The Adaptiveness of Comic Adaptations

...the storytelling devices of comics and movies are not similar enough to just pull the pictures from the book and make them move.

This post has been written through the numerous conversations we have had about the dozens of modern comic book movies consumed over the years. After the end credits roll, we are often left defending the decisions of the movie makers or persecuting them for not relying more on the source material. The problem is that films and comics are two completely different storytelling mediums. The reason that phrases like “adapted from” and “based on” are used so often is because the storytelling devices of comics and movies are not similar enough to just pull the pictures from the book and make them move. A film like "Watchmen" is generally considered as proof for the possibility and success of a near direct adaptation. Do you share this sentiment? I don't know that I do.

DIFFERENCE IN NARRATIVE STYLES: The largest disparity in the storytelling styles of movies and comics lies in the fact that comics tell one overall narrative through the use of two storytelling styles. Comics are formed with two coinciding stories: one story is told by the writer's dialogue, while the other story is told through the illustrator's art. Through these two “stories,” we can be given different aspects of the narrative. We are not forced to process these two stories at the same time. We can pick and choose whether dialogue or scene takes precedence or whether to mix/match panels. We can also look backward to find an explanation that may be hidden in the scenes or dialogue that was missed earlier.A movie, on the other hand, relies on a single linear narrative that has scenes joined together with dialogue, happening at the same time. While one page of a comic can tell multiple stories from a single narrative, a movie cannot, because a single succession of scenes must remain linear to produce coherent storytelling (looking at you Batman V. Superman). Sure, movies can utilize symbolism techniques to offer a another meaning to the story, but they can't offer the layers of storytelling that a comic does. Comics can have multiple layers that link to the overall narrative while remaining clearly composed due to the time we as the reader are allotted to make connections.

COMIC “CHOPPINESS”: As touched upon earlier, movies follow a relatively linear story, and the telling of that linear story relies solely on what we are shown at a given moment. We, as a viewer, can only process what we see and hear before we have to shift our focus to process the next combination of scene and dialogue. Due to the multi-layered storytelling, along with other writing techniques, comics are not cleanly linear, and tend to have a bit of a “choppiness” to them. Every subsequent scene in a comic doesn't directly follow the scene prior. Sometimes it will shift to another location, or sometimes it will shift perspective, which is not unlike some film techniques. However, comics can break their linear pattern with little harm to the overall understanding of the narrative. Since we are able to fill in breaks of scenes or dialogue with information provided between both the art and writing, it is ok for comics to do this. With comics, we are, again, allotted the time to fill in the gaps, which is not a luxury that films offer us.

TONE/MOOD: Tone (i.e. an author's attitude towards a subject) is set in comics primarily through the writing with an assist from the artwork. The words that are used to describe people, scenes, events, etc. will give reader's an indication of how to take in information. Also, the way information is presented in regards to the art, the source of the information, and how the dialogue matches or mismatches with the scenes depicted helps set the tone. Mood (i.e. the emotions evoked by a story) can be set by the emotional dialogue of a story or by the choice in colors, settings, themes, voice, and tone. In movies, tone and mood are usually achieved simultaneously, which dilutes the effects of both, as they share their effect on the viewer. These qualities tend to be driven primarily by the director, which promotes unity of tone and mood, but also limits them to a single vision. Movies will rely on music, sound effects, lighting, and sometimes dialogue to achieve tone and mood. The use of dialogue in this sense is limited due to the inability of the viewer to analyze the dialogue as it occurs. A comics tone and mood cannot be translated into film simply due to the differences of how they're achieved.

SET-UP: Time has been somewhat of a repeated theme throughout this article, and it is here that time plays the most integral character. Movies only have so much time to do what they intend. With comic book movies generally running around 2 hours, that leaves approximately 30 minutes for set-up. The set-up not only has to include the setting up of the story, but also the set-up of the characters (both hero and non-hero sides), supporting characters, villains, purpose, etc. Comics have all the time in the world for set up, and the structure of comics also allows for set-up to occur throughout a story as needed. A movie is limited in that once the main narrative has begun, returning to set-up interrupts the linearity and negatively impacts coherency.Not only is a direct, or close to direct, adaptation set to fail in capturing the magic of the comic, but a direct adaptation would also always be set-up for disappointment. As a reader, we play a part in achieving our own subjective experience of comic reading, which is a privilege that comic films simply cannot offer us. Rather than gripe for more accurate representations of the comic (like the mixed reviewed Killing Joke animated feature), we should appreciate and cheer for more loosely based stories (Captain America: Civil War). There is simply too much that cannot be pulled from the pages of a comic and rather than criticize the movie based on the comic, we should criticize the movie based on its effectiveness as a movie.

Ultimately, I'd love to see the words "comic accuracy" disappear from movie reviews.

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How harshly have you judged comic book movies for the ways they were adapted from the source material?