Adaptation of graphic novel

1. Dr Steve Gaunson
Textual Crossings
RMIT University

2. Comics to moving pictures
Shots, dialogue, and no narrator who has to be removed for film
interpretation

3. Celebration
 Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff co-wrote the screenplay
 How do we know what sort of adaptation this is?
 Edgy, raw, rough
 About loners and isolation
 These themes are nicely suited to the myth of the comic book reader
 Enid is a comic drawer
 There are several references to other comic strips written and drawn
by Daniel Clowes.
 coffee shop patron in the wheelchair is from Clowes' strip "Feldman" and
the "tampon in a teacup" gag is from a strip called "Art School
Confidential".
 Both strips appeared in a comic book called "Eightball" which also
contained "Ghost World".

4. Adjustment to form
 X-Men, Dick Tracey and Sin
City were dismissed as
literal-minded and "insulting"
to the (comic) art form.
 Ghost World goes for a real
world aesthetic — which was
criticised for not being
saturated in a blue tinge.

5. Black and white with hint of pale
blue

6. Pastiche
 Performances are not pushed too far like many comic
book adaptations.
 Its characters are real people
 Characters look ordinary
 Thora Birch gained 20 pounds for the role of Enid
 Care about Seymour and Enid

7. Parody
 Laughing with the comic – not at the comic
 Terry Zwigoff unintentionally cast the actor who played the
high school principal as a customer in the porn shop.
 Great moments of slapstick humour
 Witty one-liners

8. Revision
 Ghost world = ghost town
 Discontent
 Nothing to do — no culture, no value
 Stronger plot
 Deep engagement through music and listening
 Comic: The character of Seymour appears only as the
victim of the girls' prank
 Film: Rebecca has a rather diminished role

9. Allusion
The two original movie posters on Enid's wall are Pufnstuf (1970) and
The World of Henry Orient (1964), a film about two teenage girls with
similarities to this film.
“Devil go my women”

10. Colonisation
Terry Zwigoff
 Art School Confidential (2006) Daniel Clowes
adaptation
 Crumb (1994)
 Misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation.
 The character of Seymour is based in part on Zwigoff.
 Like Seymour, Zwigoff is an avid collector of 1920's
jazz and blues records.

11. Conclusion
 Visual to visual is too often overlooked as adaptation
 When we think of comics we think of superheroes
 What happens when a creator of the source adapts?
 Comic adaptation is about performance
 Think of how the actors perform these characters