A Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner

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A Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner
Blade Runner 1982 cover.jpg
Cover to Blade Runner #1, art by Al Williamson.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
Publication date1982
Main character(s) Rick Deckard
Creative team
Written by Archie Goodwin
Artist(s) Al Williamson
Ralph Reese
Penciller(s) Al Williamson
Carlos Garzon
Inker(s) Al Williamson
Ralph Reese
Dan Green letterer Ed King [1]
Colorist(s) Marie Severin
Editor(s) Jim Salicrup

Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner or just Blade Runner is a comic book adaptation of the film Blade Runner , published by Marvel Comics in 1982. It was written by Archie Goodwin with art by Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon with Dan Green and Ralph Reese. [2] [3]

Contents

Publication history

With a cover by Jim Steranko, the 45-page adaptation includes one possible explanation of the title's significance in story context: the narrative line, "Blade runner. You're always movin' on the edge." [4]

This was issue 22 of the Marvel Comics Super Special series of titles, which by this time only printed Marvel's movie adaptations. It was reprinted in a two issue mini series but without the feature content contained in the special.

In the United Kingdom, it was reprinted as the Blade Runner Annual published by Grandreams. Again, the feature content of the original special was not reprinted. [5]

In the Netherlands, a Dutch language version of this comic was printed by Junior Press. [6]

The mass market paperback was published in black and white and contains images from the film, it is one of the rarest Marvel Comics paperbacks. [7]

Plot

The comic followed the events of the film but attempts to fill in gaps in the script.

Reception

According to author Lawrence Raw, the Marvel adaptation was poorly received and widely ridiculed as having bad writing and misquoted lines of dialogue from the film script. [8] Julian Darius of Sequart stated that "most movie adaptations aren’t great comics in their own right, and the Blade Runner adaptation’s no different" but also noted that "the adaptation is something of a mixed bag, but the more time one spends with it, the more one likes it." [9]

Editions

Original single

NameTie-in toPagesPublication dates
A Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner Blade Runner (film) 64September 1982 [8] [10]

Reprinted issues

No.Title Cover date Notes
#1Blade RunnerOctober 1982 [11]
#2Blade RunnerNovember 1982 [12] Cover by Brent Anderson.

Collected edition

TitleFormatMaterial collectedPagesPublication dateISBN
Blade Runner, Volume 1 Paperback Blade Runner #1–21591982 ISBN   9780939766109

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "List for Ed King" (PDF). www.comics.org.
  2. Carnevale, Alex (October 6, 2008). "Blade Runner Started, And Ended, As A Comic Book". io9. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  3. Vincent, Brittany (January 31, 2017). "Going Beyond Blade Runner: The Media That Expanded the Universe". Syfy. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  4. Torres Cruz, Décio (2014). Postmodern Metanarratives: Blade Runner and Literature in the Age of Image. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1137439727.
  5. Kerman, Judith B. (1997). Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Madison, Wisconsin: The Popular Press. p. 238. ISBN   978-0879725105.
  6. Blade Runner Filmspecial. Netherlands: Junior Press. 1982.
  7. Weiner, Robert G. (2008). Marvel Graphic Novels and Related Publications: An Annotated Guide to Comics, Prose Novels, Children's Books, Articles, Criticism and Reference Works, 1965-2005. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 218. ISBN   978-0786425006.
  8. 1 2 Raw, Laurence (2009). The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN   978-0810869516.
  9. Darius, Julian (November 9, 2014). "When Marvel Comics Adapted Blade Runner". Sequart Organization. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  10. "Marvel Super Special #22". Grand Comics Database.
  11. "Blade Runner #1". Grand Comics Database.
  12. "Blade Runner #2". Grand Comics Database.