Turning Monkeys Into Comics

Animal Planet's Dark Days in Monkey City is the first natural history television series to blend live-action with graphic novel-style animation. Comic book icons Joe Kelly and Joe Casey — who have written for a variety of titles such as Uncanny X-Men, Justice League of America, The Adventures of Superman and Action Comics — were involved early on as advisors to the script. We recently sat down with them and their partners at Man of Action Studios, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle, to talk about the graphic novel approach, how this style is adapted into the television and film medium and how monkeys are turned into comics.

---

ANIMAL PLANET: Dark Days in Monkey City is the first natural history television series to use graphic novel-style animation. When you first heard about this approach, what was your reaction?

MAN OF ACTION: We were excited. "Graphic novel style" is a phrase a lot of people are using, but we felt we could make that mean something useful and exciting for Dark Days in Monkey City. And it was cool that the crew wanted to do for television what movies like 300 and Sin City did in film.

ANIMAL PLANET: Graphic novels have not only influenced the visuals in Dark Days in Monkey City, but the writing as well. You were involved early on as advisors to the script — can you talk about what's involved in telling a reality-based natural history story in a graphic novel-inspired format?

MAN OF ACTION: In this particular case, it's about finding the drama in the real-life situations that these animals find themselves in. And their day-to-day lives can be fairly dramatic. Real life and death stuff that should keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

ANIMAL PLANET: How do you think the addition of graphic novel elements change or enhance what we normally expect to see in natural history films?

MAN OF ACTION: The graphic novel style has a tendency to highlight the iconic elements in any subject. When looking at what is usually the prevue of an unadorned naturalistic approach those graphic elements hopefully add a layer of poetic truth of the very real science.

ANIMAL PLANET: In what ways do you think Dark Days in Monkey City bridges the gap between natural history-based entertainment and comic books?

MAN OF ACTION: Comic books are a medium, nothing more nothing less. However certain subject matter is rarely tested inside the graphic novel. Dark Days in Monkey City takes the notion that these natural behaviors and occurrences are also great stories. The graphic novel just simply puts a dramatic framework over that conceit.

ANIMAL PLANET: What do you think are the advantages to telling any story in a graphic novel format?

MAN OF ACTION: It's a perfect marriage of words and pictures. As the rest of the world is discovering, any story can be told using the comic book medium. There are no limitations aside from the creators' imaginations.

ANIMAL PLANET: Do you think there are any similarities between writing a comic book or graphic novel script and a screenplay? If so what?

MAN OF ACTION: All forms of storytelling share a common element... they bring the reader (or the viewer) into a world that's been created almost completely from scratch, straight out of the mind of the writer/creator. Format-wise, there can be similarities but a significant difference is that writing comics can be like directing on the page, indicating to an artist all sorts of things related to the image the reader will see on the page.

ANIMAL PLANET: In adapting the graphic novel format to film and television, what is lost or gained in the process?

MAN OF ACTION: The main thing that's lost is control over time. In a graphic novel, the reader controls how long he or she lingers on an image or a caption. In television, time is real time controlled by the show. But what's gained is a heightened sense of reality that is sometimes lacking on the printed page. The action is convincing because it's actually happening — the setting is convincing because it's real.

Graphic novels can be treated as any novel that might be adapted to film or TV; things can change to better suit the intended medium. Or a graphic novel/comic book can be directly translated to film, since the visuals can be followed almost like storyboards. Either way is valid.

ANIMAL PLANET: What inspired you to get involved in the comic book medium, and what compels you to continue to tell stories in this way?

MAN OF ACTION: There's a tremendous freedom. Man of Action produces our own line of comic books through Image Comics and we can do any kind of story we want about any kind of character. And best of all, the "budget" for production and special effects is limited only by our imaginations!

ANIMAL PLANET: Some of the most popular comic book superheroes have strengths and abilities inspired or derived from animals, such as bats, spiders and wolverines. Why do you think that is?

MAN OF ACTION: Super heroes are all about examining the human potential at its fullest — who's strongest, fastest, toughest? Animals provide a very fast analogy that works as a great metaphor. We know the traits of an animal like the wolverine, so mapping over some of those behaviors to a human being is a great way to examine what makes that character different from normal humans.

ANIMAL PLANET: What do you think about how apes and monkeys have traditionally been represented in the comic book medium, and do you think Dark Days in Monkey City will have any affect on that?

MAN OF ACTION: For reasons we can't entirely identify, there is a special place in the hearts of comic readers where apes and monkeys live. There's an old story that an editor back in the day said he'd increase his sales anytime he put a gorilla on the cover! It could be the power they represent, or that we're so evolutionarily close, or the depth of emotions that the creatures are capable of. Maybe they're just fun to draw! Regardless, as long as there have been comics, there have been simians IN comics, portrayed as everything from noble companions to gigantic purple conquerors. Dark Days will build on this long tradition, no doubt adding a level of reality and scientific exploration to the mix.

ANIMAL PLANET: What's next for Man of Action Studios?

MAN OF ACTION: More animation projects in the vein of the mega-successful BEN 10 at Cartoon Network. Plus, we've got a line of Man of Action comics and graphic novels being published through Image Comics that'll be debuting in comic book stores worldwide starting in February.

ANIMAL PLANET: Great, thank you for your time!

To learn more about Man of Action Studios and see what's next for Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle, visit www.manofaction.tv.