Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic. Wha?
Posted on 09. Mar, 2009 by DocDelete in Bile, TV, movies, books
Amazon.com: Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic.
Somebody out there might be able to correct me, but I recall Dave Gibbons strongly justifying the confined panel and page layout of Watchmen. He was on a panel at some convention or other just as DC was releasing Watchmen – and I’m sure Dave would’ve mentioned the same rationale in interviews elsewhere. If memory serves (and look, quite often it doesn’t these days!) he /forced/ himself to use a rigid nine panel layout, to ensure that his illustrations were the best they could be to relate the story – without falling back on big zig-zag splash panels with KAPOWs plastered all over. He only breaks from this when the scene demands a larger panel – allowing himself only a refreshingly few such diversions.
The result is a story that plays out with a specific meter for most of the time, only hastened occasionally by the tone and interaction between the characters’ dialogue.
Now, I’ll get something straight here and now: I’ve no problem with a comic being turned into a movie. I also don’t mind if a movie version diverts strongly from the events in the comic. These are completely different delivery mechanisms, and having a line-perfect adaptation would seem, to me at least, to be a very immature expectation.
However, a ‘limited animation’ video production of the Watchmen graphic novel has been produced, apparently under the guidance of Dave Gibbons himself. By ‘limited animation’ I guess they’ve added a few explosions and lighting effects, cut-out a few characters, and enlarged a few punching fists. I’m sure a workmanlike job has been done, and it will be appealing. However, I haven’t seen the thing, but for video delivery there’s no way a whole page could be viewed (and read) on the screen.
So, bang goes the rigid nine panel layout, and presumably some of the tension.
You could argue that the addition of a soundtrack would compensate: but I’d argue that this would advance the notion that this ‘motion comic’ is destined to be an unloved bastard hybrid.
Of course, Mr Gibbons is entitled to change his mind over the course of 20 years, and he’s entitled to earn a living. Or is it a case of the licensed property really being out of his hands, and the production company would’ve gone ahead with this anyway? So, better to be involved and have some input, than none at all?
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