Wheel of Time + Graphic Novels = GLEE!

[FireSpark]

Oh yes. Oh yes indeed.

All ye who enter hear, read and rejoice!

Wheel of Time: Graphic Novels (http://www.dabelbrothers.com/index.php?categoryid=16&p2_articleid=8)


Now, we all know Robert Jordan's books as written create a perfect descriptive template to draw from. So, those of you that have read the books, what is it that you are really looking forward to seeing in living color?

Me personally, I may die just a little each day, until I get to see Morgase's throne room, and the Heart of the Stone. Callandor FTW!!

[Helanna]

YES!!!!!!!!!! This is so cool!

Awesome . . . I can't wait! It's like the answer to the "TV series" argument!

Over at Dragonmount forums there is (or was, at least) a fierce argument over whether it should be turned into a TV series or a movie, animated or live-action, anime or western style . . . But now we have graphic novels!!!

Although oddly enough, people at Dragonmount aren't very enthusiastic. (http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,32518.0.html) How strange. How can you NOT be happy?!

EDIT: right, forgot: What I'm looking forward to most? Let's see . . . definitely the Asha'man, and the One Power in general. A couple of the fight scenes should be really awesome too. Also, (book . . . 9? 10? Spoiler, anyhow.

The Cleansing of Saidin. That has GOT to be one of the coolest parts in the books.

Thank you Firespark for bringing me this news and TOTALLY making my day!

[Indon]

If you ask me, Wheel of Time wouldn't be a graphic novel - it'd be a Manga. :P

It's a stylistic thing, you know. Teenage heroes, Steady power increase, consistently high cool factor, massive ensemble cast - it begs to be made into a shonen manga.

[Innis Cabal]

If you ask me, Wheel of Time wouldn't be a graphic novel - it'd be a Manga. :P

It's a stylistic thing, you know. Teenage heroes, Steady power increase, consistently high cool factor, massive ensemble cast - it begs to be made into a shonen manga.

and that couldnt be any comic book made in america? Its an american story, author, its a graphic novel.

As to the topic...meh......after the 5th book the series gets boring...i havent bothered to read anything past book 10

[Gavin Sage]

Not to be cynical but given the sheer amount of plotlines there are, against the number of pages in a typical comic, publishing once at a rate of once a month... You'd have to make major cuts to squeeze a book into 12 issues. And even then you'd be talking a 12 year commitment. Nevermind many scenes like the death of Asmodean would be difficult to do, because visuals would reveal far more details then text does. (Was Asmo balefired or what?)

Plus I read an issue of the New Spring comic and it was unremarkable. Though so is New Spring, but the only 'book comics' I've yet seen as being terribly good are ones with original content. Like the Dresden Files one written I'm reading by the original author containing what amounts to a mini-volume from early in Harry's career.

Novels are fairly untranslateable (between media forms) in my opinion, mostly because writing relies on the imagination at its forefront. When nobody's imagination works the same its hard to be satisfying. Plus you are just seeing a picture of a dynamic scene you've already invisioned and know... ehh. The best comics I've seen would be hard to replicate in text form, but the opposite also applies.

[Indon]

and that couldnt be any comic book made in america? Its an american story, author, its a graphic novel.

I'm pretty sure there are american-made manga/anime. It's not necessarily about origin all the time anymore, it can be about certain style factors too.

[psycojester]

Not to be cynical but given the sheer amount of plotlines there are, against the number of pages in a typical comic, publishing once at a rate of once a month... You'd have to make major cuts to squeeze a book into 12 issues. And even then you'd be talking a 12 year commitment. Nevermind many scenes like the death of Asmodean would be difficult to do, because visuals would reveal far more details then text does. (Was Asmo balefired or what?)


Well not really, in the later books it averages out to about 30 pages of plot development per 200 pages of florid descriptions of pants and repetition.

[KillianHawkeye]

Was Asmo balefired or what?

MAN, it's been a LONG time since I read that, so maybe I don't remember, but didn't Asmodean die in some mysterious manner that we didn't really find out about? Like, he sees his killer, and says "Oh cra--" and dies? Or something?

Asmodean was the one who Rand forced into teaching him stuff, right? Dang, I need to read that again.

[FireSpark]

MAN, it's been a LONG time since I read that, so maybe I don't remember, but didn't Asmodean die in some mysterious manner that we didn't really find out about? Like, he sees his killer, and says "Oh cra--" and dies? Or something?

Asmodean was the one who Rand forced into teaching him stuff, right? Dang, I need to read that again.

Correct. After Rand's taking of Andor, and the slaying of Rahvin, Asmodean snuck off. We do know that whoever took him out was familiar to him, as he recognized them. But recreating that scene in a visual medium would be nothing difficult. It could simply be done from the perspective of the killer, or keeping the assailant in the shadows, etc.

[Helanna]

I'd like it if it was drawn in a manga style. That could be cool. Plus I'd love to see how all the characters were portrayed.

And yeah, length won't really be *too* much of an issue. Cutting out all the descriptions should make it considerably shorter. Like maybe 6 books instead of 12.

Well, these graphic novels might tide me over until the final book is released. This might be convenient - they should be small enough that I can actually carry them around . . .

[Gavin Sage]

Correct. After Rand's taking of Andor, and the slaying of Rahvin, Asmodean snuck off. We do know that whoever took him out was familiar to him, as he recognized them. But recreating that scene in a visual medium would be nothing difficult. It could simply be done from the perspective of the killer, or keeping the assailant in the shadows, etc.

To strictly mirror the mystery of the scene in the book you'd have to not even show the method of death (because balefire/OP elminates suspects if shown) you'd have to do a clean wipe of some sort.

The problem though really is that this is not an isolated case. The books' detail is such that actually seeing things can give a lot away. Semirahge for example has some brief scenes midway through the series but doesn't use a disguise beyond a false name later. Thus to the reader there would be a dead giveaway. Ditto on Osan'gar and Aran'gar. Demandred possibly as well.

A book can hide things in plain sight far more easily, and the WoT does this a lot. Its not impossible to make a comic out of the books but there would be even more lost in the translation then normal.