Comics are one of the brightest phenomena of modern mass literature. Unlike other types of art, graphic novels are a relatively young form of literature. The biggest development of the comics industry took place over the last hundred years, from the moment when a modern type of comic was born in the USA. In this country, graphic novels haves showed themselves as a real part of a popular literature when large circulations of comic books started to form a lucrative market. In the 1960s publishing company called “Marvel” released their first comic book adaptations of famous novels. One of the purposes of these adaptations was to simplify the original piece of literature to make its perception easier for a common reader. The new narrative essentially loses in volume but acquires another feature - dynamism. In these comics, the time becomes very dense and transfers to “here and now”. The color is another significant aspect of comics since now the story becomes a powerful visual medium, which is able to affect the reader emotionally.
Unlike during the 60s, nowadays comics are based not only on classic works of literature but also on popular movies, TV shows and even video games. There are a lot of comic adaptations to choose from, but we decided to go even further and select those ones, which describe a breathtaking world of fantasy.
“A Game of Thrones” comic series
1. A Game of Thrones
“A Song of Ice and Fire” can boast numerous adaptations from hit TV series to board and video games. Now is time for a graphic novel. “A Game of Thrones” is a comic book based on the first novel called “A Game of Thrones” from George Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. The comic is basically retelling the main plot of a novel. Martin’s co-author Daniel Abraham was entrusted to transfer main events into a new format. Tommy Patterson was hired to depict the atmosphere of the Seven Kingdoms and since “A Game of Thrones” is an adaptation of a novel rather than TV series, he tried his best to accurately convey the appearance of all the characters.
No doubt that this epic story has already become the classics of a fantasy genre. The author tells a story about the fictional world, located on a continent called Westeros, where time flow is different from our reality. Summer and winter can last several years. The country itself is divided into Seven Kingdoms and each of them has its own history and customs. According to all the laws of the fantasy genre, the story is full of mystery, dragons and, of course, magic.
2. The Dark Tower
“The Dark Tower” is a comic adaptation of a famous series of novels called “The Dark Tower” created by an American writer Stephen King. The comic is published with Marvel Comics logo and by the end of 2016 includes 85 issues. Adaptation is carried out according to the Robin Furth’s plot in cooperation with Peter David. The best artists were hired to illustrate the comic series. Even Stephen King himself appeared as Creative and Executive Director of the project.
This comic series will please both the fans of “The Dark Tower” novel and simply graphic novel lovers. As for the genre “The Dark Tower” series has elements of western, fantasy and even horror. Those who are not familiar with the original story should know that “The Dark Tower” mainly tells a story about the life of a Roland Deschain - the last surviving gunslinger. At the beginning of the series the reader sees Roland being obsessed with an idea to reach the Dark Tower, which is a center of the whole multitude of endless parallel universes. He appears as an almost unemotional man, capable of killing anyone who stands on his way to the Tower. Some events in the comic series are slightly modified, but the general outline and most importantly the atmosphere corresponds with the original story.
“The Dark Tower” comic series
“Dungeon Siege” comic
3. Dungeon Siege: The Battle for Aranna
Recently, a lot of popular video games receive a colorful accompaniment in the form of a comic. “Dungeon Siege” video game is not an exception since publishing company Dark Horse Comics and Square Enix came up with the graphic novella called “Dungeon Siege: The Battle for Aranna”. “Dungeon Siege: The Battle for Aranna” is going to have three issues written by Paul Alden and illustrated by Al Rio. All of three comic books will be available online and will be bundled with the disc as well.
According to the video game, the plot of the comic is telling a story about two leaders Zaramoth the Unmaker and Azunai the Defender who live in a fictional world of Arana. Zaramoth wants to capture the magical River of Souls which energy is able to make magic possible. Azunai, on the other hand, believes the powers of the River belong to all of the inhabitants of Arana and tries to protect it.
4. The Last Unicorn
In 1968, a fantasy novel by American author Peter Beagle called “The Last Unicorn” came out and completely distinguishing itself among other books in a similar genre. The story about a Unicorn and her journey from a safe unchanging forest to the amazing and dangerous lands has sold more than five million copies.
In 2010 “The Last Unicorn” was adapted into a graphic novel. Illustrator Peter Gillis did an extraordinary work transferring whimsical fantasy world into a comics. The main character is a Unicorn, who discovers that she may be the last of her kind. She leaves her home in search for fellow unicorns facing the fear of unknown. The story is full of magic, love and tragic and just like an original tale fit any age group.
“The Last Unicorn” comic
5. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
In 1983 the Filmation released its legendary animated series called “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” which was aired for two seasons with a total of 130 episodes. In the center of a story is a He-Man – a fictional character from toy series Masters of Universe, created by the company called Mattel (a toy manufacturer, which produces the famous Barbie doll).
In 2012 the characters from the children’s show appeared in its comic adaptation called “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” published by DC Comics. The series describes the adventures of He-Man, who travels across the fantasy planet Eternia. Like any other self-respected superhero He-Man has his own personal enemy – the lord of destruction called Skeletor. Depicted as a humanoid with a skull and luminous eyes, Skeletor’s main goal is to conquer Castle Grayskull in order to receive ancient secrets, which will help him conquer the whole Eternia. In general, the world of the Masters of the Universe is perhaps the most insane world ever created, since here magic and technology merge together even more sternly than in other fictional universes.
