Scripted by: Peter David
Art by: Mirco Pierfederici
Characters created by: Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird
About two and a half years ago Disney premiered a rough trailer for a TRON sequel at San Diego Comic Con. I wasn’t in attendance but I was thrilled when the footage leaked to the Internet. TRON may not be the greatest movie of my childhood but it’s one that holds a special place in my heart. I first learned of the movie from Starlog magazine. I remember being entranced by the images shown in that mag. I read the article so many times the issue became tattered and lost its cover. I still have it to this day. I distinctly remember buying most of the figures and owning the storybook. Still, I did not see the movie in the summer of 1982. Forgive me but I was only 8 years old at the time.
My love of TRON did not end there. I was completely enraptured by the concept of the computerized world of the film even though I had only experienced it through toys, a magazine, and a few commercials. I actually dressed up as Sark that year for Halloween. If I can rustle up a photo I will include it in a review when TRON: Legacy hits. I finally saw the movie on one of the final days of school in 1983. The school must have rented the film and they showed it to us on a reel to reel projector in the gym. Even though I knew the entire movie from the storybook I still found the flick enthralling. Fast forward to modern times and the movie may not quite hold up, but it’s still got all those memories built in that make it cooler than its archaic effects look without rose colored glasses today.
The stunning aspect of the upcoming TRON: Legacy is that it’s a clear and definitive sequel to the original film and not am unnecessary remake or reboot (if you can excuse the pun). I love the idea of children being exposed to the world of a TRON in this new film with state of the art animation. Hopefully its clear link to the original film will get kids to watch that one too. The nature of the effects make it look so much more dated than many other movies from the early ’80s, so this comic may be a strong alternative to the youth market. Being a fifth-grade teacher I can attest to my students love for the graphic storytelling medium. I have numerous trade paperback collections in my room and most of the kids cannot get enough of them. Here’s a way for the kids to get their teacher’s version of TRON in a less antiquated way. This comic is not going to sit in a longbox in my house. It’s going with me this week and will remain in my classroom for the foreseeable future.
Comic to film adaptations are a mixed lot at best. Usually there is not enough time to tell the story in a coherent manner. Peter David has done a solid job of translating the first half of the original TRON screenplay into a comic script. This is helped by the fact that the story runs a full 32-pages and there are no advertisements that don’t relate to TRON. A very good deal (at least in today’s marketplace) for a $3.99 cover price. Most of the words are directly out of the screenplay but David interjects his own little bits here and there when possible. He also plays around a bit with time using the moment when Flynn is sent into the computer world at the start of the story and throughout the majority of the issue. It’s not really necessary, but I always liked this particular storytelling function as a way to heighten tension. Obviously it’s not exactly meant for me as I know where this is all going. The whole first issue gives us a small taste of the computer land of TRON. It lays the groundwork for the second issue and most of the really exciting happenings of the film.
Pierfederici does an admirable job of translating the world of TRON into comic books. The story does not look as dated as when it’s on film. That really should have been his main goal and in that he succeeded. There’s a power and majesty to the characters especially in the computer confines. Another good aspect is that there is no attempt to make any of the characters look like Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner or anyone else from the original cast. The artwork is not spectacular but it does the job of translating the story. If Pierfederici was also trying to nail down likenesses the book would probably suffer from a posed look that destroys the visual flow.
This is one of the best signs of life from Marvel since the takeover by Disney. I would love to see a lot more comic books coming through from the Disney end. The 4 dollar cover price is a bit of a hard sell to the youth market, but once this gets collected and into bookstores it will be that much more accessible to young boys and girls. Not just as a tie-in to get people to watch a movie, but, more importantly, to get children to read!
