Spring Break
Top 6: Movies you might not have known were comic books first
Ross Leonard
Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: Diversions
Ideas for movies have to come from somewhere. Whether they come from a novel, video game, comic book, or an original screenplay they must originate from something.
Many movies come from graphic novels (collections of comic books) that you have probably never heard of, assuming you are not a comic enthusiast. This may be because when you think comic book, you automatically think superhero.
That happens to not always be the case. A lot of graphic novels make their way from smaller publishing companies and onto the big screen without even making so much as making a ripple in the entertainment news circuit. When I learn that a movie I like is based off a comic I have never heard of, I find it to be a fun fact I can share. So with that said, here is a short list of movies based on comics I would like to share with you.
1. Road To Perdition (2002)
"Road to Perdition" is an Oscar-winning film starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Daniel Craig in which a young boy named Michael Sullivan Jr. witnesses his father (Hanks) commit a murder with his boss' son (Craig) during a hit organized by crime boss John Rooney (Newman). After Michael Jr. was found watching the shooting, his mother and little brother are both executed in their home, forcing him and his father to hit the road to Perdition, Kansas where his aunt and uncle live. They drive around Illinois, pulling various robberies to help get back at the Rooney family for betraying them. Things get complicated when an assassin (Judd Law) is hired to hunt them both down. The graphic novel by Max Allan Collins is a gritty, dark-toned story that is slightly gorier than the movie depicts. Like any other adaptation, the film is fabricated in some spots to help agree with director's vision of the story.
2. Men in Black (1997)
Yes, the Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, was based on a comic book series. Like the movie, the comic book follows MiB agents in the fight to keep extra terrestrials under wraps by any means necessary. It was published by Malibu Comics, which was eventually bought by comic juggernaut Marvel. The publication of the comics started in 1991 and ran until 1997, which was the same year the movie was released.
Many movies come from graphic novels (collections of comic books) that you have probably never heard of, assuming you are not a comic enthusiast. This may be because when you think comic book, you automatically think superhero.
That happens to not always be the case. A lot of graphic novels make their way from smaller publishing companies and onto the big screen without even making so much as making a ripple in the entertainment news circuit. When I learn that a movie I like is based off a comic I have never heard of, I find it to be a fun fact I can share. So with that said, here is a short list of movies based on comics I would like to share with you.
1. Road To Perdition (2002)
"Road to Perdition" is an Oscar-winning film starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Daniel Craig in which a young boy named Michael Sullivan Jr. witnesses his father (Hanks) commit a murder with his boss' son (Craig) during a hit organized by crime boss John Rooney (Newman). After Michael Jr. was found watching the shooting, his mother and little brother are both executed in their home, forcing him and his father to hit the road to Perdition, Kansas where his aunt and uncle live. They drive around Illinois, pulling various robberies to help get back at the Rooney family for betraying them. Things get complicated when an assassin (Judd Law) is hired to hunt them both down. The graphic novel by Max Allan Collins is a gritty, dark-toned story that is slightly gorier than the movie depicts. Like any other adaptation, the film is fabricated in some spots to help agree with director's vision of the story.
2. Men in Black (1997)
Yes, the Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, was based on a comic book series. Like the movie, the comic book follows MiB agents in the fight to keep extra terrestrials under wraps by any means necessary. It was published by Malibu Comics, which was eventually bought by comic juggernaut Marvel. The publication of the comics started in 1991 and ran until 1997, which was the same year the movie was released.
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