Tuesday
Dec082009
Rapping with Richard: Lowered Adaptations
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 
This week (many weeks ago) the Dollar Bin gang sat down with Richard at Richard’s Comics and Collectables to Adapt. What’s an adaptation? Hop in and find out.
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Reader Comments (5)
I have to take issue with the definition of an adaptation that was put forth. The dictionary definition is as follows:
a. Something, such as a device or mechanism, that is changed or changes so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation.
b. A composition that has been recast into a new form: The play is an adaptation of a short novel.
With that being said I see an adaptation as taking one work and translating it into a new form using the same characters, and especially plot, etc... With that being said the first four issues of Marvel Comic's Star Wars was an adaptation of the movie while the rest of the series would be considered a continuationn. Another example would be Spider-man vs. Watchmen. Spider-man could be considered a continuation of Spider-man since no original work elements such as plot were referenced while Watchmen would be considered an adaptation since it used the plot and characters from an existing work..
Does not Spider-man fit definition a) Something, such as a device or mechanism, that is changed or changes so as to become suitable to a new or special application or situation.
It is the comic book origin story of Spider-man adapted to film.
I don't fully agree that Buffy Season 8 is an Adaptation, but the Buffy story certainly did Adapt to the new medium. Is that not a observation of Adaptation?
I had other stuff to say, but I lost my train of thought due to work getting in the way.
I would put almost any first comic book movie that includes the origin story to be a quasi-adaptation at best and truthfully it should be called a reimagining or a reinterpretation. While the basics of the origin are there they are routinely tweaked to update them and the rest of the story is always changed. Let's say someone wanted to shoot Huckleberry Finn and instead of it being Huck and an African-American named Jim he decides that Jim is Huck's sexy asian companion and Huck is actually a time traveler who decides to kick back in the 1800's to unwind on the Mississippi River. Would that be considered an adaptation of Huckleberry Finn? I don't think so. It might be called a reinterpretation or a reimagining.
Well, a) That, although awesome would be absurd and is an extreme interpretation of a loosely defined use of adaptation. b) you need to lay off the porn at work.
I would actually watch that version of Huck Finn and since I have a stay at home wife where else am I supposed to look at porn?