From Screen to Page: TV Turned Comic Book

By Michael Hawk on February 19th, 2010

• Link to StumbleUpon
• 1 Comment

There is nothing closer to the serialized format of television than the ever popular comic book.  They are kindred spirits born of episodic installment plans that marry words and pictures.  The only thing separating these two at birth is the lack of moving imagery in a comic book, but I think Steve Jobs is working on that.

A comparison offers up dynamic parallels representing a synergy unmatched in popular culture.  Look at a long running TV show like Doctor Who (also a comic book) and compare it to the 500 plus issues of Uncanny X-Men.  Each issue of a comic book is exactly like an episode of a TV series.  Short, or long, or mini, these cousins of narrative are a perfect match.

And sometimes that match leads to this:

Oi.  Sadly I can boast (?) of having this particular comic book in my collection as well as some issues of The A-Team, Xena vs. Army of Darkness, Sliders, Quantum Leap and (I think) a rare issue of Petticoat Junction.

Leading the charge in the post Alf landscape is Joss Whedon.

 The showrunner behind Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse has already brought three of these properties into comics and has hinted at continuing Dollhouse on the page as well.  The switch from old Alf up there?  These are really good.  Really, really good.

Years after ending Buffy the Vampire Slayer a little prematurally in his eyes, Joss continued the story arc of the TV series by launching Season 8 in comic book form.  Already an established comics writer, Whedon was able to tell the saga of Buffy without borders, doing things that a TV budget could never allow.

I spoke to Atom Freeman, owner of the Eisner Award winning comic shop Brave New World, about Whedon’s success in comics and he offered, “One of the many beauties of the comics medium is how much creative freedom is handled by so few hands. So, it’s not surprising when creative geniuses like Joss Whedon find homes for ideas that were cut before their time on TV.”

One of the more successful comics imprints in recent times gets a big boost from a weekly half hour commercial that has run on Fox for a couple decades.  You might know it as The Simpsons?  Published in nearly 20 languages in countries from Finland to Brazil, the cartoon adventures of Homer and his brood are currently found in five different titles as well as back issues covering an additional dozen series.  That’s a lot of yellow ink!!

Newer shows are really jumping on the opportunity to spread their brand into comic books as well.  I’ve got a couple issues of a Chuck comic I picked up at a convention sitting on my “to read” shelf right now and the Heroes graphic novel debuted to rabid fans in 2007.  And while I haven’t tried it out yet, fans of Syfy’s Eureka also have a comic book version of Sheriff Carter out there solving problems only genius minds could concoct.

I’m a huge Henson fan, and the Muppet world is offering up some exciting comic titles these days.  Besides the flagship The Muppet Show series, Boom! Studios offers up Muppet Robin Hood, Muppet Peter Pan, and Muppet King Arthur!!  Really cool is the upcoming Fraggle Rock book that features work from some great comic folk like Katie Cook and Chris Lie.

Other amazing examples of TV gone comic book include:

• Married… with Children
• Alien Nation
• Ozzie and Harriet
• Beverly Hillbillies
• Battlestar Galactica (old and new)
• C.S.I.
• Twilight Zone and
• Welcome Back Kotter

Of course, this equation goes the other way as well.  Fox’s Human Target is based on a comic as was ABC Family’s brilliant and overlooked Middleman.  For me, the most exciting comic to TV transition is the announced AMC The Walking Dead series about survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

I’ll let Atom sum this up for me, “Comics has truly found it’s home in the visual medium circle of life. No longer are we relegated to mere promotional outlets. Comics is part of the conversation. Whether its the afterparty when your TV show cancels (Buffy, Angel, Jericho), the quiet moment on the patio while the party rages on (Fringe), or the reason the party got started in the first place (tell me you’re reading Walking Dead).”

So next time you’re driving by your local shop, stop inside and see the world of TV related wonders that awaits you.  You won’t regret it.