by rory midhani
Okay, so, while we were up at A-Camp, some pretty big news happened. Drawn to Comics’ favorite comic Lumberjanes is getting made into a movie!!!!!!
First, let’s take a breath. I think we need it.
Okay, back to being excited!!!!!!
Art by Brooke A. Allen.
If you read this column and still don’t know what Lumberjanes is, it’s the absolutely terrific, superbly funny, terribly exciting, amazingly touching and terrifically fun comic created by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, and our very own Grace Ellis and illustrated by Brooke A. Allen (as well as some guest artists) about a group of five girls at a summer camp. These girls, Ripley, April, Jo, Molly and Mal get into all sorts of supernatural adventures with their camp counselor Jen and Camp Leader Rosie and just have a great time being friends and being girls. It’s everything wonderful with comics today.
This live-action adaptation is being made by 20th Century Fox, and is being written by Will Widger, screenwriter of the noir screenplay The Munchkin. According to producers Ross Richie, Stephen Christy and Adam Yoelin, from BOOM! Studios, they went out to over 30 potential screenwriters before they and 20th Century Fox picked Widger. Richie says that “bringing a faithful adaptation to the screen and exposing even more potential fans to the amazing characters of Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley is something I can’t wait to dive into with the team at Fox.” Hopefully he really means that “faithful adaptation” part.
Watters, Stevenson, Allen and Ellis via comicsbulletin.com.
I also want to mention that Lumberjanes is currently nominated for two Eisner Awards, the first trade paperback debuted at #7 on the New York Times Best Sellers list and it’s going into it’s fifth printing. So that’s a pretty freaking great job, Lumberjanes team.
My wild excitement is also mixed with more than a little worry though. The article says that the screenwriter, who I’ll remind you is a man, wrote a script that is closest in spirit and tone to the comic book. But to me, and I’m sure to many other readers, a lot of that spirit and tone involves a few things that Hollywood movies, especially ones written by men, usually don’t have. It’s about the queerness of the girls. It’s about Jo and Ripley and Jen (and possibly other characters) being girls and women of color. It’s about Mal and Molly’s relationship. It’s about a background full of amazingly diverse girls at camp. It’s about girlhood and feminism and friendship to the max. Let’s pray to the QTPOC Goddesses of Intersectional Feminism that they do this movie right.
Luci, Cassandra and Laura in The Wicked + The Divine. Art by Jamie McKelvie
There’s some other pretty awesome adaptation news that came out this past week. One of my other favorite comics, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s incredible The Wicked + The Divine, is going to be a TV show! Universal Television has optioned the rights to be produced through Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue Deconnick‘s (another favorite comics couple) Milkfed Criminal Masterminds. This could be so freaking great, you guys. So freaking great.
I have some similar fears about the Wicked + the Divine TV show that I have about the Lumberjanes movie. This is a series with a biracial lead and a lot of queer characters. It’s a series with a trans woman of color. It’s a series with a lot of characters who we don’t normally see on TV. Also, just a lot of other stuff that seems ridiculously hard to film, especially for TV. I mean, exploding heads, god-powered concerts, people transforming into gods, Dionysus’ party. If these two comics are adapted faithfully, they could have some of the best representation we’ve ever seen in movies and TV. They could be amazing. On the other hand, if they’re not, they could really hurt their fans, especially the fans who don’t normally get to see themselves represented in comics, let alone in movies and TV shows.
Fresh Romance #1 cover by Kevin Wada.
In other amazing comics news, y’all should really check out Fresh Romance #1, it’s reeeeallly good. I talked a little about it when it was still in its Kickstarter phase, but now the first issue is available for purchase to everyone, not just people who supported the initial campaign. I’ve read this whole issue and it totally hooked me, right from the first story, “School Spirit” written by Kate Leth and with art by Arielle Jovellanos. I mean, who could read a high school interracial lesbian romance comic and not get hooked? Plus it seems to have some sort of cool supernatural stuff going on? Awesome. And then there are two more comics?!?
From “The Ruby Equation” with art by Sally Jane Thompson.
Next up we’ve got Ruined, written by Sarah Vaughn and illustrated by Sarah Winifred Searle, a lovely Regency tale about a couple walking down the aisle to be married, only none of them look too happy about it. What’s up with all the whispered rumors coming from the wedding guests? And who wrote Catherine that beautiful but mysterious love letter? I guess you’ll have to buy this and the next issue to find out! In the third comic, called The Ruby Equation, barista and fairy (or something?) Ruby uses magic to help people fall in love and complete her mission. Sarah Kuhn and Sally Jane Thompson have made a really cute comic that has a really interesting premise and I can’t wait to see where it goes. I’m really excited for this anthology, over the last couple years we’ve seen more and more comics by women and featuring women superheroes. This is filling a different, but just as valid need, and it’s filling it with really great comics. You can buy all 40 pages of the digital comic for only $4.99 at comixology and at Rosy Press’ website.
New Releases (June 10)
Afterlife with Archie #8 (Archie Comics)
Marceline Gone Adrift #6 (Boom!)
Adventure Time: The Flip Side Vol 1 TPB (Boom!)
Batgirl Vol. 1 The Batgirl of Burnside TPB (DC)
Catwoman #41 (DC)
Detective Comics #41 (DC)
Gotham Academy #7 (DC)
Harley Quinn #17 (DC)
Starfire #1 (DC)
Swords of Sorrow: Vampirella/Jennifer Blood #2 (Dynamite)
ODY-C Vol 1 TPB (Image)
Saga #29 (Image)
1602: Witch Hunter Angela #1 (Marvel)
Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps #1 (Marvel)
Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos #1 (Marvel)
Ms. Marvel Vol. 3 Crushed TPB (Marvel)
Princess Leia #3 (Marvel)
Silk #5 (Marvel)
Spider-Gwen #5 (Marvel)
Welcome to Drawn to Comics! From diary comics to superheroes, from webcomics to graphic novels – this is where we’ll be taking a look at comics by, featuring and for queer ladies. So whether you love to look at detailed personal accounts of other people’s lives, explore new and creative worlds, or you just love to see hot ladies in spandex, we’ve got something for you.
If you have a comic that you’d like to see me review, you can email me at mey [at] autostraddle [dot] com
I could not contain myself when I heard about the Lumberjanes movie. I just about exploded.
Looks like I gotta check out Fresh Romance. I keep an eye on the new releases on Comixology but somehow I missed that one!
I think you’ve covered most of my purchases for this week. However, I’m also considering Batman #41 this week because Maggie Sawyer has been promoted to commissioner and it was hinted in Batwoman Annual #2 that she and Kate were getting back together (or at the very least talking again) so if they delve into her personal life at all it may be worth looking into that comic.
I’m restricting myself to trades instead of monthlies, but I’m keeping an eye on Batman and Detective Comics. Batman for the same reasons, and Detective Comics for Renee Montoya.
Here’s to hoping for gay things.
Yep, I don’t trust Universal Television with The Wicked + The Divine, because I think with need a place with a little more edge to make it work.
I really hope that the creators and Image Comics can keep a tight leash on that project, because that’s the only way it’s gonna work.
*we need a place
Netflix is my go-to place for things like this. Why can’t they make all the shows!
Yeah, I was thinking about the great work they did with Daredavil
I’m also worried about a man writing Lumberjanes, despite my initial excitement over the news. It kinda feels like… suddenly having a man replace the writers on OITNB. :/ I’m gonna be so pissed if the film erases the queerness and the feminism of the series. Hopefully the creators will have some control over the film.
So many emotions about a Lumberjanes adaptation. Just yesterday I told my partner that the comic was female-created and led. Why Hollywood?? *sigh* I just hope we get to keep our queer girls/women of color
So three men were in charge of picking the script writer for Lumberjanes? Red flag. They picked a man? Red flag. I’m trying to be hopeful but without our ladies who actually MAKE the comic involved, I’m struggling not to worry. Hollywood is sexist and ruins so much of what it touches. And that’s not cynicism, that’s reality.
I really need Lumberjanes fans who have platforms and social media heft, to work to hold the movie makers accountable and make sure it’s the movie it should be. Not just celebrate that a movie called Lumberjanes is being made. I’d rather there was no movie at all than a bad one.
Also, I still say a movie isn’t the best idea for Lumberjanes and an animated (or live action, but mostly animated) TV series would be ideal.
YES to Lumber Janes and more campy fun. It just has to be as wild, as exciting, and as campy as the comic.
Now I hate to be the lone dissenter, but Wicked +Divine is just too boring to have a tv series. Frankly, the whole notion of Gods walking amongst humans isn’t pulled off nicely by the writers. It’s more like they just wanted to write some comic about pop stars with super powers. It began as a contrived bland series and went worse from Lucy’s death.
When I started reading I was like YES! Lumberjanes movie! OMG! SI!!!
But now I don’t know. We really need to start a circle and pray to the QTPOCGIF as you suggested.
Fresh romance sounds great. Thanks for always keeping us up-to-date, Mey!
Let’s talk about how much I would give up to play April in the “Lumberjanes” live action film. They could pay me in badges and copies of the comic. Forget money, forget food, just give me a script and plenty of LJ paraphernalia.
Super-excited about Lumberjanes film! And hopefully it is raining dollars for Grace and the other creators. xx