Panel Vision - 2001: A Space Odyssey

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Today marks the 50^th anniversary of the premiere of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the pinnacles of weird speculative sci-fi films of the late ‘60s alongside the likes of Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green.  The film actually wasn’t a huge success immediately upon release but slowly became a cult classic, allegedly because audiences of stoners would enjoy tripping out to the psychedelic images on display.  

The film proved popular enough to warrant getting a comic book adaptation by the king of comics himself: Jack Kirby.  Kirby liked doing the comic so much and it did so well for Marvel that this led into a new ongoing comic by Kirby exploring his own interpretation of the Monolith and the attendant 2001: A Space Odyssey mythos, which is what I’ll be looking at today. 

Film Adaptation of The Monolith Announced

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Edited by Robert Beach

Oh, good, a superhero film announcement colored by questions about copyright ownership. This is going to be a fun one. So, Lionsgate Pictures has announced they’re adapting the 12-issue maxiseries The Monolith, written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Phil Winslade, Tomm Coker, and Peter Snejberg. Fans of the comic (they are out there even if The Monolith was never the same monster success as Palmiotti’s Jonah Hex or Harley Quinn work) rejoiced that the story of a super Golem on the streets of New York would be adapted to the big screen. 

However, the studio announcement also brought questions as DC Comics, who are owned by Warner Brothers, published The Monolith.  but Lionsgate, a competitor, is making the film. Well, strap right in, and we’ll dive down the bizarre hole of ownership, modern creator rights, and why Monolith is something you should actually care about.