Ender's Game Comic

[Craig]

Most of you guys probably know that Marvel is doing an Ender's Game comic. From the looks of it, it looks great. It seems to follow the book VERY closely and the art work looks fantastic. In a recent interview with Marvel, OSC said how happy he was with the story and that it's better than any screenplay he's written (which may or may not be saying something). But the first issue is coming out on Wednesday, October 8th.

http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories ... chool_%231

Salaam

[locke]

OSC said how happy he was with the story and that it's better than any screenplay he's written (which may or may not be saying something).

oh man. heh. Yeah, I'm going to agree with that without having read the comic yet.

Luckily I have a comic store a half a block from my apartment, hope they're carrying this.

[Craig]

So the first issue was supposed to come out and I'm on my way to go find it. I'll let you guys know how it is.

Salaam

[locke]

here's the first ten pages

http://io9.com/5059516/read-the-first-1 ... nders-game

[Craig]

I bought it, read it, and really enjoyed it.

Something that I think really resonates here is that this is the original Ender's Game story presented in a visual medium. This is proof to every person that says Ender's Game can't be adapted to the screen. Here it is. Movies and comics have a lot in common, both tell a story through visuals and dialogue. If this comic is indeed a success in terms of storytelling (and so far it is) then there is absolutely no reason a movie can't be as equally successful.

In my mind, not only can a movie be as powerful, but even more so. A movie isn't only a visual medium, but a collaboration between ALL art. It relies on visuals, but as Steven Spielberg always says, "sound is half of the experience". Movies have more going for them than just words or pictures on a page.

This comic is proof to me that an Ender's Game movie can be done and be done successfully without sacrificing any of the original story.

Salaam

[Luet]

I've never bought a comic book before...how much does this retail for?

[Finith]

This comic is proof to me that an Ender's Game movie can be done and be done successfully without sacrificing any of the original story

Adapting the book to a comic strip is easier. Comic's are allowed to be more explicit and graphic becuase it's animation. Unless the movie was animated I don't see how they'll be able to convince any one to release a movie with scenes involving children killing eachother or children nude.

Sucks to because those scenes are very key to the psychology of the story.

[locke]

I've never bought a comic book before...how much does this retail for?

it was $3.25 at the comic store down the street from me. I bought it but didn't get a chance to read it as I had to go to work. so it's waiting for me when I get home.

[zeroguy]

http://io9.com/5059516/read-the-first-1 ... nders-game

Complaints: changing "bugger" to "formic" just sounds stupid to me. I just can't see "formic" as being a "bad" word; it sounds too neutral or scientific or something. Art style in general doesn't jive with me, but whatever. Too much shiny, especially with the hair in some panels. Val's character design isn't how I imagined (short hair? wearing a bracelet? bah!).

I'm surprised by how much the dialogue is almost exactly the same as in EG. This seems like a rather good thing (always better to err on the side of being too faithful to the original work, I believe), but I wonder if it's too much. Hard to tell since we all know the whole story, but I wonder if it's confusing or strange like that.

I thought Ender's first blow against Stilson felt a little off, but I think this rendering's actually more accurate than what I imagined when I read EG. For some reason I always thought he hit Stilson in the collarbone, even though I know the word used was breastbone...

I really like the way they did the backgrounds, general atmosphere, the tech, that kind of thing.

Stilson looks very different from how I imagined him, but I think I may like him this way even better.

My initial impression is that in general, as much as I expect from mainstream comics, I'd say this came out ahead. I'll perhaps try to get it in the near future.

[locke]

the formic change is stupid, whether its screenplay or book. thankfully other screenwriters used bugger, even the gay ones. heh.

[neo-dragon]

It would make more sense if people used the term "bugger" in the Shadow books and "formic" in the Speaker books, when they are considered Ramen, rather than the other way around. Ah well.

[locke]

It's a really solid comic. I didn't like Val. Ender looked nine, not six (actually I would be willing to bet most people picture a nine year old for most of the book, rather than having a mental image that matures realistically the way a six-twelve year old might) and it's sort of odd that Ender and Peter are the same height. Not sure how I feel about Ender being the blond versus Peter being the dark haired one. but I always pictured Ender as having the color of hair I do, and he does in the comic and so I do love that it matches my mental image.

You'll better damn well support the Marvel movies (Iron Man was the first) because if their movies are successful, I imagine Scott will be able to parlay the movie through Marvel, which is a financing oppurtunity I hadn't considered before but is very savvy.

[zeroguy]

Peter is mentioned in EG as having dark hair, but yeah, I never imagined Ender as blonde.

And you have a different mental image for a 9-year old than a 6-year old? Maybe it's just because I'm hardly ever around little kids since I was one, but that's just the pre-adolescent,post-toddler area for me.

[UnnDunn]

So I bought it and read it.

I don't know whether it's just the nature of comics, or whether I've been spoiled for having read the book, or whether I'm just being overly critical, but the pacing of the comic was way, way too fast. I know they had to take away some things, but I think they took away too much. It felt less like a coherent story and more like one of those episode recaps you get at the start of your favorite TV series.

I think maybe Marvel should have given it 10 issues instead of 5, given the story some room to breathe a bit.

As far as the artwork goes, I think it's nearly perfect. All three kids are very well realized, and the preview of the Battle Room on the inside back cover is all sorts of delish.

[Craig]

I don't dwell on the little things. Sure the characters looked too old and specific details don't match the book, but in the end I think they still did a stand up job. The story is the same but now we have pictures!

I'm curious to see what they do with Battle School and Command School, because the ideas of what those look like ALWAYS brings the most discussion.

Either way, I think that so far, just using this story word for word could make for a decent start to a first draft screenplay. But then again, maybe I just have my blinders on.

Salaam

[Luet]

I went to my first comic book store ever and bought it today, two copies actually (one to read and pass around to friends, one to keep pretty). I haven't read it yet.

[locke]

how often do new issues come out? every week? every month? something in between?

[Craig]

The next issue comes out November 12.

Salaam

[Syphon the Sun]

I'm waiting for them to be published in hardback before I purchase them, but I read it the day after it came out and will probably continue to do so, even if it does mean standing in a Dungeons and Dragons bookstore to do it.

[Jayelle]

By the preview, I'm instantly critical of the art. Maybe it's because I was just at a Comic Con where I was talking to an inker, but I feel like it's not the greatest inking. The shadows seem... weird.
This seems like a mix of big-headed anime style with realism that I'm not sure quite meshes.
Possibly it's just not my cup of tea. I'm a fan of more cartoonish art or Alex Ross's style of realism.

However, I like way they've turned it into a graphic novel. EG really lends itself to such visual representation.

[Hector.Victorious]

Aww man. I really want to read this now. But I have NO IDEA where a comic book store is. Do you think they have it at Borders?

[Luet]

This is how I found a comic store near me:

http://www.comicshoplocator.com/

[Hector.Victorious]

Thanks!

[shadow_8818]

read it loved it the best

[Hector.Victorious]

https://subscriptions.marvel.com/digita ... 193&title=

I got this in my inbox today.

I don't know if it's the entire comic or not.

[shadow_8818]

I love seeing the story through animation it is awesome.

[Boothby]

Looks great.

But I really don't know HOW to feel...

[wigginboy]

The first one was pretty good. I didn't know at first that it was split into five parts so when I got it, it thought it looked pretty small. Anyway, after I got home I cracked it open and read it, twice. It was very clear cut in relation to the original story. To echo what some have said, I do not like the re-phrasing of the word 'bugger' to 'formic' and Graff is not exactly how I pictured him. There is a picture in First Meetings that completely fits how I see Graff and the one depicted in the comic is not him at all. Anyway, It follows the storyline pretty much to the letter so I cannot complain about that.

[Hector.Victorious]

I never imagined Graff very chubby, so I guess it kinda ruined my mental image of him. I thought that the comic was good overall and the images matched the story. You're right. It was precise to the letter.

[Gravity Defier]

Well, remember, his weight fluctuated throughout the book. As he got more stressed out, he packed on weight and then he started to drop it after the war ended and was headed to court.

(Again, speaking from months old memory; too lazy to make sure I'm 100% right on that. I think I got the gist of it, though.)

[neo-dragon]

That's right. He said something like, "One type of stress puts [weight] on, and another takes it off".

[zeroguy]

Ender got up and followed Anderson through the corridors. Anderson palmed the locks
that kept students out of the officers' quarters; finally they came to where Graff had taken
root on a swivel chair bolted to the steel floor. His belly spilled over both armrests now,
even when he sat upright. Ender tried to remember. Graff hadn't seemed particularly fat at
when Ender first met him, only four years ago. Time and tension were not being kind to
the administrator of the Battle School.

[Boothby]

http://marvel.com/comics/enders_game

Can anyone tell me why the cover for Ender's Game #2 (the one that USED to show the Battle School) has gone 404?

"Image Not Available"

???

[MaryOutside]

peter looked exactly like i imagined him, but valentine looked absolutely nothing like i thought she would. she's too pretty. did you guys see the samples for Bean in Rotterdam? i like the style much more, although maybe the gritty style fits with the topic, just like the slick presentation of ender #1 fits with the idea of a not-so-distant future in the middle class.

i like them. i like them very much.

[Jakt]

Well I had to order the first one on eBay because my local comic book store epic fails at reordering, I went a week after the first one came out and they didn't have it. They haven't had it since, but they did get the 2nd one, which I got. So I only have an idea of what it is by the second one. And it was SO JUMPY and undescriptive. To me you would have to have read the book, which makes it enjoyable for me, but if it was someone who hadn't they would be completely and utterly lost. Art is really cool, I like the futuristic elements they have at battle school and I was happy when I saw the battle school for the first time. It was really cool. I've always liked comics but I have stopped because I don't like ongoing comics, so the series was perfect for me =) I'm really really looking forward to the shadow comics since I just read the shadow series in the last three weeks.