Wolverine = comic book creator???
March 25th, 2008 by MichaelI was checking out ew.com and saw the interesting headline:
Hugh Jackman Developing Comicbook Series
And I respond with a big, “meh.” Here’s the press release:
“(FROM VARIETY) – Hugh Jackman and Eli Stone co-creator Marc Guggenheim are teaming with Virgin Comics to develop a new comicbook series that can eventually be adapted into a movie starring Jackman. The comic, Nowhere Man, is focused on a character, similar to Will Smith’s role in I Am Legend, living in a futuristic world where mankind has traded privacy for safety. ”This is our first comic, and we feel the concept is transferable to other arenas, perhaps first as a videogame, and then a movie,” John Palermo, Jackman’s Seed Productions partner, told Variety. Guggenheim has previously written installments of Amazing Spider-man and Wolverine for Marvel Comics. Jackman is currently shooting X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the spinoff movie set to release in May 2009. (Variety)”
I have a few reservations about this. First of all, the idea, while intriguing, is about as original as last week’s toast. Perhaps they got the idea from the Bush administration. The very title, Nowhere Man, has been used countless times (ok, perhaps not countless, but at least six times on film alone according to IMDB). Then they admit that they’re borrowing from I Am Legend. Even worse, they want it to be a launching pad for other platforms…film, video games, lingerie, etc. Which would be fine if the comic were already a hit, but here they’re looking to capitalize on the popularity of comic adapted materials. In other words, the comic is being created to be marketable. And before anyone yells at me about being hypocritical about spinoffs and being a Marvel fan, I’m not really excited about the aforementioned X-Men Origins: Wolverine either. Finally, how much do you want to bet that Hugh Jackman’s name is attached only for marketability? Meaning Marc Guggenheim does all the work and Jackman gets the big paycheck. Especially if this makes it to film like they want to.
Now, I’m not very familiar with Guggenheim’s work. I know he’s done stuff for Marvel and DC and will shortly be writing Young X-Men (even writing the title makes me gag…call them what you want, they’ll always be the New Mutants). He’s one of those writers pulled from the world of TV and cinema, having written for Brothers and Sisters, Law and Order, and The Practice. He recently developed Eli Stone, of which I saw some and found witty and kinda funny but it got tired pretty quick. Despite the negative tone of this post, I do reserve complete judgement until the comic comes out, but I have a feeling I’ll be passing this one by.