Miller & Gibbons To Adapt Martha Washington?
Dec 22, 2008 by Kofi OutlawIn a recent interview with a UK website, Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons dropped an interesting hint about which project he would like to work on …
In a recent interview with a UK website, Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons dropped an interesting hint about which project he would like to work on once Watchmen hits theaters.
Dave’s answer: he would like to get another one of his comic book creations up on the silver screen: Martha Washington, a character he and Sin City creator Frank Miller co-created in the early 90′s.
Frank Miller also seems intent on getting Martha Washington adapted for the screen, as he mentioned in a recent interview with MTV News:
“It’s just a matter of finding the right venue, because ‘Martha Washington’ isn’t a movie, it’s a series,” [Miller] said. “It would have to be like 12 episodes to fit the whole story in. I would not let it be truncated.”
The epic story Frank is referring to began with Give Me Liberty, a four-issue comic book miniseries he and Gibbons created in 1990 about a young African-American girl named Martha Washington, born into a dystopian future where America has splintered into warring extremist factions. Martha is born and raised in “The Green,” a prison-like urban enclosure (based on Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing projects) from which few inhabitants ever escape.
Over the short (but dense) course of the series, Martha flees a mental institution with help from her friend, Raggy Ann, a “living computer” built by the government; she enlists in PAX, a future version of the military; goes on to help PAX save the world from extremist groups and other worldly threats; all while trading sabers with her evil nemesis, the corrupt, Lt. Moretti.
Give Me Liberty was a popular independent comic at its time of release, helping to establish independent (and adult-themed) comic book publisher, Dark Horse Comics. The original four-issue miniseries also spawned several sequels, including Martha Washington Goes to War (1994), Happy Birthday Martha Washington (1995), Martha Washington Stranded In Space (1995), Martha Washington Saves The World (1997-98), and Martha Washington Dies (2007).
According to Dave Gibbons, now is the time for Martha Washington to make the jump from page to big screen–with help from Frank Miller, of course.
“There was a series I did with Frank Miller called Martha Washington, which in fact is longer than Watchmen, it’s about 500 pages. Frank’s enjoying a certain amount of success in Hollywood and I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens with that. I think that would make a great movie...Martha Washington is a war story but it’s quite satirical and I think has a strange resonance with what’s happening in the world today.”
Well, Dave, I wouldn’t put all my eggs in the Frank Miller basket until the first (non)returns for The Spirit come back. (If that latest trailer is any indication, Frank might soon be taking a hit in the Hollywood clout department.)
I’ll be the first to admit that despite my extensive fanboy knowledge of all things comic book, I have never read any part of the Give Me Liberty series. But this news has certainly made me curious. What about you–have you read any of the Martha Washington saga? Do you think it would make for a good film? Sound off and let us know.
Source: Digital Spy UK & MTV News
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I read the first couple of mini series. They’re a little left leaning but fun. I love Dave’s work and would like to see a good movie. Don’t know if I need to see every panel replicated like Watchmen.
D
I read the first couple of series. They’re a little left leaning but fun. I’m not sure I need to every panel of every page of all of the series. JMO
Doug
Darn, sorry for the double post. I didn’t think there was that much of a delay between posts.
There was also Martha Washington Saves The World from ’97-’98, just to be a pedantic piglet…
Could work if done properly. The Surgeon General would make an iconic screen villain, and there’s certainly never a dull moment in any of the Martha Washington series. The original Give Me Liberty is by far the most powerful, I reckon, though Miller shows a genuine and surprising compassion throughout that’s virtually absent from the near self-parody of his Sin City work.
Dentist, I’m updating the post to include your info, just b/c you had the watchful eye.
I actually have all of the Martha Washington comics (including the appearances in Dark Horse Presents). If I look around my house long enough, I’ll probably find my Martha Washington action figure.
Could the comics make a good movie? Yes. There’s enough material there to work with. As others have noted, Give Me Liberty is the most powerful chunk and the one I remember most. But I’m a little twitchy about Frank Miller these days so if Gibbons is along for the ride, then maybe I’d line up to go see it.
Give me Liberty is not left leaning at all though of course it is not right-wing extreme either. It is Libertarian, focus on individuality and freedom over the system of government we are developing today.
I love this serie, And I for one would love to have every scene replicated. Though I think an Akira quality anime adaptation would be the best alternative ^^
I've read “Give Me Liberty” more times than I can recount… It's kept off the top spot in my eyes for brilliant writing and art by the British comic “The Ballad of Halo Jones” from the pages of 2000ad.
That being said- I love “Give Me Liberty” and PROVIDED that Hollywood doesn't *mess* it up, as they do with practically every comic adaptation, I would love to see Martha Washington on the big screen!
I love the Martha Washington series, all of them! As an aging AA woman, I followed the series to be a part of the comic book reading men (son and husband) in my life. Needing a powerful image to identify with, she fit it, in all ways. As a result, I searched and wrote (unpublished) from a psychological, multicultural perspective. In conclusion, Martha was the answer. Please put every slide in movie form. I will use it with my thousands of students, for years! Prof. D