Comics-to-screen adaptations are tricky to pull off — and
hard-core comic book fans can be exacting — but Robert Kirkman has now been the
writer behind two of them.
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First, he masterminded the comic book “The Walking Dead,”
then helped turn it into one of the most popular TV series of the 21st century.
Now Kirkman is executive producer of “Invincible,” an animated Amazon Prime
show based on a superhero he created with illustrator Cory Walker. Loaded with
top-shelf voice talent led by Steven Yeun as the title’s teenage superbeing
(real name: Mark Grayson) and J.K. Simmons as his father, Omni-Man, the new
series is irreverent and dramatic, funny and graphically violent, and never
less than gleefully entertaining. The comic book was published from 2003 to
2018 by Skybound, an Image Comics imprint.
In a video call from Los Angeles, Kirkman, 42, discussed
some of what inspired him in his work on “Invincible.”
Marvel Comics
Naturally, a superhero story is going to draw from one of
the biggest publishers of the genre, but Kirkman zeroed in on a specific side
of Marvel Comics. “Their big innovation in the ’60s was to treat the superhero
characters as if they were human beings,” he said. “There were stories dealing
with trouble at work and having to make rent. So ‘Invincible’ tries to dig deep
on the family aspects and portray inhuman characters as deeply human.”
“When superpowered characters go on dates they can have
lunch in Rome or their favorite bistro in France. They’re not constrained by
the same realities of time and distance as we are,” Kirkman said. If Mark is
falling short as a boyfriend, he added, “it’s not because he forgot to text
before he went out with the boys; it’s because he had to do a quick mission on
Mars. We’re able to use the fantasy elements of a superhero world to heighten
the everyday relatable drama.”
The non-superheroic folks don’t get ignored, either. Invincible’s
mother, Debbie (Sandra Oh), for example, has issues of her own. “Her main story
line in the first season is a suspicion over her husband doing something that
could be potentially very bad,” Kirkman said. “A wife suspicious of her husband
is a very real thing that a lot of people deal with — a somewhat grounded
conflict in this crazy superhero world.”
DC Comics’ Silver Age
Kirkman is a fan of the lighter aspects of superhero
stories, especially as they flourished at DC Comics in the 1950s through 1970s;
he singles out Superman’s romance with mermaid Lori Lemaris, and also mentioned
his turning back time by flying around the Earth at super-speed in the Richard
Donner film “Superman,” from 1978. “By embracing the sillier aspects of Silver
Age comic books, we’re not telling silly stories — I don’t think anyone would
ever say that ‘Invincible’ is silly,” Kirkman said. “But holding your breath
and speaking telepathically while you fight around the orbit of the planet is
goofy, a father and son playing catch by throwing a ball around the curvature
of the Earth is ridiculous,” he continued, referring to events in his new show.
“Playing those scenes straight shines a spotlight on how unique and how cool
the world of superheroes can be.”
‘The Transformers: The Movie’ (1986) by Nelson Shin
Visible behind Kirkman was a poster of this animated
feature, which he saw when he was 8. The movie dispatches Optimus Prime, the
heroic leader of the Autobots, early on, a storytelling decision that made a
big impression on the future writer. “By giving the audience something they
would tell you they absolutely don’t want, you can actually give them something
that is really fulfilling and better than anything they could have imagined,”
he said.
“The Walking Dead” is famous for abruptly killing off fan
favorites, and the first episode of “Invincible” ends in a startling massacre.
“The stories that come after that are richer because of that loss,” Kirkman
said.
‘Dead Alive’ (1993) by Peter Jackson
With its crushed skulls and geysers of blood, “Invincible”
does not shy from violence. Kirkman, however, claims that he gets queasy
easily.
“I’m not great at realistic gore, but I do enjoy the
shockingness and startling aspect of when unrealistic gore happens,” he
explained. Once again, a childhood experience proved formative.
He was about 15 when his father came in with a VHS tape,
saying, ‘I’m supposed to take this back to the video store, but this movie’s
insane, you’ve got to watch it,’” Kirkman said fondly.
It was this delirious low-budget zombie-comedy hybrid by the
director who would later deliver the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Kirkman
was not disappointed. “The climax is, there’s a house full of zombies and a guy
ties a lawn mower around his neck and runs around hacking people up,” he said.
Rob Liefeld
Kirkman picked Liefeld not because he was one of the
founders of Image Comics (which published both the “Invincible” and “The
Walking Dead” comic books) but for his storytelling chops. “If you look at how
fast-paced ‘Invincible’ is, that is something Rob very much established in his
work,” Kirkman said.
He also enjoys Liefeld’s taste for plotting antics, singling
out a big reveal in issue 100 of “The New Mutants,” from 1991, in which the
villainous Stryfe takes off his helmet, revealing himself to be the gun-toting
warrior Cable — or is he?
“Seeing that kind of stuff and how it works in comics has
led to some of those bigger cliffhangers and wackier soap-opera moments in
‘Invincible,’” Kirkman continued, mentioning Monster Girl, “who is trapped in a
youthful body,” as an example. She turns into a big beast, but each time she
transforms, she returns looking even younger, which presents complications —
it’s hard to date when you’re a 20-something who looks 12.
‘Savage Dragon’ by Erik Larsen
Kirkman praises this comic book as his favorite of all time,
and a big reason is that the title character aged over the years — just like
the “Invincible” books introduce a 17-year-old Mark Grayson who eventually
grows older, marries, becomes a father. “That’s something that’s definitely
pulled from Erik Larsen,” Kirkman said.
While the series has just started, he and Yeun already have
Mark’s future in mind. “In the very earliest recording sessions, Steven pulled
me aside and said, “I’m trying to play him as very young and naive because I
know where the character goes and I want to be able to change my voice over
time,’” Kirkman said. “I don’t know exactly how many seasons the show will run
at this point, but the goal is to tell that complete story.”
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