Gizemli bir uzaylı olan Thomas Jerome Newton, ekolojik yıkım sebebiyle kuraklıktan kavrulan gezegeni Anthea’yı kurtarma görevine soyunarak dünyaya düşer. Giderek ölen gezegenine su götürmenin bir yolunu bulma kararlılığı içindeki Newton, ileri teknoloji patentleri satmaya başlar ama kazandığı başarılar kısa sürede onu hükümetin ve meşum bir rakip şirketin hedefi hâline getirir. Görevi sürüncemede kalır ve yıllar geçer, Newton kendini gezegenimizin taşkınlıklarının cazibesine kapılmış hâlde bulur, evine ve ailesine dönme isteğiyle çaresizliğe gömülür. 1976’da vizyona giren, Nicholas Roeg’in yönetmen koltuğunda oturduğu, David Bowie, Candy Clark ve Rip Thorn’un oynadığı kült bilim kurgu filminin bu onaylı çizgi roman uyarlaması aynı zamanda, The Hustler, The Color of Money ve Vezir Gambiti gibi kitapların yazarı Walter Tevis’in 1963’te aynı isimle yayımlanan kitabına da dayanmaktadır. Stephen Dalton tarafından kaleme alınan ve Dünyaya Düşen Adam’ın yapım sürecine dair bilgiler veren yeni yazısının yanında filmin çekimi sırasında fotoğraflanmış ve daha önce hiç okurla buluşmamış fotoğraflar da bu ciltte yer alıyor.
Dan Watters is a UK based comic book writer. His first book, LIMBO, was released through Image Comics in 2016. He has since written THE SHADOW at Dynamite Comics, and ASSASSIN’S CREED and WOLFENSTEIN for Titan Comics.
Currently he is writing the relaunch of LUCIFER for Vertigo’s Sandman Universe, as well as DEEP ROOTS for Vault Comics. Deeply rooted in London Town, and firmly of the Devil's party.
There's nothing in this for me to not like, so an entirely subjective and probably unreliable 5⭐ rating, which despite the foregoing caveat I'm prepared to fight you about, your choice of weapons ⚔️
Pramanik's illustrations faithfully capture David's likeness, thankfully, as anything less would have ruined it, and while it's a naturally simplified version of Roeg's multilayered masterpiece, is still a satisfying story in itself.
I really enjoyed the mini-filmography at the end, containing loads of behind the scenes photos. Fully deserving of its shelf space 🧡👽🧡
I have not seen the film. But I've known about it for a long time. But I'm a big lifelong Bowie fan and this art is gorgeous. The end includes photos from the sets and details about filming, as well as how autobiographical Bowie considered the film. A quick, fun read of an odd story.
David Bowie took his first turn as an actor in 1976’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, based on the 1963 novel of the same name. In it he played Thomas Joseph Newton: an alien who journeyed to our world to bring water back to his dying planet, only to find himself caught up in the excesses and vices of Earthly life. Newton’s surreal journey is reimagined into graphic novel form by Dan Watter and Dev Pramanik in The Man Who Fell to Earth: The Official Movie Adaptation (Titan Comics, $29.99). Nicolas Roeg’s dreamlike film transfers to the comic page with surprising ease. A handful of liberties have been taken, chief amongst them a framing story in which people in Thomas’s life are interviewed about their experiences. But those liberties function together with Pramanik’s art to capture the film’s otherworldly feel in a single volume, preserving its unique aesthetic and tragic story. The inclusion of never-before-published set photos, as well as an essay on the making and influence of the cult classic, makes this book a must-have for fans.
I'm always on the look out for new and fascinating graphic novels and this one perfectly fits the description. Based on the 1976 SciFi film that starred David Bowie (really miss Bowie). I kept singing in my head while reading this - ...Ground Control to Major Tom... and now I have to go and watch the film and listen to more of Bowie's music.
I already am an admirer of the novel and film and this is a generally loyal adaptation of the film (I will forgive the omission of the hillbilly limousine scene, one of my favourites in the film, as its inclusion is not necessary to the plot and would possibly disrupt the comic's own pace).
The reason that I have deducted a star though, is that some of the artist's depictions of faces let down the otherwise good art. Having illustrated comics myself consistency of faces can be difficult to maintain over a long narrative; but the problem here is that some of the faces are drawn really badly at times. It's odd why this would be as there's good facial representation at other times and there's some really beautiful and dramatic individual frames and some really nice background art, so there's proof there that the artist can provide the goods. Perhaps time restrictions came into play so some drawings were rushed or something, but it's a shame as a little more care and it'd have gotten a perfect score from me. That aside this adaptation maintains the strange and tragic tale of Thomas Jerome Newton and really suits the format.
2,5/5. It started real good but fell to fully deliver and bring us somewhere incredible. I don't remember having seen the movie (from witch it was adapted) so maybe that play a role in my low appreciation of it, but I didn't enjoy it that much!
This graphic novel undertakes a very hard task (adapting a unique film, that had unique actors whose personalities may not be able to be replicated in other mediums). Fortunately, it finds ways to make them relatable and create fresh suspense by altering the story's structure in a clever way.
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Titan Books/ Titan Comics for an advanced copy of this graphic novel adaptation of a classic science fiction movie.
David Bowie in his life was many things. Artist, singer, songwriter, a musician and a magician, a man who sold a world, an alien, a duke, a diner of only peppers and milk for a time, a dancer in the street, a tin machine. And an actor, with a particular oeuvre. Dan Watter, writer and artist Dev Pramanik in The Man Who Fell to Earth, captures the spirit, essence and skill that Bowie brought to the screen in this comic adaptation of the 1970's film.
A man appears who claims to be British, with a passport and a need to make money quickly. He claims to be Thomas Jerome Newton, but is really an alien sent to Earth to collect our water and bring it to his world. Newton uses his knowledge of science, biology and engineering to gain a fortune to complete this mission, hiring people to be the face, so he can stay in the background. He forms a relationship with a young woman, that slows his mission down, as he learns more and more about our strange planet, becoming almost addicted. Meanwhile around him enemies are forming to steal his technology and keep him here forever.
The comic captures both in art and story the feelings of the movie, the uniqueness of both the director's vision, Bowie's acting and the story which I can say is only of its time. The writer does a very good job of adapting the script to graphic novel form, adding a few things to make the story clearer, and a little tighter. The story is wild, crazy and beautiful, just like this is. The art is astonishing, capturing the cast, the feeling of the movie, and the backgrounds. The colors pop when needed, remain neutral when called for, but with an sharpness that makes the story move. There are reference photos and a making of article included in the collection to fill out some of the story.
Dan Watter is unfamiliar to me, but this is a great introduction to his work, and can't wait to read more. Dev Parmanik I knew from his work on the Dune graphic novels, but this work really stands out to me. Again I can't wait to see what their respective projects will be. I do hope it is together as they complement each other well. Recommended for David Bowie fans, fans of the movie, or fans of well written, well drawn graphic novels.
They say the best film adaptations are not of novels, but short stories. Having less to cram in, you scale things up and are left with the ideal amount of narrative and visual content. This book takes a movie that supposedly needs two hours twenty of your time, and redacts it into a half-hour read. Ignoring the fact it was based on a novel way back when, is it a sign of a classic film that so much can be removed, or does the visual medium go a long way to making such comparisons irrelevant?
Or is it just the case this isn't a classic film? I certainly never thought so – for in my teenaged years I found Bowie as desperately overrated as ever he was, with his semi-acting providing a leading man who could stare at copious televisions all day, but never justify our interest in his inertia. This, then, is the official graphic novel representation of the film, and not the original novel, which may raise its own issues, especially among those who say the book is necessary to understanding the movie (pace that much superior sci-fi thought-piece, "2001"). And it's neither here nor there – it kind of shows an alien crash-landing, and bringing his ideas about the Internet, and Polaroids, and such businesses, with him, in order to make multiple fortunes and be able to return. Or, perhaps he wants – well, the issue is nobody can ever really care that much.
And the fact this like so many other bletherin' 70s films forgot to include a proper ending just goes to show how ignorable so much of the decade was/is.
After we get to 'The End' (for which read 'random place to stop that makes no sense') we get a couple of bonus art pages, and then a photo essay about the film's making and existence. So no, the entire book isn't a half-hour read, but the core adaptation is. And it's all so airy-fairy, wishy-washy, make-of-it-what-you-will-(or-can-be-bothered-with) that it really is not an essential read. Except I would have liked to have seen a similar version based on the book. Just in case that actually has something about it, you know? And before I sound like I'm willing this book into an early grave, and declaring the creators here inept or anything, I'm not – I'm just saying there is a need to realise how big a pile of dross their source is. You can't take a pig's ear off an alien in Latex, and all that...
Als ich diesen Band entdeckte, kannte ich den dazugehörigen Film noch nicht. Da aber die Kurzbeschreibung, zumindest für mich, nach einem spannenden Mix aus SciFi und Thriller klang, versuchte ich mich an ihm.
Der Anfang des Bandes zog mich wirklich in seinen Bann. Hier bekam man nämlich im Wechsel zu sehen, wie der Außerirdische Thomas sein Leben auf der Erde begann und wie die in der Kurzbeschreibung erwähnte US-Regierung Leute, die Thomas kennenlernten, verhören. Mich interessierte hierbei vor allem Thomas`Ansicht, denn immerhin war er hier ein Fremder unter Fremden.
Rein optisch fand ich den Band jedoch wirklich nicht schlecht. Gerade nachdem ich dann den Film gesehen hatte, zeigte sich noch einmal, wie gut man die Schauspieler dargestellt hatte. Wer übrigens nicht den Film schauen möchte, findet hinten im Band Bilder aus dem Film und von hinter den Kulissen.
Was anfangs noch alles leicht zu deuten und zu verstehen war, wurde mit der Zeit jedoch immer schwerer nachvollziehbar. Ab ca. der Hälfte verlor mich der Band, da ich die Zusammenhänge und manche Handlungen einfach nicht verstand. Besonders ratlos ließ mich das Ende, welches mich selbst, nachdem Schauen des Filmes einfach nur verwirrte. Hier muss ich jedoch erwähnen, dass es mir schwerfällt zwischen den Zeilen zu lesen. Und da diese Story anscheinend genau davon lebte, war sie für mich wohl einfach nicht gemacht.
Fazit:
So spannend das Ganze auch begann, verlor es mich spätestens ab der Hälfte, da es mir ab hier immer schwerer fiel, die Zusammenhänge zu verstehen. Das änderte sich zumindest bei mir auch nicht mit dem Sehen des Filmes. Ich war für diese Art Geschichte wohl einfach nicht gemacht, auch wenn sie optisch begeistern konnte.
My thanks to Titan Books Titan Comics for a digital advance review copy via NetGalley of ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth: the Official Movie Adaptation’ written by Dan Watters and illustrated by Dev Pramanik.
In 1976 Nicholas Roeg directed David Bowie in this science fiction film. This is a fully-authorised graphic novel adaptation of the film, itself based on Walter Trevis’ 1965 SF classic of the same name.
The plot has extra-terrestrial Thomas Jerome Newton land on Earth in search of water to save his dying home planet. Using his advanced scientific knowledge, Thomas becomes incredibly rich and uses his wealth to search for a way to transport water back to his home planet. Yet Thomas falls victim to the excesses of our world. Bad things happen to him, especially when the U.S. Government and a sinister corporation, capture and exploit him.
This graphic novel contains an abundance of bonus material including an article by film journalist Stephen Dalton on the production of the film, including dozens of on-set photographs, cover concepts, characters designs, and more.
While it’s been years since I last saw the film memories flooded back as I continued to scroll through the graphic novel. I felt that Watters did well in adapting this complex film. Pramanik’s artwork uses line and colour to great effect in order to highlight the dramatic resonances of the film’s scenes.
While both this is my first encounter with both Dan Watters and Dev Pramanik, this graphic novel has made me curious about their other graphic novels.
This graphic novel is a rehash of David Bowie‘s first movie by the same title. This movie was originally a book from a few years before the movie. This comic book claims to go past where the movie ends and provides more ending to the story. This was an interesting read. It is about a man who falls to earth purposefully, because there is no longer water on his planet, and he must find water and get it back home to his family. However, he falls first into the lust of earth, both drinking and sex, and then once people realize he’s not human he falls into scientific lab hands. He never makes it home. This is an odd little graphic novel and the story. I guess I’m just a sucker for happy ever after which you do not get in this book. What I found much more interesting was the back matter all about the making of the original movie along with the still pictures from the side. The artwork is nice and the storyline OK, but when your extra material is better than the rest of the story that’s not a good thing.
Did Not Finish* I made it about 3/4 of the way through this book before accidentally putting it now and never coming back to it.
I did receive a copy of the book through netgalley to read and review.
I loved the art in this work. I've been trying to branch out in graphic novels more and I found this one an approachable choice. While I can't connect to the source material nostalgia that others might, I did appreciate the story and the visual characteristics that seemed identifiable. Overall there was nothing truly unique about this, which probably lends to why I never actually finished what I was reading but I had a decent enough time doing so that all this time later I have nothing significantly negative to say about it. If you're looking for an easy read with some good art, this is definitely worth a look at least.
This makes about as much sense as the film and knowledge of the film is ideal to fully appreciate the visual references, like the near-identical frame and panels. There's an interesting commentary of the film at the end of the book that aids in this comparison.
Whereas the film can provide visual and auditory clues to help with character identification, the graphic novel has to rely solely on visual prompts. As such, there are times that it is unclear as to who a character is, or the change in time or setting. Little is lost as a result of this, but there is still a loss.
The presentation of the beloved story is well-done in this graphic novel and is a fitting homage to a cult film.
Dan Watters’ The Man Who Fell To Earth adaptation was pretty accurate and presented a beautifully and trippily illustrated approach to the film in graphic novel format. This book was not so much based on the book but rather the film where the artist had intentionally emulated their looks, costumes, and settings. It wasn’t a very long book, and I honestly think my favorite part was the way our protagonist was diving deeper and deeper into alcoholism. After the story, there was an excellent essay, concept art, and production photos that take up the last thirty or so pages, which was nice. Probably not revisiting this one, but enjoyed it while I spent time with it.
Beautiful telling of a really great film. If you love the movie and/or David Bowie, you want to get a copy of this graphic novel. Thomas Jerome Newton is a space traveller looking for a source of water for his home planet. Because of his advanced science, he becomes extremely wealthy. Although he looks for a way to get water to his home, he becomes more and more "human" as the US government and evil corporations search for him. Again, this book is more about the movie script than the original sci-fi story; but it is great nonetheless.
I love David Bowie, and I love the film version of Man Who Fell to Earth he made with the legendary director Nicolas Roeg-- and I was pleased to love this graphic. novel adaptation as well. I still miss Bowie six years after his passing, and I am grateful that this lovely book let me spend a little more time with him.
İlk kez 1963'te çıkan kitap 1976'da film haline getirilmiş. Sanırım David Bowie'nin film sahnesine çıktığı ilk film olması beni çeken yegane özelliğiydi. Genelde önce kitabı okuyup sonra filmi izleyen biri olarak karşıma çizgi romanın çıkması benim için bir süpriz oldu. Kitabın her sayfasını büyük bir merakla okudum.
This is a graphic novel adaptation of a movie that was itself an adaptation of a novel, and in that movie David Bowie shows his penis. What was I talking about? Oh, the graphic novel was good. It adds material that connects the 1970s events of the original to the modern day, nice choice.
It's a real weird movie and comic book so I forgot how weird it was. The comic art is okay and the story I guess makes more sense than the movie but it was just is presented a little bit differently. this is a great book if you're a David Bowie fan or if you're a fan of the old '70s movie.
I first read the original novel. Loved it. Next I saw the film. Loved it. Now I have read the graphic novel. You will not be surprised to discover that I loved it. The artwork captures perfectly the film version. Also loved the additional material and photographs from the film shoot. Wonderful.