From the renowned science fiction author Cixin Liu comes a mind-bending comic adaptation of The Three-Body Problem! A series of mysterious suicides leads a detective and group of scientists down a rabbit hole, one that might be more dangerous than they once believed… A desperate battle against Earth’s final countdown might have just begun!
Adaptations. They trouble me. Mostly because I’m terrified that whomever is doing the adaptation will ruin the thing I love.
At the same time, I get super excited when I hear that the thing I love is going to be adapted. It means that, for better or for worse, I get to continue living within the world of that book or that show or that podcast that, at one point in my life, consumed me in the best of ways.
Sure, it likely won’t be as good as the source material.
But it still means I get to revisit the story, the place, the characters I never thought I’d see again. And as an added bonus, there’s that vicarious thrill that comes with seeing it all through someone else’s eyes. That makes it all worth it.
Which is why, when my husband tells me of a forthcoming sequel or reboot, I always respond the same way.
“Holy hell,” I say, “they’re totally going to ruin it.”
And then I pause.
“But obviously,” I say, “I’m going to watch the hell out of it.”
There is an exception, though. When something I love is adapted into a comic series or standalone graphic novel, those conflicted feelings don’t exist. Instead, I’m just excited. I enjoy the form so much. And I’m always so curious how the team behind a comic will give an already established story new life.
Luckily, comic adaptations of everything from classic novels to video games to popular TV shows are super popular. Below are just a few of the adaptations that have popped up in recent years.
Firefly: The Fall Guys by Sam Humphries, Jorge Pérez, Francesco Segala, and Francesco Francanvilla
Yes, I realize Joss Whedon is a problematic figure, but when I finally came to this canceled-too-soon TV series, I immediately fell in love. Like, I’m obsessed. So, obviously, I love that the characters have lived on, first in a series of comics put out by Dark Horse Comics and, more recently, in an ongoing line of comic books published by BOOM! Studios. The most recent is this limited series that was released in a single volume just this past August. It includes the usual shenanigans of a job gone sideways.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera and Celia Moscote
OK. This one came out way back in 2020, but it’s my absolute favorite novel-to-OGN adaptation, so I have to include it. I already loved Rivera’s YA novel about a queer Puerto Rican from the Bronx who is afraid to come out to her family, and who goes looking for answers from an inevitably imperfect source. But Moscote’s bubbly, bright illustrations took this story to the next level. I especially loved the depictions of a woman in a larger body just loving herself. More like this, please!
The Sacrifice of Darkness by Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne Oliver, Rebecca Kirby, and James Fenner
Another 2020 adaptation (it was a good year for it!), this dreamlike graphic novel, based off of Gay’s short story of the same name, reveals a universe in which the world has been bathed in darkness as the result of a tragic event. The fabulist story that follows is one of guilt and persecution and class and survival. But intertwined throughout is a sweet love story that provides readers with a beautiful thread of hope. I was thoroughly charmed.
Watership Down by Richard Adams, James Sturm, and Joe Sutphin
This dark fantasy novel about a group of rabbits who flee their home due to a vague premonition of danger—and who have to fight for their survival before finally reaching the end of their journey—was one of my favorite books when I was younger. Still, the original novel is a bit much for my 10-year-old. She’s just not there yet. When this adaptation came out about a year ago, I finally had a way to share my beloved childhood favorite with her.
The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game by Carey Pietsch, Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Travis McElroy
God, I love this series. It’s an adaptation of a podcast that follows a family of D&D noobs playing their first campaign. The graphic novels bring the D&D characters to life, allowing readers to follow the adventurers as they attempt to collect a series of dangerous magical artifacts. This penultimate volume maintains the humor of the previous five books, while also taking an incredibly dark turn…
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Ryan North, and Albert Monteys
This one’s on my TBR because after having read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, I’d follow Ryan North anywhere. Sure, Vonnegut’s classic antiwar novel is a completely different vibe from USG. Instead of eating nuts and kicking butts, characters are grappling with the firebombing of Dresden. But folks have raved about this 2023 adaptation, saying it’s powerful, affecting, and visually stunning.
Fangirl, Vol. 4 by Rainbow Rowell and Gabi Nam
Rowell’s YA novel about an introverted fanfiction writer hit big when it first came out in 2018. In 2020, it was treated to a manga adaptation by Sam Maggs and Gabi Nam. This fourth and final volume in the manga series (adapted by Rowell, alongside Nam) just came out this past August, and may see the main protagonist moving away from her celeb worship for good.
Ghostbusters: Back in Town by Greg Pak, David M. Booher, Blue Delliquanti, Jimmy Betancourt, Mildred Louis, Cris Peter
I know. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released to the world all the way back in 2021, but I only just saw it the other month. Cheesy nostalgia-pandering aside, I enjoyed it, and have grand plans to watch Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire sometime this century. In the meantime, I’m thrilled to see that a limited comic series—which takes place immediately following the events of Afterlife—kicked off earlier this year. The full volume, collecting all four issues, is out next month.
This is only a small sampling of the comic adaptations out there. (My god, just take a look at the Wikipedia page that lists out all the comics based on television programs; apparently, the networks really enjoyed that extra boost.) For more of our recommendations, check out my earlier post on great novels that were adapted into comics, plus Carina’s huge list of graphic novel adaptations.
