Hollywood and the Graphic Novel

iwNEWS

Last month, I attended an excellent panel on Hollywood and the Graphic Novel at Wizard Los Angeles.

Half the panel were filmmakers who had produced comic book properties for film/TV and now were launching their own original graphic ventures. The other half of the panel were graphic novelists/content creators who are venturing into film, TV and other mass media outlets. The panel included Silent Devil/Kompany X/Zenoscope creators John Leekley (“Spawn: The Animated Series”), writer Michael Olmo of Chamber Six, Top Cow’s David Wohl (“Witchblade,” Executive Assistant), Christian Beranek (comics Dracula vs King Arthur, “Se7en”) and Zenoscope co-founders Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco.

It will shortly become common practice that Hollywood directors, writers and cinematographers, in collaboration, will first have to produce graphic novels in order to get their films made. This is why an increasing number of established Hollywood directors/producers are actively working in the comicbook industry like Bryan Singer and Joss Wheldon, as well as visa versa like writer Jeph Loeb (co-creater on Heroes, Lost and writes many of DC's top titles). This is perhaps not a revelation to those in the know, but for writers and artists looking to break into the creative arts it may not be widely advocated (certainly, not in the nation’s university programs).

The panelists encouraged first-time writers to partner with graphic artists and develop screenplays with companion comics. Studios won't invest unless they see exactly how stories are conceptualize from beginning to end. Furthermore, I learned that despite an explosion of independent labels, comic book companies are not money makers. It’s increasingly difficult to successfully launch and sustain new titles.Only when you have properties that are carried by Borders or Barners & Noble can you make any money. That goes for Marvel and DC. So, everyone is scramble to great collections that will attract the big book chains.

The discussion had many more shades to it than describe here. But, it was illuminating and offered to me further evidence that we are living in era of enormous transformation for content creators where new rules are being forged everyday. None of the traditional creative assumptions apply.

Read Wizard’s take