Yes, it’s already been three weeks since Comic-Con took over the streets of San Diego. And it will be another three, at least, before the Fall TV premiere season begins and ultimately wreaks havoc on the space inside our DVRs. 
We’re right smack in between two of entertainment’s most exciting times of the year -so why not capitalize on the opportunity to explore both?
While at Comic-Con this year, I had the chance to meet up with Jonah Weiland, Executive Producer of the popular comic-centric website CBR, and overall comic book guru, to discuss the relationship between comics and television –when it works, why it sometimes doesn’t, and where it’s headed. Weiland’s insight into the comic genre and its long-term love affair with television and cinema is as poignant as it is entertaining. Man, I love interviewing people who are smart.
So, a few comic-centric shows have gone missing from the Fall line-up this year. What won’t we be seeing and why?
Wonder Woman‘s the biggest one, and I have to say, thank God. I’ve seen it, and I can say that the pilot would have set us back much like Batman set us back in the ’60s. Granted, Batman, the campy ’60s show is great. It’s a great nostalgia-filled romp. It’s fun, it’s wacky, but, for the next 30-40 years, all we had whenever there was a comic-book article in the newspapers was “Bam-Pow! Comic Books are Back!” or something like that. We couldn’t get away from that. Frankly, I think the 1960′s show greatly informed the Joel Schumacher films, to the point where it killed that franchise and they had to reboot it –and thank God they found someone like Chris Nolan to come around to re-do it. So, I’m really happy that the Wonder Woman pilot didn’t make it onto TV. It has nothing to do with the actors. It has everything to do with the concept being massively flawed.
What about Locke & Key -another one getting buzz at Comic-Con 2011?
Um, why we’re not seeing Locke & Key on television, I don’t know. 
I have not seen the full pilot: I’ve seen clips, I’ve read the script, and it’s actually pretty cool. Why FOX turned it down, I’m not sure. I think it’s a really smart idea to bring it to Comic-Con and hopefully build interest in it. I would love to see a cable company pick it up. It’s very Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror – it’s a big world, is my point. And if FOX is afraid of that, they should really look at HBO and Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is a big world. And people embraced it – it’s going to sell like crazy on DVD and internationally. Look at a show like Walking Dead: it’s a fantasy world –it’s populated by zombies! And people went nuts for that show! It was the biggest surprise hit of this year. Why not try out Locke & Key? It might be expensive, but you’ve got to find ways of making it affordable.
So what does it really take, then, to make a TV show comic-centric but also work for mainstream audiences?
You know what? It’s really simple. Just make it good.
But what makes it good? Authenticity to the original?
No. What makes it good is making a great TV show, and it’s the same for any TV show: good acting, good writing, great character development, strong characters, and excellent directing and editing. It’s that simple. The West Wing was an phenomenal show because it had strong writing, and incredible directing, and incredible lighting –everything was incredible about that show. Everyone brought their A-game to that show. The Walking Dead is great because they’re bringing their A-game to that show. That’s all that matters at the end of the day. With a comic book adaptation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be slavishly dedicated to bringing the comic book to the screen, it’s bringing what works best in the comic book to the screen and then tweaking it. Thor, the movie, is a great example of that. If you knew the history of Thor, you would say that it was the most insane idea ever. Thor was never just a guy who was a God who came to Earth. He was a God who came to Earth who was forced to live life as a human being, not knowing who he was, and then he figures out who he was –it was incredibly convoluted. And Marvel Studios did a great job by simplifying that process. They did a great job streamlining the character and making it accessible. Walking Dead – have you read the comic?
I have.
And you’ve seen the TV show?
Mh’m.
They’re very different. And that’s …for better. That’s really what it comes down to: doing what’s best for the TV show and not necessarily worrying about what the hardcore fans –well, you want to make sure the hardcore fans are happy, but you can’t.. you can’t defer to them.
Do you think a lot of TV shows and movies have gone wrong, trying so hard to match the comic book’s style that they lose the essence of the comic, itself?
I think lately they’ve actually done it right more often than they’ve done it wrong.
And what about the difference between TV shows and movies for comics? Is there a big one for you –would you rather see more movies than TV, or vice versa?
I’d rather see more TV.
Really?
You know, comics –I often say that comics are like the ultimate soap-opera. The ultimate good soap opera, in my opinion. Soap operas weren’t bad, they just didn’t deal with subjects that I was into, but I appreciated them because they had this massive episodic nature and they just went on forever –and comics go on forever. And I think they share a lot in common, in that respect. That being said, I’d like to see a lot more non-superhero stuff on TV. The big, crazy, splashy superhero stuff I think definitely works better on film right now, but my opinion could be changed. There’s a show coming up, shooting a pilot right now, called Powers on FX. It’s not a capes-and-tights type show, necessarily, but it could end up working really well. At the end it really comes down to: is the budget there for special effects and can you make it look good? Heroes, in its first season, did a pretty good job bringing superheros to the TV screen. As the show went on, it just got worse-and-worse-and-worse. 
It just became a parody of itself, almost, and that was a real disappointment because I thought we had something pretty special in that first season that they could have built on. You see a show like Lost, which was generally built on what happened in season 4, and I think we’re going to have that same thing happen with Walking Dead; they’re going to learn what worked for them and they’re going to keep capitalizing on that and leveraging that. Heroes didn’t. At the end of the day, superheroes on the big screen might be the way to go and comic books like The Walking Dead or one called Chew -have you read Chew?
I haven’t, no.
Oh, that –if you read Walking Dead, you should read Chew. It’s coming to Showtime, and it is perfect for television.
Awesome, I’m on it. So last question, then, for the books: how long do you think Hollywood will be pursuing these comic book themes?
Forever. I don’t believe there’s anything even close to being a superhero bubble right now. I think that’s one of the stupidest ideas being put out there right now. Has film ever lost interest in adapting science-fiction novels or romance novels or anything? No! Of course not! We have the technology to bring these fantastic ideas that these amazing creators have come up with to the screen and we’ve been doing it for the last 50, 60, 70 years – why not keep exploring it? And that’s what audiences seem to want. The biggest movies of the year seem to all be genre-related: there’s Transformers, Thor, X-Men First Class. Let’s keep doing it!
For the record, Weiland’s current TV favorite is Game of Thrones and his favorite movie of the year is Thor (an “imperfect movie,” he admits, but “it got so much right, and Chris Hemsworth is so great in it” that it wins the bid). Read more from Jonah Weiland at ComicBookResources.com.
