Tomorrow a movie that Beth and I (and a lot of the world) has been anticipating comes out and I have been preparing for it in typical Book Blogger fashion. I binged on some of the source material.
I started with Civil War (which Beth also read.) This is a heartbreaking title in which Captain America stands up for what he believes in and Tony Stark is kind of a dick about something that’s probably a terrible idea. But, that’s not what is heartbreaking about it. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone interested in reading the interesting title, but Cap’s arch in this comic is pretty sad.
And, then I read The Death of Captain America. I feel like that title should come with a spoiler alert? Except, I don’t. This is the post-registration world and so no one can take up the shield without registering first. And, Bucky Barnes, who once again remembers who he is or was, isn’t going to let just anyone take up the shield. I liked how this story developed and went into some of the implications of the registration act. There are still fugitive unregistered heroes. There are registered heroes who regret that choice. It was a good read.
And, then I read Captain America: Road to Reborn. Steve Rogers has been gone a year. How is everyone holding up? How are they living with what happened and the part they played in it? This was also an interesting title that unsurprisingly has left me wanting to read more.
So, a friend lent me Marvel 1602 and now that’s what I’m reading.
The good news is Comixology has got a girl’s back and they’ve helpfully had a number of sales that have let me keep reading. (Even if it meant I had to buy single issues.)
How do you prepare for a movie based on a book to come out? Do you read the book? Do you watch the interviews of cast members? Do you avoid everything and hope to be pleasantly surprised? Let us know it the comics!
2 Women, So Many Books 
My preferences vary when it comes to deciding whether or not to read source material first before seeing a movie I’m interested in. If I was already interested in the source material before they decided to make it into a film then I generally go with reading the source material first, but if the existence of a movie is the thing that sparks my awareness of the source material then I might go with seeing the movie first. In most cases, the adaptations take creative liscences with the source material although the recent trend tends to favor films that slavishly “honor” the source material. I think adaptations should definitely keep the spirit of the source material but I’m not so sure that strict adaptations always result in a favorable viewing experience for those people who read the books. I think an adaption is best when it has a creative life of its own finding the right balance between the source material and its own creative liscence with the souce material.
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I absolutely agree that strict adaptations don’t always lead to favorable viewing experiences. I’m reminded of the first two Harry Potter movies which I feel were quite faithful but I felt that they suffered in terms of pacing. (This is particularly true when you put them up against three which has breathlessly fast pacing.)
it makes sense, saving source material you didn’t know about for post movie. With these, I was interested pre-film and I’m very happy to have read them. (Although, I do think having read them and having done so so close to the film impacted my feelings of the film.)
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