On Thursday at 7PM in Hyatt Hanover CE, Jarrod Carl Alberich, Jer Alford, Michael A. Gordon, and Bobby Nash discussed the adaptation of comic book properties to other media. Gordon, the moderator, opened the panel by noting that Superman made the jump to radio and then to movie serials and the Fleischer animated short films soon after his debut in Action Comics #1. Batman also moved quickly from the comics pages to other media.
The panel also discussed the changes that occurred in Superman’s comics world because of other media. Superman began to fly, as opposed to merely “leap[ing] tall buildings in a single bound” in part because radio production companies didn’t have a sound effect for jumping but could easily create one for flying. Kryptonite, Jimmy Olsen, and Lex Luthor were added to the comics after their successful use in serials.
The Superman of the early comics and adaptations was also different from his current incarnation. He once threw a man off a building, though Superman did catch him, and he frequently turned people over his knee to spank them. Lois Lane often received this treatment.
One reason the early adaptations differed from the comic versions was that the comics creators were not included in the productions. Bob Kane, for example, was not involved in the Batman radio serials. The panel discussed Kane’s reluctance to acknowledge Bill Finger’s contributions to Batman in the context of the time, when creators who didn’t cling tightly to their creations often lost them. As an example, they cited Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster selling the rights to Superman to the company that would become DC Comics for $300 and subsequently living in near poverty. When the Christopher Reeve Superman movie came out, artist and writer Neal Adams used the movie’s huge publicity push to pressure DC to acknowledge the contributions of Siegel and Shuster and pay them pensions. That’s why they’re credited as Superman’s creators onscreen in every adaptation.
Stan Lee managed to be involved with Marvel movie adaptations but was less concerned about other media in the earlier days. His contributions to Spiderman’s mythos have overshadowed those of artist Steve Ditko, whom the panelists described as more interested in his art than in the other uses of the character. Now, more creators are playing active roles in adaptations of their properties. Ed Brubaker’s Criminal has both Brubaker and comics artist Sean Phillips on the production team. Brubaker is an executive producer and the head writer on the Batman: Caped Crusader animated series. Comic book writer Greg Rucka is also a writer for the series.
Despite these examples, comics creators involved in adaptations remain rare. Their chances of having input are better if they create something that’s then picked up for adaptation. Producers tend to have a silo mentality, assuming comics writers can’t write any other medium. Hollywood tends to see writers as tools rather than collaborators.
Sometimes, the panelists said, adaptations tend to result in “happy accidents,” such as Wesley Snipes’s portrayal breathing new life into the Blade comic. Comic-book Blade now looks like the Snipes character. Another example is the casting of Robert Downey, Jr., as Iron Man boosting the character’s comic.
We tend now to look at these adaptations and compare them to the originals, but in the 1960s and 70s, there were animated Spiderman shows, Spiderman appeared on The Electric Company, and the 1966 Batman was a rare-for-the-time live-action superhero success. Several live-action superhero shows aired in the 1970s. Only the ones featuring Wonder Woman and the Hulk were successful, but the adaptations in that era were all kid friendly.
Live action programming didn’t deliver the same level of action as the comics because the tech for the effects wasn’t up to the needed level and was very expensive. The heroes rarely fought supervillains because the effects would’ve been more expensive. Now the tech has caught up to what the comics can offer.
During the 1980s, synergy developed with animated programming, comic books, and toys. The toy manufacturers had G.I. Joe and assorted vehicles, but the character had no names. Comics creators fleshed out the characters and the universe. The same thing happened with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Until the Reagan era, cartoons couldn’t serve as ads for toys. Comic books, however, could. Nash recommended the TV series The Toys That Made Us for an in-depth look at this synergy.
Sometimes, the adaptations diverge sharply from the original material. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic was not kid friendly. The movie, while it’s like the comics in some ways, is more kid friendly. In the current CW adaptation of Superman, Superman & Lois, the title characters are married and have two sons.
Adaptations the panelists thought were done well included Sin City, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the original Crow movie, The Crow, and, especially, The Sandman and the first two Captain America movies, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The panel invited the audience to suggest properties they would like to see adapted. Attendees suggested Vixen, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Zatanna, and Nexus. The panelists chimed in with Marvel’s Nova, Matt Wagner’s Grendel, DC’s Azrael, Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer, DC’s Richard Dragon and Bronze Tiger, together, and DC’s Nightwing. The panel concluded with a brief discussion of tension between those charged with making the most possible money from an adaptation, even to the point of changing the concept, and those wanting to stay true to the original.
