Comics Adaptations and True Believers: Incorporating the reader’s perspective in

comics adaptation theory

CarrieLynn Reinhard, MAOhio State University

July 2007

As comic adaptations have made billions for Hollywood, they have

become a new genre for research.

Purpose of today’s presentation• Considering primarily comics-to-film

adaptations, as comics-to-television allow for more “faithful” transferences

• To discuss the differences between comics (serial & novel) adaptations and literary adaptations

• Outline how comics fans’ considerations is important for comics adaptations

Literary vs. Comic Adaptations

Different information means different readings

Literary adaptation theories

• Cardwell (2002) described the major theoretical trends for analysis of adaptations of novels.

• Medium-specific theories – too unique to compare

• Comparative approach – different languages, how translate?

• Others argue need to understand the impact of sociohistorical and institutional factors.

• Underlying all theorizing is comparison to assess the level of faithfulness or fidelity adaptation shows to the original.

Comics are not literary texts• Differences lies on the interaction of two

levels of information provided for meaning-making.– Narrative information (Content)– Presentation information (Form)

• Importance of considering readers’ reception of original versus adapted begins with these information levels.

• It is here we can see the emergence of expectations.

Narrative Level• Information that constitutes the story elements used to

construct the diegesis.– Characters– Setting– Plot– Theme

• Information allows us understand what is happening, when and where and to whom, and maybe even why.

• If we think of the human body, this level is blood & guts, hopes & dreams – everything that gets a person going.

• However, the reader only has access to this information via the presentation level.

Presentation Level• Provides the sensory information that makes

perceivable and knowable the narrative level.• Visual and auditory are the main ways we come

to know characters and settings, and thus information about plot and theme.– We see the colors of Wolverine’s outfit.– We hear the sound the TARDIS makes as it travels.

• In the body metaphor, this level is the skin, eye and hair color, the voice, shape of face, clothing – everything we can see, hear and interact with in order to know a person.

The levels: comic vs literary• Presentation level nearly nil in literary

– Narrative is known through words.– Any constructions of visual and auditory

sensations are in the reader’s mind.• Comics exist as text and images.• Information provided thru the visual senses

– See what each version of The Flash looks like• Also suggestions for sounds and movement.

– Can’t know what "snikt" or "bamf" sound like– Phonetics helps us make sense of these words

and expectations are formed.

Why presentation information important?

• Imprints “the representation” for that particular narrative element in the reader’s mind.

• We come to be familiar with a particular visual representation of a character or a setting piece.

• This link creates an expectation that whenever the element is mentioned, the presentation will match or not stray too far.

• This means adaptations must strongly consider the presentation information of the original text.– These resonant tropes (Coogan, 2006) must hold– Consider The Batman through the ages…

The Batman through the years, in comics, film and television.

The importance of readersWhy considering reception

matters

True Believers do exist…• All roads lead to understanding the

consumers of the original comic texts.• Fans of original comic texts more likely

devout and vocal when compared to their literary text counterparts.

• Because of the Internet, minority can become very powerful, grow into majority.– For every vocal fan, other fans not as vocal,

who may be influenced by those who speak

…and they matter to Hollywood• Studios court and cultivate fandom.

– Attending conventions to titillate with sneak previews, hand out advertising swag

– Sponsoring message boards and fan theories at their official websites like the producers of Heroes

– Creating Internet media specifically for fans who want more during the summer than reruns of Lost.

• Besides importance of presentation information, other theoretical approaches explain why fans matter…

Agents as consecrative agents• Shefrin (2004) used Bourdieu’s analysis of cultural

producers to argue the importance of considering fans.• Because fans have expert knowledge on the original

text, they become consecrating agents– Their reactions help create the symbolic capital (or worth)

of adapted text. – Can influence opinions and behavior of non-fans.

• Thus, how the cultural producer engages with fans may determine the success and longevity of the adaptation.

• Producer’s goal should be to learn to navigate between:– Allowing for active participation from fans – Without giving them power over all production decisions.

Co-construction of meaning• Literary research tradition: producers shape

texts to have certain features that are expected to be received in a certain way.

• Texts are created with this “ideal spectator” in mind – someone who will see the text as the producer intended.

• Reception analysis sees moment of meaning-making involving an interaction of characteristics of the text and the reader.

• What the reader brings to the engagement can determine what is gotten from the engagement.

Fans as active readers• Real people do repeatedly return to particular texts

because want to receive those features inherent to those texts.

• These fans are closest to “ideal spectator” producer ever can expect.

• Behooves producer to consider these fans in the production of the text – whether original or adapted.

• Fans have expectations for what features will be in the adapted text based on what text purports to represent – in this case, the original text.

• Again, need consider expectations when creating an adapted text for their “ideal spectators”.

Importance of expectations• Busselle & Bilandzic (2007) used a mental

models approach to explain how people are transported into a story.

• Story models, of what “should be”, based on previous experiences with stories

• Continuously constructed as the reader moves through the story by the information provided on narrative and presentation levels.

• Disruptions to this construction, caused by inconsistencies between what “is” and what “should be”, can disrupt a feeling of flow, transportation, and then overall enjoyment.

Busselle and adaptations• In cases of adaptation, inconsistencies can

occur based on expectations from encounters with the original text.

• Unacceptable or unexplainable deviations from the original can cause negative reaction to adaptation. – Where the information does not match on either the

narrative or presentation level.• Potentially more important for comics

adaptations, because of the presentation level and how its links to the narrative level.

Expectations and adaptations• Thus, for a person who knows the original…

Perceived Deviations

Perceived Inconsistency

Flow Disruption

Lack of Transportation

Poor Reception

What I learned about what they want• Posted questions to online fan communities and

used responses to create pilot survey completed by 100 people.

• First, rated how much liked an adaptation.• Second, rated same movies on how much saw

filmmakers respectful to original texts.• More they liked the film, more likely also saw film

producers as respectful: .822, p<.001.• Part of my survey also had list of items that may

be important to a fan when they consider what makes for a good comics adaptation

What Fans Consider Important for Comic Adaptations

6.15

4.48

4.38

3.98

3.55

4.25

5.85

6.44

5.24

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The people making the movie should respect the comicsthey are adapting.

The settings should not be changed -- same place, sametime.

The characters should have the same appearance, from hairto clothing, as drawn in the comics.

The people making the movie should be fans like me.

The settings should look the same as they were drawn in thecomics.

Any storylines directly taken from the comics should have thesame progress of events.

The characters should have the same personality/behavior.

The spirit, what I love about the original, should be there.

The people making the movie should respect the fans of theoriginal.

How important is... (1 not at all, 7 very)

What I learned about what they want

• They realize 100% translation may not be possible, especially with serials.

• Instead, they ask for two main things:– To have recognized the canonical aspects of

the text, whether narrative or presentation.– To have their engagement with the original

text treated with reverence and respect.

Retain the Spirit• They do not seek same engagement with adaptation that

had with the original.• Want a resonant or additive engagement, not discordant

or subtractive of original.• Thus important to capture the “spirit” of the original• Retain iconic aspects from the narrative and

presentation levels.• Do not create an adaptation with no connection or

cohesion to what was seen in the original’s canon. – The Batmobile should not have neon colors.– Mystique must be blue skinned.– Sin City should be a violent with scantily clad women.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T• Adhering to the original’s spirit also means

paying respect to it. • Most important fidelity is not to content or form of

comics text, but to how important text is regarded by fans.

• As some associate texts with identity, showing respect to original shows respect to the fan.

• Best to have someone involved in adaptation that is a fan of the original. – Helps open a dialogue – Foster sense from fans of being respected

Summary of thoughts• Literary and comic texts differ in how narrative and

presentation levels are entwined.• In comics, this entwinement fosters certain expectations

in the readers.• Adaptations need to account for this entwinement, as

perceived fidelity to the presentation level can impact perceptions of fidelity to the narrative level.

• Fans of the original are important given how they can mobilize others and how their expectations can hinder their enjoyment of the adaptation.

• In general, what fans want from adaptations is for the spirit and their fandom to be respected – veer too far, and they will let you know.

Thank you for your time today!

Go Forth, Be a Fan!