Dylan Dog, Coming To A Theater Near You
Oct 10th, 2007 by Bryan White
How about some more comics to movies news? Dylan Dog is a righteous horror comic from Italy with a few choice issues reprinted here in the United States by indie powerhouse Dark Horse with covers by Hellboy’s Mike Mignola. Double D is a private investigator who specializes in the supernatural. Stories typically involve werewolves, zombies, ghosts and whatever else you can think of that would fit into any typical Hammer style horror story. It’s all very cool and the Dark Horse books are well worth tracking down for fans of quality horror comics. The translations manage to retain the distinctly european tone of the comics as well.
Soavi’s movie starring Rupert Everett, Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore) was the first Dylan Dog movie (kind of), and a pretty good one at that. Dread Central is reporting that Snakes On A Plane director, David R. Ellis, is set to direct a new American adaptation set here in the States rather than in London starring Brandon Routh who took a turn in Superman’s cape for Superman Returns. Not a bad choice. I guess I can see it. Dylan Dog has a real specific appearance, not surprisingly modeled after the aforementioned Rupert Everett.
If anything, the last wave of comic adaptations suggested to me that the Hollywood machine was running out of gas and that even the gems among the shit had been mined out of the equation. Routh’s turn in Superman was just stupid and what should have been completely awesome was marginally saved by Kevin Spacey’s near perfect portrayal of Lex but even the once great comic movies, like Spiderman, couldn’t hold their ground. With such a devil may care attitude being turned on comic book movies and a director who started out as a stuntman and then directed movies based almost entirely on internet hype, can this movie work? I hope to god so. Many modern directors have chosen to wipe their asses with some of my favorite comics and then adapt them to screen (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon (Watchmen).
I’m not holding my breath, but I am hoping that Ellis surprises me.
Speaking of Mignola… was Hellboy any good? I have been waiting for a Watchmen movie since i was a kid. I bet they will butcher that one. lol
Hellboy is one of my favorite comics of all time. It combines the aesthetic of two-fisted World War 2 era comics, H.P. Lovecraft and really obscure folklore from around the world. The writing is fantastic, the art is outstanding and Hellboy is one of the best comic book characters ever. He’s understated and nuanced. I highly recommend you pick up the TPB’s they published a while back. Any of them. It doesn’t matter. You’ll be hooked immediately.
I had purchased Hell Boy when they were first coming out (and did not understand the nuanced style of writing and art)… I think that was around 1994. Of course, i do believe i would have a better appreciation for that comic now. So I will clear off some floor space in Barnes and Noble and read every single Hellboy TPB. Thanks for the suggestion. I believe Hellboy initially came out when Dark Horse had introduced the Legends line of comics. With guys like Art Adams, Frank Miller and Mignola coming out with some quality work at that time. It was a nice change of pace from the Chromium covers that Valiant Comics shamefully introduced to the market place (Bloodshot #1 being the first act of asthetic violence). My all-time favorite comic is the Flaming Carrot. The Goon is pretty good. Generally, I tend to gravitate towards older comics. Comics released prior to 1990.