Veronica Mars fans take heart: The canceled CW series may still have a future — in comic books.
In an interview with Diane Kristine at Blogcritics, series creator Rob Thomas reveals he’s been in talks with DC Comics to bring Veronica & Co. to comics, which would allow him to use the planned fourth-season storylines. Hey, if Buffy can do it, why can’t Veronica?
Last month, DC launched Supernatural: Origins, a prequel to The CW drama. The network is co-owned by DC Comics parent company Time Warner.
Related: Thomas talks to the Toronto Star, too
June 12th, 2007 at 9:22 am
“Hey, if Buffy can do it, why can’t Veronica?”
Seriously, you’re asking this? The former has action, monsters, and characters ready made for comicbooks. Plus, it had a much larger fanbase (wasn’t cancelled) and has only met success years after it went off the air and attained full-on ‘cult’ status.
Mars was just a teenage detective show.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Veronica is far from teenage at this point, and the whole 4th season involved a time jump of some sort and something about an FBI Academy. Either way, detective comics can work without all the big explosions you seem to think comics are all about. Didn’t you ever read Alias?
June 12th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I really like Veronica Mars (despite a weak ending to series 2). I haven’t seen anything from series 3 yet, but if they went with the plan of making it more episodic to attract new viewers I’m not surprised it was cancelled. The great thing about VMars was the over-arching mysteries, to the degree that the season-long story was nearly the “a-plot” of each episode.
But hell, if there’s a comic, I’ll give it a chance just to see. If it’s good, I’m willing to follow but can’t say I’d be committed just for series loyalty.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:40 am
For a comic company that’s looking for female readership, Veronica Mars is a no-brainer. The property is likely cheap, it comes with a vocal and fierce fandom, a large percentage of which are female, and the character works well in a large number of situations and scenarios.
You can do a high-action Veronica; although she’s far from a gun moll, or a martial artist, it’s more than possible to involve her in those kinds of actions, as they do on the TV series from time to time.
But the sell is the character, to be certain.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:41 am
If Brubaker is writing…
June 12th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Part of me would love to see this, but given that watching the show went from labor of love to chore this season, and that no one associated with the show has ever written a comic book, I feel little interest overall in this.
The show should be left to end. Sorry, Rob.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:51 am
If it does happen, I will be there like, as I am fond of saying, Jack the bear from Delaware.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:27 am
that would be the greatest!
June 12th, 2007 at 11:35 am
“Veronica is far from teenage at this point, and the whole 4th season involved a time jump of some sort and something about an FBI Academy. Either way, detective comics can work without all the big explosions you seem to think comics are all about. Didn’t you ever read Alias?”
How can something that may be happen in the future be used in the past tense?
I think its worth mentioning that Alias also involved super-heroes and super-heroic action. I don’t see Veronica meeting anyone like Captain America or the Purple Man. Its a very low-action property.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Efforts to save V. Mars are still underway! The studio has until Friday to make its final decision!
Today thousands of fans are collectively purchasing the season three finale, The Bitch is Back, through iTunes! More info on this and other efforts here:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32948
June 12th, 2007 at 11:40 am
How they market it would, I imagine, be key. I half-suspect they’d be better off selling 150-page books via Minx or CMX than trying to do it as a monthly series.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
A Veronica Mars book would definitely work, as long as they find the right people (i.e. Gail Simone) to work on the project. Go for it, DC!
June 12th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I think that this could be a very good thing. A detective story with a strong female lead that appeals to a younger demographic? There is potential there at least.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I would buy it.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I’m just saying: I suggested on Veronica Mars’ MySpace that Rob at least sell the already-written pilot for the FBI story to a comic company and I cited Buffy as an example of life after TV in comics. I never saw my comment get approved and posted. Maybe it wasn’t posted to not jinx this sweet, sweet deal.
Please DC (or anyone), make this happen! VM is a great property: has a strong, loyal fan base of young viewers who could easily get into comics; it would get you a lot of mainstream press; and Thomas would be a great talent to tap for a book like Robin. I would buy no less than three copies of each issue (one for me and two for my two VM fan friends who do not read comics). Go Pirates!
June 12th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
the only way this works is if they have a top notch creative team on the project.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Never let it be said that Rob Thomas didn’t do anything that Joss Whedon didn’t already do before him. Smart spunky blonde title character, Watcher-like older male character, lovable computer-geek best friend, have a nice guy pine for the spunky blonde title character while she pines for the dark, dangerous guy she should never have hooked up with in the first place, have a criminally-inclined supporting character become one of the fan favorites, have Charisma Carpenter on the show, have Alyson Hannigan on the show, miswrite a black female character in the second season — the list goes on. I say this as an actual fan of the show — a comics version is going too far.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
But they had totally different types of stories, though, Rob. One had supernatural adventure and high school as metaphors for each other, and the other had noirish mystery. And I’m not just splitting hairs. It’s an important difference.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Also: Veronica is not a whiny, self-absorbed necrophile.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Yeah, I don’t exactly think Joss invented any of the above archetypes stated by Rob. It was all in the execution, and besides archetypal traits Veronica and Buffy are different, as are Mac and Willow, Logan and Angel, Weevil and Spike, Keith and Giles, and Piz and Xander.
By the same token, telling stories that started in one medium and continuing them in comics is not a Joss invention. And using Charisma Carpenter was a stroke of genius; it got me to tune into Veronica Mars for the first time at the start of Season 2 and pick it up over the much more popular Lost.
Now can I please have my Veronica Mars comic? I have never had such a fanboy reaction to a blog/article!
June 12th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Like Jay said, I wouldn’t be surprised to find VM in the MINX line. Seems like a natural fit.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I’m kind of surprised by the fanboy hate here. All the VM fans that I know were/are Buffy fans.
The two might not share the same characterization/archtypes (aside from, thank god, ‘strong independent girl’), but they share the same witty, ironic dialog between the two shows. I like my drama soaked with sarcasm and humor, thank you very much.
Joss himself said that VM was the best show currently on TV – why can’t people like Ian work with that and see the show in it’s own light?
And at the same time, Jay Seaver, there’d be no VM if not for Buffy paving the way.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I think it’s a great idea. For those complaining about a lack of action, I point to the excellent crime comics by folks like Ed Brubaker (“Criminal” being the latest example)that help show the medium doesn’t have to be nothing but superheroes and monsters, much a fan of them that I am. A Veronica novel, feature film or comic could be up there in quality with the TV show provided it shared the same quality writing and those involved are talented and “get” the property. I’d buy the crap out of a Veronica Mars comic by Thomas and Brubaker. As long as the art is good, I don’t see how it could miss.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Depends on how you define action, Ian. Buffy does have more traditional kick-splode moments, but hundreds of indy creators have been telling great stories without the pyrotechnics. Action is just as much about drama and characters. Just look at something like David Boring. As long as the stories are engaging, I don’t see any reason why this book couldn’t move. Maybe not Buffy’s numbers, but that has as much to do with Whedon’s name recognition, both in and out of the comics community, as it does the content of the book.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Oh, I love Buffy-the-show, even as the character frequently got on my nerves. And while I’m sure that UPN was looking to fill that niche when they picked it up, I think Rob Thomas created a much more likable main character than Whedon did, and that even if “Buffy” had never existed, there were still Nancy Drews and other teen detectives as antecedents.
June 12th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
“How can something that may be happen in the future be used in the past tense?
I think its worth mentioning that Alias also involved super-heroes and super-heroic action. I don’t see Veronica meeting anyone like Captain America or the Purple Man. Its a very low-action property.”
Yeah, and she met Cap in the process of an investigation of someone he may or may not have been dating. They didn’t roll out and fight a Skrull Armada. The only action that comic really had was in a flashback.
June 12th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
If they transition the show to comic format, I’d much prefer a full-blown reboot of the franchise than “Season Four: the Comic Book”. That way, they’d appeal to more people in terms of letting them get onboard the title from the very beginning instead of requiring them to know the entire backstory to comprehend the comic.
Or do “Veronica Mars Casefiles”: stand-alone stories that takes place inbetween season one/two episodes and would allow the full supporting cast to be used. Perhaps also toss in spotlight comics as well that focus on the supporting cast members like Logan, Wallace, Mac, Weevil, Cassidy, and Lamb.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I’m a little iffy on how it would work as a comic, and yet at the same time…
I couldn’t ever not pick up a Veronica Mars comic. More Veronica is awesome Veronica…except that it would suck not being able to watch/hear Kristen Bell in action.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Sheesh, naysayers. Comic books done well that will bring into comics people who may have never read them before is a good thing.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I forwarded this Blog entry to Whitney at the USAToday: http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2007/06/could_veronica_.html#uslPageReturn
June 13th, 2007 at 1:42 am
Matthew E. — Of *course* Veronica and Buffy had the same types of stories. Subtract the demony stuff from Buffy and you have Veronica Mars *even down to the fact that the perky blonde title charactes were both cheerleaders before, well, they were transformed into their butt-kicking selves.” The ideas are the same (Logan is nothing if not an Angel who has no control over his Angelus side, for example), Beaver raped Veronica, Spike raped Buffy, etc. IMO, the similarities are too close to dismiss as them just sharing the same archetypal origins.
Maybe that had something to do with the show’s inability to retain little more than half of Gilmore Girls’ ratings when VM was up against House and Gg was up against the much tougher competition of American Idol.
— Rob
June 13th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Run it like Joss is running the Buffy comic with Rob, TV writers, and top comic writers contributing (*cough* Greg Rucka *cough* Steven Grant *cough*), and I think this would work incredibly well as another Wildstorm lisenced book. And anyone who thinks the book would need a lot of high action to work at DC doesn’t read enough Wildstorm or Vertigo.
If I was DC, I would be all over this. Perfect way to lure Ed Brubaker back in to an exclusive contract with them.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Dude Ed Brubaker on Veronica Mars, and Greg Rucka. I’m liking the idea of a Veronica Mars comic more and more evry time I think about it. Hell, I bet Joss would write an issue or two.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I have to admit that I have never read a comic book in my life. But, if Veronica Mars would become a comic, I would. I would buy every one and enjoy reading it. I think that this is an excellent idea to further the story of Veronica Mars.
September 23rd, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I’m extremely disappointed that there isn’t a 4th season. I’d get the comics, but it’s not the same. All I can say is I’m seriously upset. I’m a big fan of Veronica Mars. =\
October 10th, 2007 at 12:13 am
i’m a big fan of veronica mars too. does anyone know where can i buy the comics through internet?
November 30th, 2007 at 4:34 am
This may never be as captivating as the show, the delivery was just as important as the lines, but I love comics and it could still make an incredible one.
As for it not working because there’s no action, some of my favorite comics don’t have any fatality in spandex. Ghost world is a pretty strong example, and closer to the mystery solving genre, tin tin.
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Veronica Mars comics would be awesome. Comics arnt always about the action or the monsters…they can be just as entertaining as cop dramas or noir mysteries. I think it would be a great idea to start the series with a graphc novel that explains the first 3 series…not an exact playout, but a recapping if you will. Then from that point on just go for it. New ideas, new people, and a radically in depth overall mystery. It can definately be done. Get it off to a kick with Rob Thomas or Joss Whedon writing and some top name artists… I would definately read this comic book.
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:02 am
r u crazy? Veronica Mars would make a comic, the wit and sarcasm is what truly makes the show. Speech bubbles r a fantastic invention.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
i dont see why they dont just make it a internet series, but if they had to make the comic books instead i would give them a try. I just dont see how they could get the same affect out of the comic
April 7th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Seriously, why not? It has one of the most crazy-loyal fanbases ever. It could be a great comic if they get a good writer and artist.