“Cowboys & Aliens”: Giving the people what they (don’t know they) want

2011 is set to be a banner year for comic adaptations, with Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor headed to theaters in the summer, along with DC’s Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds. There will also be one film based on a comic property that most people will be unfamiliar withPlatinum Studios’ Cowboys & Aliens. Based solely on the title, though, we predict that the film will still manage to find an audience looking for something a little different in their summer blockbusters.The freewheeling story of C&A was related in a 2006 graphic novel. The concept was created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, who started his comics career at age 13 with a mail order comic book company. He later financed small press publisher Malibu Comics and helped precipitate the film adaptations of other indie comics, including Men in Black.However, Rosenberg did not write the graphic novel. That duty fell to the team of Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley. Van Lente, who now works primarily for major publisher Marvel Comics, was at the time known for his “superhero gangster” comic The Silencers, published by Moonstone Books, and the beginnings of the series Action Philosophers, which presented the ideas of great philosophers in a comics-influenced universe. Foley has worked on a number of other properties as well, including Done to Death, a satirical vampire series, and Six Shots, another western with other genre elements (this time in a supernatural vein). The book was drawn by Dennis Calero & Luciano Lima.It turns out the title is a wonderful summation of the plot, but for a little more explication, this description comes from the film’s official site:”1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.”By the way, “Craig” and “Ford” refer to blockbuster stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, respectively. Olivia Wilde (The O.C., The Black Donnellys, House) will be portraying a character named Ella, and excellent character actor Sam Rockwell portrays Doc. The film is directed by Rockwell’s Iron Man 2 director, Jon Favreau, who obviously has a good history with comics-related films. Here’s hoping his magic touch has what it takes to bring Cowboys & Aliens ahead of the pack this July 29.