Let me be immediately clear about my bias here — Ai Yazawa’s Nana is one of the best comics of all time. I do not care to argue about this one way or another. You should just accept this as fact.
The Revision: Nana
The Revision: Ghost World
Whenever I brought up the concept of this project with people, the first thing they said to me was “Like Ghost World?” I don’t know if it’s the most famous non-superhero movie that most people know is based on a comic, but people absolutely know it’s based on a comic.
The Revision: Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats doesn’t seem to be based on any specific story from the comics, but it does capture their essence in a way that surprised me. Josie, Valerie and Melody are frustrated with how little traction they’re getting as a band (and the small paychecks that go with it) when they’re literally grabbed off the street by record executive Wyatt and offered a record deal.
The Revision: Tomie
It can be argued that Tomie isn’t even really about Tomie — it’s about all the people she influences and affects. Tomie is less a character than a force — she’s evil, sure, but that’s just her nature. She can’t help it. She has no morality.
The Revision: Tank Girl
Capturing Tank Girl’s anarchic qualities on film was never going to be easy, and Tank Girl (1995, directed by Rachel Talalay) tries really hard. I still have a lot of mixed feelings about this movie. I like it — I do own it, and I also own the soundtrack on vinyl (because of course I do) but I go back and forth about how much it actually works.