DUNE: The Graphic Novel - Books I, II, III (2020-24)

DUNE: The Graphic Novel - Books I, II, III

Adapted from Frank Herbert's original novel by hack authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson | Illustrator: Raúl Allén | Colourist: Patricia Martín | Page Count: 180 / 179 / 204

'He must find something that will inspire him.'

A three-part comicbook adaptation of Frank Herbert's first DUNE novel. My original plan was to give each part of the trilogy its own post, but my feelings about each one are largely the same, so I've combined them into one post. It'll be shorter and mean less repetition.

I won't give a synopsis because I've did that at least once before. I'll concentrate on the adaptation itself, which is variable but mostly not very good.

01. Book 1: DUNE (2020) is the worst of the three volumes, in both its writing and its art, but the early part of Frank's novel is at its weakest there, too, so I trudged on through, page after boring page, in the hope that things would get better once [spoiler] entered the open desert. I'm saddened to say that they rarely do.

What We Left Behind (2019)

Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2019)

Dirs. Ira Steven Behr + David Zappone

A crowd-funded documentary that examines the legacy of DS9. There's some fan-input, but the bulk of it comes from the people who made the series what it was, from the traditionally unseen producers and crew to the onscreen cast.

The man on the cover cradling the station in his hands is Ira Steven Behr, whose role as show-runner from 1995 onwards was instrumental in shaping how DS9 evolved in its later years. The documentary feels very much driven by him, too.

That's not a criticism; the film is an engaging exploration that highlights the creative scope and accomplishments of all concerned - provided you like DS9. If you hate it or feel that it deviated too much from Gene Roddenberry's original vision, then you'll probably want to warp past WWLB.

At the Earth's Core (1976)

At the Earth's Core (1976)

Dir. Kevin Connor

A subterranean fiction story in which a senescent British scientist (Peter Cushing) and his American sponsor (Doug McClure) tunnel through a hill in a Jules Verne-esque contraption dubbed the Iron Mole, which would be a good name for an album by a stoner doom band, if it isn't one already.

The duo go way off course and end up far beneath the Earth's crust, wholly unprepared for the dodgy FX that they find there.

The draw for me was Cushing and Caroline Munro, but he'd little of value to do and she disappeared for about half of the movie.

The bizarre flora was fun, but the fauna was bad. The rubber-suit flying things could've had some menace if the lighting had worked in their favour, but it was bad, too. Overall, the movie was a bag 'o shite, even by Amicus standards. It was just about worth it to hear Cushing say, "You cannot mesmerise me, I'm British!" right before getting totally mesmerised.

The Midwich Cuckoos (1957)

The Midwich Cuckoos (1957)

Author: John Wyndham | Page Count: 241

"You know, my dear, while it's proper for us to be concerned, the responsibility for a remedy isn't ours. If it ever was, and that is highly questionable, the authorities took it away from us a long time ago."

Wikipedia classes the 1950s as a 'transitional period' in the history of science-fiction literature, sitting between the 'Pulp' of the 20s and 30s and the 'New Wave' that gained popularity in the 1960s and 70s. It may lack a classy name, but the 50s wasn't short of genre classics.

Isaac Asimov's I, Robot (1950) and its first two sequels; Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953); Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End (1953), Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (1956); and Wyndham's own The Day of the Triffids (1951) are some examples. Sci-fi literature fans will probably recognise them all.

I don't feel that The Midwich Cuckoos is quite as good as most of the books mentioned above, but it's certainly worthy to occupy a shelf directly adjacent them, as its enduring popularity proves.

The Cell (2000)

The Cell (2000)

Dir. Tarsem Singh

J-Lo dives into the mind of a very mentally disturbed, comatose serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) hoping to convince him to take her seriously now that she's an actress in a real, genuine, honest to grud film! If she fails to reach and reason with him in time, someone dies.

It's aged badly (or maybe that's me?), and is shallower than it pretends to be — step in it and your toes will barely get wet — but the movie has a few memorable moments, most of which come from D'Onofrio, who has an intensely overbearing cinematic presence. Without him it would be little more than a bunch of pretty moving pictures attached to a plot that draws from The Silence of the Lambs (1991) movie.

Visually, it's both bad and good: the CGI is awful, but many of the visual and optical effects are pretty wonderful, with a surreal quality that on occasion seemed inspired by the likes of the Quay Brothers; there's a tiny bit of Lynch, too.

Vytor: The Starfire Champion (1989)

Vytor: The Starfire Champion (1989)

Dir. Tom Burton | 4 episodes, approx 22 mins each.

A short-lived animated Children's TV Series that might've gained a decent following if it hadn't been cancelled after only four episodes. It's not packed with originality — it reminded me of ThunderCats and Masters of the Universe often, particularly in the way it blends high fantasy and science fiction tech — but it's not completely derivative, either.

The hero is Vytor, a youth with aspirations of becoming protector of his village and its people, a group with an indigenous connection to the natural world, and whose technology is pre-industrial.

The backstory for the series goes something like this: seventeen years prior our introduction to Vytor (Michael Horton), a trio of big-wigs had a falling out, resulting in three separate Kingdoms.

The Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation (2011)

The Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation (2011)

Author: Ray Bradbury | Illustrators: Dennis Calero / Joe St. Pierre / Josh Adams / James Smith | Page Count: 160

"All the things which had uses. All the mountains which had names. We'll give them new names, but the old names are there, somewhere in time..."

A comic book adaptation of one of Bradbury's most famous works. I'm not going to give a synopsis of story or outline specific themes because I've covered the novel previously. This is about the comic version only, and it'll be brief because I wouldn't recommend a reading to anyone who isn't a huge Bradbury fan.

The book contains an introduction for those that haven't read the source text, from the author himself, detailing the genesis of the original novel, which is vital information if you're to understand the passage of time and the contradictions in some of the stories.

What it neglects to mention, however, is that the adaptation is incomplete. It wouldn't have been possible to fit every story into the limited page count, but some of the exclusions are essential and defining parts of the overall work and their removal weakens it, unquestionably. For those that care, the omissions are listed below the cut:

Chocky Trilogy: TV Miniseries (1984-86)

Chocky Trilogy: TV Miniseries (1984-86)

01. Chocky (1984) | 6 eps, approx 25 mins each is a children's TV drama adapted from the 1968 novel of the same name by John Wyndham.

The series is set in 1980s Britain, and features a young boy named Matthew Gore (Andrew Ellams) who's contacted by the titular Chocky, a highly intelligent extra-terrestrial being.

Chocky speaks only to Matthew, using him to ask unusual questions of the adults. The change in his behaviour soon draws attention to the boy.

I first watched it as a child myself, of about ten or eleven-years-old. It was intriguing and somewhat frightening, and because of that combination it stayed in my memory as I grew older. Since then I've assimilated so much sci-fi that the basic concept no longer seems particularly fresh, but viewing it from an adult perspective, sympathising for the first time with the parents of young Matthew as well as Matthew himself, gave me a whole different insight into what the series was actually about.

The Wind of Amnesia (1993)

aka A Wind Named Amnesia (1993)

Dir. Kazuo Yamazaki

A peculiar wind blows across the world, erasing mankind's memories. It's like nature hit a reset switch: people forget how to speak; parents forget their children, and vice versa; drivers forget how to drive; doctors forget how to heal, etc. The knowledge in books remains, but no one knows how to read. With even basic life skills lost, how will humanity survive? And more to the point, do they even deserve to?

But like every post-apocalyptic scenario in fiction, not everyone is affected. A memory-wiped youth named Wataru meets one such individual and learns from him. Thereafter, Wataru journeys across America looking for something that honours his mentor / friend.

I'm a big fan of stories that encourage us to question what makes cultures tick, and by extension examine humanity's true worth. E.g., with a clean slate, can we do things better? With religion dead, will our unconscious fears cause us to invent it again? Post-apoc settings are a tremendous framework for that kind of thing.

Judge Dredd: The Movie - Comicbook Adaptation (2025)

Judge Dredd: The Movie - 30th Anni Ed (2025)

Author: Andrew Helfer (based on a screenplay by William Wisher Jr + Steve E. de Souza) | Illustrator: Carlos Ezquerra | Page Count: 80 [1]

NOTE: this post contains spoilers for the Judge Dredd (1995) movie directed by Danny Cannon.

Thirty years after the first Judge Dredd movie took a giant Flesh-sized shit on the franchise that inspired it, its comicbook adaptation got reissued. Why should anyone care? For one good reason: because it was illustrated throughout by Carlos Ezquerra.

Not the cover art - that's by Dermot Power and is the only time it really looks like Sylvester Stallone.

For reasons that I don't know but are probably to do with licensing and/or Hollywood egos, the interior art wasn't allowed to use Stallone's likeness.

But that turns out to be a good thing. The first 4 pages are particularity great. The Judge uniforms and Lawmasters are movie-specific, but otherwise the linework, angles, and colours all work together to make it feel like a proper Ezquerra 2000 AD strip. It's easy to imagine that the city and its people will feel similarly. But then Dredd appears in full on Page 5 and the illusion begins to crack... 🙁

Doctor Who: Modern Era Davros (2008-15)

Doctor Who: Modern Era Davros (2008-15)

NOTE: there are SPOILERS for a number of Modern Era Dr Who stories below this paragraph. It would be advisable not to read any further if you're not okay with that.

Following on from the Classic Era Davros (1975-88) post, some words on his appearances in the Modern era. He was mentioned a couple of times during Series 01 and 03, but he didn't actually appear until later, in a noteworthy Series 04 adventure.

I won't mention the title of the episode in this introductory paragraph, for anyone that would prefer to enjoy the surprise reveal during a first watch-through. Personally, I feel that's the best way to experience the story, but I'll need to name it if I'm to write about it, so, as already mentioned, SPOLERS below the cut!

Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture [Comic Adap] (1987)

Masters of the Universe: TMP (1987)

Adaptation: Ralph Macchio (from a screenplay by David Odell) | Illustrators: George Tuska (Pencil) / Art Nichols (Ink) / Evelyn Stein (Colour) | Page Count: 46

"Treachery. Suddenly Skeletor's men were everywhere. Someone must have let them through the defences."

A comic book adaptation of the MotU live action movie (1987) that's illustrated in a style comparable with the minicomics. The basic story is largely the same, but visually it's a million times better than the live action atrocity is. The only exception is Beast Man, who, for some reason, resembles the onscreen version.

I wrote 'largely the same' because there's a few notable differences between the two. I don't know if it was author Ralph Macchio's own doing or if he was working from a screenplay that got further edited in the final cut, but the comic has some interesting scenes that the movie lacks, most of which function as much-needed characterisation and/or attempt to better connect or even remedy the levels of stupid in the story. [1]

Class (2016)

Class (2016)

Dirs: various | 1 Season (cancelled) | 8 episodes, approx 44 mins each.

A Doctor Who offshoot targeted at the Y/A demographic. Previously, we'd had a series for children and one for 'mature' viewers, which is The Sarah Jane Adventures (2008-12) and Torchwood (2006-11), respectively, so it probably made sense to then aim for that valuable middle gap.

I'm not of that age group, so may not be able to connect directly with contemporary concerns of folks that are, but it doesn't matter to me if a story is conceptually for children, teens, or adults - if the work is well-written and/or the characters are engaging, then I can watch and enjoy it.

Class tries hard, with both its relationships and its themes, but I don't feel it's strong enough to appeal to many people outside of the 16-18 y/o audience.

But maybe it was never meant to. Maybe its goals were modest, and it was simply meant to reflect the times in which it was made, without challenging expectations too much. I don't know.

Dogora (1964)

aka Giant Space Monster Dogora (1964)

Dir. Ishirō Honda

The mystery of disappearing television satellites in Earth's orbit, strange happenings at street level, and a detective hunting a well-organised group of diamond thieves would seem to be independent events to most onlookers, but in a daikaijū movie such things rarely are...

The alien creature, which resembles something from the ocean depths, isn't just attacking Japan, but they have a respected doctor who's researching something related, so they're better equipped to discover its weakness.

There's nothing particularly special or memorable about the film, so while it may be of interest to genre fans due to the creative talent involved (Ishirō Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Akira Ifukube), it's one that casual fans can probably safely skip.

The Masters of the Universe Book (2021)

The Masters of the Universe Book (2021)

Author: Simon Beecroft | Page Count: 200

A large format hardcover book (24 x 28 cm, aprrox) published by Dorling Kindersley Ltd.

I've owned plenty of DK books over the years, covering various topics and/or franchises. They typically have lots of quality pictures, in an attempt to detract from the shortage of interesting text. And like a lazy student's homework assignment, in some cases the text that is included is regurgitated content with little emphasis on original thinking.

I expected much the same from The MotU Book, but no, it's really quite good! Author Simon Beecroft seems to have actually cared about what he was writing, and has presented the content in a clear and concise manner. 

It has some real treasures within its pages that make it feel like it was lovingly curated, as opposed to thrown together like many DK books of the past. It's split into chapters, as you'd expect, and within that framework things roughly follow a chronological order.

Dredd: The Illustrated Script and Visuals (2014)

Dredd: The Illustrated Script and Visuals (2014)

Author: Alex Garland  |  Illustrator: Jock  |  Page Count: 240

"You were shit out of luck when you ran into the Ma-Ma clan."

If there'd been a poll asking what people would like to see in a book titled 'Illustrated Script and Visuals', everything that's already included would be on my list. As someone who enjoys reading Dredd comics, screenplays, and can happily waste an hour studying concept art, it seems almost tailor-made.

On the left hand pages is Garland's script, laid out in the usual format. It's also where you'll find trivia, concept art depicting various stages of evolution and full colour production stills, not all of which were used in the final version (unused hall of justice, judge badges, etc), with brief passages of text describing what each one is and how it fits into the overall structure. It's the 'Visuals' half of the book.

Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)

Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)

13 episodes, approx. 30 minutes each.

An animated TV Series that borrows characters from some of the previous Planet of the Apes live action productions but is nevertheless its own thing, requiring no prior franchise knowledge.

The ape-world is more technologically advanced than we'd seen before, with concrete buildings, televisions, and automobiles with internal combustion engines, putting it closer to Pierre Boulle's original 1963 novel than any of its film or TV predecessors had come.

The means by which the three human astronauts — 

Jeff Allen (Austin Stoker), Bill Hudson (Tom Williams), and Judy Franklin (Claudette Nevins) – get to the titular 'planet' is similar to how it was for Taylor and Brent in Films 01 and 02, respectively.

The relationship that the trio of astronauts have with chimpanzee scientists Cornelius (Edwin Mills) and Zira (Philippa Harris) is reminiscent of how it was with the human-sympathisers and Taylor, making it feel like some kind of parallel timeline.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-84)

He-Man and the MotU (1983-84)
Dirs. various | Seasons: 02 | Episodes: 130 (total), approx 23 mins each.

In theory, writing about the original MotU TV series should be a simple task because it isn't a difficult series to describe —  it's a mix of High Fantasy and Science Fiction, wrapped up in a 1980s bun — but the characters and their world have been such a defining part of my life that finding the words is proving to be difficult. It'll probably sound ridiculous, but if I could reach deep into my soul and paste that onto the page, much of what's there would be MotU-shaped.

Within the colourful blobs of joy would be identifiable forms. There'll be one that looks like a stone castle with a skull entrance. Next to it would be a jagged mountain with a giant snake wrapped around it. Elsewhere, you'd see a large cat the size of a lion, but green with orange stripes, and red armour on its back and head.

And there would be heroes, different in temperament but each one cut from the same cloth, standing together, poised to defend, strong in spirit and steadfast in purpose as they do their utmost to prevent the forces of evil from realising their selfish goals, lest the innocent suffer. A cliché it may be, but it's a cliché with a true heart, and that heart beats in time with my own. Put simply, I adore 1980s era MotU.

Star Trek: Picard - Season One (2020)

Star Trek: Picard - Season One (2020)

10 episodes, approx 44-55 minutes each.

Firstly, the important date stuff: it's set in the year 2399, which is twenty years after the tragic loss in ST: Nemesis (2002). We're told that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has been retired from Starfleet for fourteen of those years. No longer trotting through the stars on impressive starships, he resides now at Chateau Picard, overseeing the family business. [1]

Visually, it's modern sci-fi, which means it's darkly lit, has glary lens flare (real and CGI), and periodically weighs every happy moment down with a semi-dystopian undertone. As someone who loves the bright, futuristic, optimistic look of The Next Generation era of Star Trek, it's an affront to my eyes on almost every level. Even so, I watched all 10 episodes, because there was room in my life for more Picard adventuring.

The Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network (2018)

The Ghost in the Shell:

Global Neural Network (2018)

Authors: Max Gladstone / Alex de Campi / Genevieve Valentine / Brenden Fletcher | Illustrators: David López / Giannis Milonogiannis / Brent Schoonover / LRNZ | Page Count: 160

"There was something odd. Like an echo.
I need to go deeper."

Kodansha really do like to big-up their derivative Ghost in the Shell tie-in books. Previously they claimed to have delivered a 'definitive history' of the franchise (in the README). Now it's a 'historic collaboration' with series creator Shirow Masamune.

However, there's nothing in the book to suggest that Shirow had any input beyond granting permission for his characters and their world to be used.

It would be wrong of me to assume that was the case for sure, but given the publisher's actions to date I feel they'd be shouting it from rooftops if he'd truly been involved in any kind of meaningful hands on manner. If I ever find out the truth, I'll return and edit it in here.

What I know for sure is that the book includes four stories by four different authors and four different artists. In the order presented: