I’ve kind of been expecting a piece along these lines for quite a while now. Every time I go into my local comic book store (guilty), I see some series lining the shelves based on either a film or television show, sometimes in form of a prequel. I generally refrain from picking up, say, “C.S.I.” or “Fringe,” but that “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” prequel book has me somewhat interested.
Here’s the opening few graphs from Scott Bowles’s piece:
Having plundered comic books for decades, Hollywood is giving a little back. Studios are increasingly turning their properties over to illustrators and writers before movies are released to generate Internet chatter, early fans and anticipation within the all-important comic-book community.
The latest comic comes from Push, the sci-fi thriller starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning that opens Friday. Wildstorm, a division of DC Comics, has created a six-issue series that fleshes out the movie’s plot about expats with supernatural powers.
And a magazine rack-full of other movies are here or on the way.
Bowles then goes on to rattle off a multitude of examples, from “G.I. Joe” to “Terminator Salvation” and everything in between. I’ve always felt there was a great opportunity with this kind of concentrated cross-medium promotion. Of course, some viewers aren’t interested in comic books, and that’s fine, but what’s wrong with an amplified experience? To boot:
“It’s a great way to flesh out back stories and create references for the movie,” says Hank Kanalz, Wildstorm’s general manager. “You can watch the movie without reading the comic book. But you’ll have a better experience if you do.”
Interestingly enough, last summer’s blockbuster “The Dark Knight” didn’t come with the usual comic adaptation.
Check out the full story at USA Today.