic novels or comics or video games. However, it is impossible for me to say if they were well done because I do not read graphic novels/comics or play the type of video games that get adapted to other media. So I always have, at best only a fleeting knowledge of the source material -- usually because it might be a video game that my husband has played and I've observed some of his game play -- but that's about it. Some I've enjoyed very much, others not so much, but for the same reasons I enjoy/don't enjoy any show, not because of anything relating to the source material.

[yourlibrarian]

This is one of the same issues I have in answering this question -- I've rarely read comics or graphic novels and my video game playing is very limited.

That said, I do find it interesting to read people's posts when they talk about what was and wasn't included in an adaptation. Sometimes it makes sense on a practical level (scope/cost issues), and other times it's interesting to speculate on what storytelling reasons compelled them to leave something out or add something in.

For example, I have to assume that video games and comics are different in terms of "how much story" there is to adapt. I've always thought that books are better adapted on TV than in a film because there is generally a lot of plot which may get compressed and there is less time for character development in a film. I suppose some video games though have a lot of characters and storylines.

[jo]

Actually, I just remembered Riverdale -- I used to read Archie comics all the time when I was a kid (the only comics I ever really read). I enjoyed the first season well enough, but then it just got weird and stupid and dropped it after the 2nd season. Now, I haven't read an Archie comic in like, 50 years, so maybe the comics got weird too? Or at least started dealing with more serious stories (though I doubt very much they got into serial killer territory)? I have no clue. So basing it on the Archies I remember, this adaptation was more "in the spirit of" -- as in, we have characters with the same names! But then again, if they'd tried to be really faithful, I don't think anyone would have wanted to watch the show.

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, Riverdale! I read some Archie comics when I was a kid as well, mostly because they were at the checkout lane in groceries, compendiums of past comics. I didn't even think of them, mostly because I wasn't a regular reader, but also because the show seemed to have nothing in common with the comics I remember.

I do expect they have evolved, just as I understand the Nancy Drew books are fairly different now. But I still doubt they've gone entirely in that direction!

[delphi]

I thought the Essex County adaptation a couple of years ago was fantastic. Adapting the graphic novel(s) as a miniseries definitely helped, since it gave them a flexibility with the shape of the story - not having to stretch it out into something more episodic or cut away parts of it to reduce it to a movie, going instead with five episodes. While it didn't shoot in Essex County itself, it did film in Ontario and really brought that sense of place to life.

And while it was cancelled before its time, I really enjoyed the first season of Stumptown! I think the mixed serialized and episodic nature of the comic, featuring a private investigator who's also dealing with issues on the home front, made it a natural fit for TV.

[yourlibrarian]

I don't think I realized either of those were comics first! Oh wait, I'm confusing that with Essex Serpent.

[delphi]

Ahh, love the Cobie Smulders icon! Also, I'm totally not surprised if folks haven't heard of Essex County. The adaptation was a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) made-for-TV miniseries. It's a quiet family/community drama about characters in different stages of life in a small rural town, so definitely an easy fit for TV.

[yourlibrarian]

Interesting that with a focus like that it was a comic first.

[delphi]

I feel like 'semi-autobiographical family/community drama' is a pretty popular genre in comics and graphic novels, but it's definitely true that most of them are better set up for movie adaptations than TV. I think the trilogy nature and multiple protagonists of Essex County is what makes a TV miniseries a better fit. The adaptation expands the story a little, but it would really have to contract it to fit it into a two-hour-and-change movie.

[rogueslayer452]

For me, "done well" varies as it depends on how well the work is made and how it keeps with the core spirit of the story. Many often deviate from the source material (most often due to limitations and medium differences), but still manage to respect the world the original story came from. Sometimes it can be difficult because some show potential but don't quite get there, which is more frustrating than adaptations that just aren't that great from the jump.

The Last Of Us is kind of an example of both, where the first season was quite a fantastic adaptation of the first game. They made changes and made additions to the story here and there, but for the most part those made sense to the narrative and direction the show was going in that still respected the source material. It was a near perfect example of a video game story adapted to television that I, and many other fans, were pleased with. The second season, however, lost that magic and, personally, made changes that didn't make much narrative sense and ruined the storytelling flow. It only told half the story of the second game, so perhaps things might make up for it later on when they complete the story in the second (and possibly third?) season. But it took a disappointing nosedive from the quality of the first season.

Essentially, it's all subjective. In general, I'd say that adaptations of video game or comic books don't have to be a direct copy, I expect deviations and changes, but the creators/writers have to have knowledge of and show respect to the source material and demonstrate this by carefully constructing the story the best they can without attempting to act like their version of the story is better.

[yourlibrarian]

That makes sense to me. I generally expect an adaptation to have changes but how and why those are made can be worlds apart in different projects.

[dirty_diana]

Hawkeye! A ton of visuals were directly borrowed from a specific comic run, so then you have to think about the fact the writer and artist weren't really paid for that. Marvel, ugh. But as a translation from comic to screen I thought it borrowed all the right parts and integrated them well into the MCU. I liked a lot of things about the adaptation of Runaways, that is a bit more of a vibes-based adaptation but I thought the vibes were good. It made a couple of big changes that ended up going back into the comics.

(There are other MCU TV shows where I enjoy them as TV shows, but I have to dock points as *adaptations* because they're not terribly faithful to the source.)

[yourlibrarian]

Hawkeye was probably my favorite MCU show! I wonder if that's because they were working off of established content.

[shadowkat]

In no particular order:

Comic books:

American Splendor, Persepolis, The Dark Knight (based on Frank Miller and Tim Sale's run), Daredevil Series (off of Frank Miller's run), A History of Violence, V is for Vendetta, Ghost World,
Fantastic Four: First Steps; Superman - by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Captain America: First Avenger, Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, The Crow; Men in Black; The Watchmen

What worked? The visuals, the writing, the cast, all of it. It was like seeing the graphic novel come to life.

Video Games:

Arcane adapted from Arcane: League of Legends.

Among the best animated films that I've seen, and the best scored, rich multi-faceted characters, stellar voice acting, and a great soundtrack. The visuals just pop. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Shame it was just two seasons - but it wrapped up all the characters storylines in a satisfying manner.

[yourlibrarian]

I'll have to check out Arcane.

[shadowkat]

It's on Netflix. And worth it. Not that long.