By keeping up to date with their favorite entertainment universes, film students and lifelong fans find appreciation for movie and show creators who successfully adapt graphic novels to tv.
Many movies and shows over the past few decades have been adaptations of graphic novels. Some have been glorified and others have been ruined.
According to Temple film student Blair Winston, “One Piece” is an example of a successful transfer from a comic book to a Netflix series.
“Not only does it do an incredible job of translating the visual insanity of the ‘One Piece’ universe to real life, but it also does a great job with the story,” Winston said.
What started as a graphic novel in 1997 was recently made into a Netflix original T.V. show. Being around so long gave the novel time to gain fans over the years, which Winston believes plays a vital role in the success of the adaptation.
The show makers of “One Piece” happen to be major fans of the graphic novel universe, leading them to correctly portray the characters for many fans, while leaving room for change.
“With them being fans, they were able to respect the fans’ passion and give them something that they could enjoy, while leaving opportunity for new people to get into the series,” Winston said.
Another graphic novel that was made into a series was “The Walking Dead.”
Temple film student fan Avery Koller believes this series is one of the most successful graphic novel adaptations ever.
For many, what made “The Walking Dead” successful and go on for 11 seasons is the creators ability to be flexible and not afraid to make changes.
“The T.V. show took advantage of some key characters and gave a more in-depth growth on their arcs,” Koller said. “I feel they kept what worked and adjusted what didn’t.”
“The Walking Dead” graphic novels began releasing in 2003 and by 2010 the show had begun.
According to Koller, what makes a comic book adaptation so successful is being able to create a fun world with a compelling story and lovable characters to keep the audience company along the way.
Temple film student Alex Goetz-Morales was pleased with the adaptation of “Jujutsu Kaisen.” The graphic novel was released in 2019 and was quickly followed by the release of its T.V. show counterpart in 2020.
Goetz-Morales believes what made this show so “incredible” was the way they communicated with the creator of the graphic novel and cared about the little things.
“Jujutsu Kaisen” also pays an incredible amount of attention to detail which helps the fan base grow as they discover all the deeper meanings woven into the story,” Goetz-Morales said.
According to Goetz-Morales what makes an adaptation great is following the same stories as the manga and only adding additional context to clarify what was missed and give the audience a deeper look into characters.
Temple film student Jackson Self said there is little to no wiggle room when it comes to adapting comics to television.
“When done properly with respect and no ego from the people making the adaptation it can be just as, if not greater, than the source material they derive their iteration from,” Self said.
Using the Marvel Cinematic Universe as an example, Self said the first three phases made just over $22 billion in the worldwide box office.
“Fan’s loved seeing their character with slight modifications that worked for them and people flocked,” Self said.
According to Winston, what makes a graphic novel good is having grounded characters that people can love, a meaningful story and universal themes that people can relate to.
“What makes an adaptation good is how much it can respect those three things within the original series,” Winston said.
