Look Ma! A Positive Post About Comics!

I am only cautiously optimistic about the possibilities of a Veronica Mars comic and Avalon High manga (despite any squeeing you may have heard).

I do, however, have a lot of faith that a graphic novel for Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series will be quite good.

(hat tip to The Ladies of Lallybroch, whose boards I will lurk from time time in order to find spoilers.)

Why?

- She's a good writer.* She knows how to create believable and intriguing characters and how to pace a story to perfection - and usually does so.

- The part of the draft that's been posted looks well done.

- She's also writing her own characters, not someone else's, so there should be no problems of them acting out of character.

- She's not new to comics. Long before she became a bestselling author, Professor Diana Gabaldon picked up some extra cash writing comics for the Walt Disney company for a couple of years. She's also grew up reading them - although apparently not superhero comics. (you'll have to scroll to the bottom for the relevant info). She may not be the next Gail Simone, but she's hardly another Jodi Picoult.

Of course, I also have tons of questions, most of which have no answers yet, since it's still in the "not quite a done deal yet" stages. (What artist will they pick? If she's talking to her current publisher, does this mean it will be published under Random House's graphic novel imprint? How do they plan on marketing it?)

I'm not terribly nervous that the project will be shelved, however, considering how much money her books make and the general expansion of the graphic novel market in recent years.



*Yes, I had problems with her latest Jaime and Claire novel too, but she's still a good author.