Spandex cinema : three approaches to comic book film adaptation.

Abstract

Adapting graphic novels requires new approaches in the theoretical models currently available to film theorists. Comic book films must be dissected beyond references to character, setting, plot, or story; analysis must consider the choice of plot and story within or outside a preexisting canon, the exclusion or inclusion of thematic elements, and the fidelity of visual narrative. The intertextual variability intensifies when considering comic book films and new methodologies are required for a proper examination of this genre. Using the works of comics scholars (McCloud, Eisner, and Ewert, et al.), the studies of film theorists (Andrew, Wager, Ryan, Bordwell, et al.) and graphic novels from highly regarded authors and artists (Miller, Moore, et al.) new modes of adaptation emerge as specifically designed both for the comic book film and a greater understanding of visual narrative.