Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Kelvin_Inman t1_j29jbck wrote

Wasn’t the movie based on a comic book (which was based on the conspiracy theories)?

215

ootchang t1_j29zpyu wrote

Yes. And it’s actually a Marvel comic, since Marvel bought Malibu comics sometime in the late 90s I think? Maybe it was early 00s.

The original comic has aliens, but it has a lot more general paranormal stuff. Ghosts, demons, stuff like that.

80

DelveSea8 t1_j2a0ks8 wrote

What is the comic called?

2

ootchang t1_j2a305j wrote

As many have posted already, it’s called The Men in Black. Any adaptations of the movie drop “the” and it’s just Men in Black.

To answer your next question, and one I struggled with previously — it’s super hard to find. They have not reprinted it, it hasn’t been collected. Most likely it’s a lot of publishing rights issues, given that it started as an indie comic and then eventually became part of Marvel (now Disney) through a series of mergers.

The original creator hasn’t done much since. I hope he got paid though. The movie is very different, but it does owe a lot to the original comic.

40

DueCharacter5 t1_j2amc07 wrote

Pretty much none of the Malibu books will ever get reprinted or characters used again, because the creators of those books/characters get 5%. Marvel Comics is super stingy when it comes to doling out royalties.

22

ootchang t1_j2aoit7 wrote

Oh totally. I figured it was something like that.

For example, I heard that Ed Brubaker gets more money from his cameo in Winter Soldier than he got for writing the storyline the movie was based on.

14

bob1689321 t1_j2bj7nr wrote

Starlin got more for KGBeast appearing in Batman v Superman (you might not even remember this as iirc he was never referred to with that name) than he did for creating Thanos.

11

DelveSea8 t1_j2a59f0 wrote

Thanks man! I appreciate the info.

3

ootchang t1_j2ab1a9 wrote

Sure thing. I only know because I looked into it a few years ago, and really struggled to find much info. As a big fan of the film and the animated series, I just wanted to check it out. All I could get were crappy scanned PDFs and I gave up.

Speaking of the animated series, I feel like it captures more of the tone of the comic. It’s no where near as dark or violent because it was meant for kids on Saturday mornings, but it has a bit more of a cynical bite to it.

And speaking of crazy comic adaptations — if you’re at all interested in indie comics and haven’t checked out the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles run, it’s a blast. (The new stuff from IDW is really good too. )

13

ObviouslyNotAnEnt t1_j2aq04u wrote

I JUST looked at an omnibus on Amazon for the original TMNT run because of Red Letter Media’s recent Re:View. I allllmost pulled the trigger but it’s a bit pricey. But with your taste and recommendations, I think I’m gonna go for it

4

ootchang t1_j2aqb2k wrote

If you just want to check it out, most libraries have them I think — sometimes on hoopla. And also I know they did just really big paperback collections a while back, which were much less Expensive. Greta way to see if you’re into it.

5

DelveSea8 t1_j2ad5ji wrote

Nice man, I'll check it out. Sounds like the og men in black comics are worth finding too.

0

pantsonheaditor t1_j2b5ybc wrote

they are less comedy than the film , but still interesting storylines for sure.

2

missanthropocenex t1_j2aju30 wrote

OP is asking for a more “accurate version” In which case I would highly recommend the show FRINGE because it’s basically centered entirely around a more accurate MIB depiction. And also great.

13

herewego199209 OP t1_j29jjt5 wrote

Yeah supposedly it's based on comics but I never read them. I found out literally the other day what the comic was based on and it led me down a youtube rabbit hole on the theories. It's obviously probably full of shit, but the stories are super interesting. There was a movie made about the theories but it's pretty horrible, although I liked the Men in black design.

−32

DelveSea8 t1_j2a130f wrote

The conspiracy is that these men in black are extraterrestrial themselves and try to mimic humans in appearance. But they would still be government agents.

8

RedPandaMediaGroup t1_j2aaffl wrote

I remember when I first read about them and it’s such a spooky idea. You’d be interacting with them for several minutes or hours before you even notice something about them isn’t right.

8

invaluableimp t1_j2aw44x wrote

Talking to a 50s CIA agent stuffed to the gills with booze and pills: “Something ain’t right about this fella”

6

DelveSea8 t1_j2acy2m wrote

Many cases report odd behavior or appearance as soon as they see them. Waxy unnatural white skin, weird monotone voice, cold unnatural mannerisms, clothes from the 50s, sometimes no eyebrows, telepathy, etc... the X-Files at one point said the government was working with aliens, not simply hiding their existence.

2