Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

Green Arrow's first episode premiered last night - what other superheroes would you like to see adapted into a TV show? And did anyone watch "Arrow" - what did you think?

Didn't catch Arrow, though their pointed avoidance of it being considered a "comic book" TV show (like that's some sort of disease; I mean Avengers is only the biggest movie of the year) kinda turned me off in the lead up to it. May give it a try, but not hopeful.

In the right hands, there are lots of shows that could be pulled off on a live action TV budget:

Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E./Stargirl
Alien Legion
MAZE Agency
take another go at a more faithful Jon Sable adaptation
Heroes for Hire
The Question

Dial H For Hero always seemed a natural format for TV.

I was almost surprised noone made a show from Cloak & Dagger in the 80s.

Not superhero stuff exactly, but I really liked the idea of a Preacher series.

I think it would be interesting to see what a non-animated Young Justice TV show would look like. As long as it wasn't anything like the live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I hope and pray they don't make a second movie.

Besides that, it would be cool to see Vixen, Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt) or Zatanna get their own TV shows. Maybe even Ms. Marvel.

I did catch Arrow...five minutes of it before moving on. All of the shows in The CW look the same to me. The only decent show they have is Supernatural. Maybe Arrow is a show that takes some time to warm up, but I wasn't very impressed with what I saw. It seems like it may follow in the same cookie-cutter format of other shows. I could be wrong, but that's just my opinion.

I think Y the last man could be made into a cool TV series. Although, I read somewhere months ago that it was being made into a movie with Shia Lebeouf as the lead. Honestly, I think even a 4 hour movie may not do justice to it.
Fray by Joss wheadon could be made into a TV series.
Animal Man (the new 52) could be an interesting option.

Shia Lebeouf, ugh. The only thing I want to see that guy in is a video with him announcing he will never do another movie again.

I think Shia is a natural for Y. Goofy, pretty unlikable, etc. I didn't watch Arrow. The production looked to much like the unwatchable disaster that was The Cape.

Shia starring in a snuff film? Box office gold.

I also think that a TV adptation of Y The Last Man would work better than a single movie... unless they made it into a movie franchise trilogy.
Still, TV or Movie, I'll be one of the first in line to watch it.
And please... no Shia Laboeuf.
Who would you cast as Yorrick and the other characters?

Good news people, Shia Lebeouf is out and so is director D.J. Caruso. New Line Cinema who owns the rights to Y: the last man has approved the script draft as per IGN. They are also terming the making of the movie as a "priority". So I think we can clearly expect the movie by early 2014.
Alexandra Daddario (from Percy Jackson movie) can play Yorick's love interest Beth.
Yorick, Hero, Agent 355 and Dr. Mann are such interesting characters that some really good actors are needed to pull it off.
So who do you guys think can do justice to these roles?

I did see Arrow and I think it deserves a little love. The pacing is fantastic, It has a darker edge to it than what we've come to expect from the Smallville version. It runs closer to Dark Knight. And these are no trick arrows he's using, people get pierced. So far it's a slow burn establishing both backstory and his current mission. I look for it to really take off after the sixth episode.

Pranay wrote: "Good news people, Shia Lebeouf is out and so is director D.J. Caruso. New Line Cinema who owns the rights to Y: the last man has approved the script draft as per IGN. They are also terming the mak..."

Hard to imagine how they're going to do Last Man justice as a movie but not impossible I'm sure. I can't picture any actors as these characters. I wouldn't oppose Shia but unknown actors would be preferable.

Many people may disagree, but I'd love to see Marvel's Moon Knight adapted into a TV Show. If done properly, they could real delve into the character's split personality and how he deals with his different personas.

However, like most superhero TV shows, they'd either be done poorly or be dumped due to lack of a consistent fan base.

I think Moon Knight’s costume would make him a little hard to take seriously. It would look too silly on screen.

I agree, Moon Knight would be an excellent hero to build a TV series off of.

Sam wrote: "Green Arrow's first episode premiered last night - what other superheroes would you like to see adapted into a TV show? And did anyone watch "Arrow" - what did you think?"

Arrow was not great. If you want to watch a gritty and realistic superhero show that's essentially Batman, Person of Interest is sooooo much better.

Also hi.

Person of Interest is based on a comic book? By the way, what do you all think of Agents of SHIELD?

I really WANT to like Agents of Shield, but so far I'm pretty much under-whelmed.
Still I'm hopeful things will pick up and get better.

Spoiler:
The Samuel L. Jackson appearance was pretty cool though.

MAoS has been OK, it just seems to lack that special spark.

Previous Whedon series (Buffy, Firefly, Dollhouse) had characters you pretty much instantly liked and felt belonged together, even if the characters themselves hadn't realized it yet.

This pretty much has Coulson.

And of course SLJ ignites any screen he's on, but this show can't be kept afloat by flashy cameos. It needs to find its footing soon.

Paul wrote: "I really WANT to like Agents of Shield, but so far I'm pretty much under-whelmed.
Still I'm hopeful things will pick up and get better.

Spoiler:
The Samuel L. Jackson appearance was pretty cool t..."

Awwwww that makes me a bit sad. (I still haven't even watched the first episode, it's on my DVR). 1st episodes/pilots I find to be pretty rough - heck I didn't even like most of the first season of The Walking Dead! (don't pelt rocks at me!!) So I am hoping it gets better.

Any thoughts on the upcoming Gotham show?

Link for SHIELD episode 1: Pilot

http://watchabc.go.com/marvels-agents...

Link for SHIELD episode 2: 0-8-4

http://watchabc.go.com/marvels-agents...

These are on ABC.com's website so, they usually keep a couple of recent episodes available for a few weeks. After that it's gone. So if you still want to watch either of these episodes on your computer, I suggest watching them soon.

NYKen wrote: "Link for SHIELD episode 1: Pilot

http://watchabc.go.com/marvels-agents...

Link for SHIELD episode 2: 0-8-4

http://watchabc.go.com/marvels-agents......"

You can also watch them for free on hulu.com

Arrow has highs and lows, but as long as you can stomach some cheese and obvious budgetary restrictions I think it is an enjoyable TV interpretation...of Batman!

SHIELD has been a letdown. They have a lot more to work with than Arrow so I have to hold it to a higher standard and it just is not there yet.

On the whole TV can't do comics right. The best, most imaginative material in comics would either never make it through the production system intact or would actually just never work in the medium.

SHIELD is so far more promise than achievement, yes. Fun enough but hardly ground-breaking. I enjoy Arrow as well; it does seem to have some ambition, rather than just being obvious and straightforward (the flashback structure is not innovative but is used effectively), though it too could be much better if it would try a bit harder to avoin cliches (premiere for season two, we had the hoariest of cliches, the reluctant hero suiting up because the bad guys went after family. . .).

A nonfiction TV show that ran in my area on PBS last night was SUPERHEROES. It was an overview of the superhero comic industry since Siegel/Schuster. Boy, some of the old giants of the field are fun to see!

I couldn't stomach Arrow, but everyone here seems to love it. So maybe I will be totally shot down, but you know what I loved that was not only straight-to-video, but totally goofy? The Cape. I mention it because I only just discovered it on netflix, and never even knew it existed. Was the reception to it really that bad? I mean I know the guy looked like the Greatest American Hero dude from the 70s, but it had carnies and Summer Glau, and fake high-tech - and fake LA! Arrow just kind of feels like Dawson's Creek, with tights. And I can watch almost anything. I can watch hours of Mantis. So, I'm just kind of surprised that I can not do a show you all seem perfectly satisfied with - no judgment.

Shawn wrote: "I did see Arrow and I think it deserves a little love. The pacing is fantastic, It has a darker edge to it than what we've come to expect from the Smallville version. It runs closer to Dark Knigh..."

I just marathoned Arrow on Netflix and then caught up with the 4 episodes on the CW website this weekend. I really enjoy it. Great show.

Planchette wrote: "I couldn't stomach Arrow, but everyone here seems to love it. So maybe I will be totally shot down, but you know what I loved that was not only straight-to-video, but totally goofy? The Cape. I m..."

I haven't heard of the Cape before... going to check it out.

I've only really watched four superhero tv shows.

I've forgotten the name, but it was something like The Greatest American Hero (1981), was the first for me. It was odd, it didn't last long, but it still kinda seeped into my brain because of my age at the time it appeared on TV. I have no idea if it had any basis in previous comic books.

The Cape (2011) - a brief summer series I wasnt really interested in but one I had gotten in the habit of watching with someone else. Not sure if either of us liked it so much as both were willing to watch it together. It had promise but was very thin on material.

Heroes (2006) - watched and somewhat liked first season. Didn't watch beyond that for reason cant recall. Keep seeing and almost getting the related graphic novels but haven't.

Agents of SHIELD - right before it started I had read a SHIELD miniseries that I rather disliked, so wasn't even planning to try it. Did. Like it so far. Don't like the two science geeks.

Just recalled a fifth: Human Target (2010). I hadn't even realized it was based on a comic until I saw and read said comic. Another show that came and went based on a somewhat odd graphic novel.

I did see first episodes of Arrow (2012), Flash (1990), and a few others back when they aired.