Dear Santa
Dear Santa,
First, I wanted to thank you for making this year a really good year...and normally, I would email you rather than use the TV Party column to address you. However, I hear you're a big fan of the site (especially the Zone 4 Podcast, according to the Easter Bunny), and wanted to thank you for getting the JSA to be featured on Smallville in January and take this time to share my "wish list"....which is to say, my list of comic properties that I think would make cool movies, shows, and which either are (or should be) in development.
Granted, this is a lot to ask, and it might mean putting a lump of coal on certain stockings, but if anyone can do this, Santa, it's you.
With the merger of Disney and Marvel - and with Disney working with Pixar - isn't it about time we had some really cool animated movies come out of Marvel? I'm talking full on, 3-D CGI film versions of Guardians of the Galaxy (let's face it, doing a full-on space opera wouldn't be too much of a stretch for the studio)....or even, dare I say it, Dr. Strange? (Dormammu really could have a flaming head, and done right, the special effects could easily mimic Steve Ditko's hallucinogenic art). But if Disney wanted to move in the opposite direction...how about Moon Knight as an HBO or Showtime series? I think Moon Knight would be a great property for a nice, limited run series - one that takes superheroics in an entirely new direction....or in a different direction, how about an Inferior Five sitcom? Or reaching back a bit to Marvel's Epic line, isn't it time for a CGI-driven Alien Legion series?
But I'm also thinking of how DC has now become "DC Entertainment", and yes, they have the traditional "tentpole" movies....and their straight-to-DVD animated features....but 2010 could be a great year for the company to expand and develop some of their second and third tier characters. I mean, who would not want to see a full-length motion picture version of Blackhawk that is true to its pulp and serial roots? Or a completely CGI Metal Men? (Yes, Santa, Wikipedia claims it's under development, but rather than live action, let's really pump this sucker out). Since Joss Whedon seems to be in between projects, why not develop a really obscure character like Bat Lash. Granted, Deadwood has reinvented the Western, but combine it with the "just-under-over-the-top" sensibility of Brisco County, make someone like Ben Browder or Nathan Fillion lead, and I smell ratings success.
There's even some room for some great indie comics to be used in...well, indie movies. I mean, aside from a multi-million dollar budget (mostly for CGI), what's keeping Paul Chadwick's Concrete from being made? Or even Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis' MAZE Agency as a nice companion piece to Castle? Or The Coffin from Oni Press, about a man who creates a way to stay immortal...but discovers that it's not all it's cracked up to be? Or even Omaha Perez's Holmes, which bases the great detective's personality on none other than Iggy Pop.That's right, Santa, Iggy Pop.
But Santa, that's kind of not that point - or is it? Everyone focuses on mainstream superheroics and "franchises". If there's anything I would like to see in 2010, Santa, is that if we're going to see more adaptations of comics into movies and television (and I'm sure we are)...let's choose from a more diverse range than the usual "heavy hitters" I'd love to see the range of material covered expanded, and that it's not just the usual suspects from "The Big Two".
And if that's not possible, Santa, I'm more than willing to settle for the missing episodes of Doctor Who.
But Santa, if you need evidence of me being naughty - or nice - please feel free to check out the Comic Related Forums , or even my personal blog.
Thanks, Santa, and looking for good stuff under my tree. And I'd like to take this moment to wish Comic Related readers a wonderful and safe holiday season.
Your pal,
Gordon
Read More! For more of Gordon's writings, insights, and
general information, please visit his blog at blogthispal.blogspot.com.
TV Party Columns: Gordon's previous TV Party columns can be found here
and you can discuss this or anything TV Party related in his TV Party forum.
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