Beijing, March 3 (Reporter Shangguanyun) Some time ago, the film and television industry set off a sci-fi boom: "The Wandering Earth 27" became a popular movie in the Spring Festival; The TV series "Three-Body Problem" has attracted many audiences to follow the drama, and the reputation is also good.
The famous writer Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" is a blockbuster IP of science fiction literature, and its adaptation has always attracted much attention. "Three-Body Comics" (the first part), adapted from it, has also scored 8.8 points on Douban so far. Some people commented that they were "faithful to the original", while others urged them to change, "hoping to release the second series as soon as possible".
However, compared with film and television dramas, science fiction comics seem to be more niche, and there are various difficulties in their adaptation. Science fiction comics, how big of a market will there be in the future?
Famous writer Liu Cixin. Photo courtesy of Guomai Culture
From text to comics
"It has been more than ten years since the first part of "The Three-Body Problem" was published, and it has a large readership. Now, the sci-fi world it describes has gained new life in comics. In "A Letter to < Three-Body > Comic Readers", Liu Cixin wrote.
Literature and comics are two different art forms. As a member of the adaptation team of "Three-Body Comics", Ge Wenxi said, "We need to convert the understood text into pictures after reading, while retaining the text content as much as possible, which is the most difficult part." ”
The choice of the original text needs to follow certain principles. Ge Wenxi said that when adapting the comics, they wanted to restore the original work as much as possible, and at the same time ensure that readers who have not read the original book can fully understand the story of the original work.
In Ge Wenxi's view, these all have a premise, that is, try to understand the original work, understand its ideas and character charm, and not change the meaning of the original work and plot setting.
"If large paragraphs of text information are essential to understanding the original work, even if it is difficult, find a way to visualize it. Sometimes in order to make it easier for readers to understand, we will also expand a part of the plot bridge. He said.
Another difficulty is how to visualize the things described in the original story. When communicating with the artist, Ge Wenxi and his colleagues will propose the key points of the picture to be displayed first, such as the need for a very large antenna, etc., and then carry out artistic processing.
How can science fiction comics be changed?
Some readers commented on the adaptation effect of "Three-Body Comics", which is more suitable for beginner readers. For those who have read the original, it may be a bit sketchy.
"Three-Body Comics". Photo courtesy of Guomai Culture
Zhou Yu, editor of "Three-Body Comics", introduced that the comic is a full-draft color comic, which is more in line with the mainstream choice of domestic comics; The plot is based on the original story, first spending two years doing homework, and then spending four years on adaptation, digging up details.
Considering the style of the original work, the main creative team finally chose a more realistic painting style, and hoped to draw the original story of "The Three-Body Problem" in a way that children can also understand, with a smooth rhythm and the content not "missing two pounds".
In fact, science fiction comic adaptations often face certain challenges, such as how to faithfully restore the original work, how to attract the interest of the audience, etc. Comic adaptation, how can it get more readers' recognition?
"Comic book creators should have the original book in mind, and do not change the author's design at will. The logic in science fiction works is inextricably linked, and it is very easy to make mistakes when changing randomly. In addition, we must have readers in mind, and we must not feel that there is a big IP in hand, and we can draw tigers according to cats. Zhou Yu said.
Specific to "Three-Body Comics", Ge Wenxi told a detail: "We handed over the finished work to Mr. Liu Cixin for review, and when he saw the picture of 'Ye Wenjie sending a signal', he immediately told us that there were too many monitors in the picture. Because under the conditions of the time, so many display devices were not allowed, so we kept this in mind in the subsequent serialization. ”
What is the future of science fiction comics?
In a way, science fiction may be a relatively niche field. But Zhou Yu feels that in China, as the economy drives the development of the cultural industry, the rise of science fiction comics will become a hot trend.
"Three-Body Comics". Photo courtesy of Guomai Culture
"Marvel and DC comics, adapted from film and television dramas, have become the world's best-selling IP. For example, Japanese science fiction works such as "Ghost in the Shell" and "Evangelion" also have comics and have a certain influence. She said.
Therefore, in the adaptation process, science fiction comics should consider broadening the audience. Compared with science fiction, science fiction comics have more intuitive and visual advantages, whether it is original science fiction comics or comics adapted from science fiction works, as long as it is a good story and good content, it is possible to become a good IP to meet the reading and viewing needs of different groups.
Ge Wenxi believes that from a literal point of view, "science fiction" can also be divided into two parts, science and fantasy, the science part often has traces, but the fantasy part requires more imagination. "In the final analysis, it is easier to create good science fiction comics." (End)