Friday, April 29, 2011

We Can Monetize Your Legacy, Wholesale


Just got word from reader Chris that there are some Total Recall sequel comics due out in May. See the pics? Here's the problem: why is Quaid still yoked out like Ahnold? My hope was that in revisiting this adaptation that they (the Yance men or whatever) would try to stay faithful to the story. Quaid should be a nebbish weakling.. I'm guessing this comic is actually more closely aligned with the original Total Recall. Bummer. If I remember correctly (insert implanted memory joke here) PKD sold all merchandising rights for "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" lock, stock, and barrel, so basically, the option holder can do whatever they want with the narrative contents of the story. Read this:

"Inspired by the hit 1990 science fiction movie, Total Recall. Read the story of what happens next! Having killed Cohaagen and given Mars an atmosphere, Douglas Quaid (the man who was Hauser) simply wants to live happily ever after with the woman of his dreams, Melina. How can Quaid have his happily ever after with Mars in chaos, new enemies coming to the red planet, and a mysterious stranger walking about? Check out issue Total Recall #1 to find out!"

I kinda like that this appears to be the most boring comic ever created. My hope is that Quaid gets a manager position at the Mars Starbucks and becomes a civil war buff.

So, I expect one of you readers with an interest in comics will review this series for us. That way I won't have to buy these...

4 comments:

palmer_eldritch said...

He appears to be punching a relative of Preacher's Arseface, too.

Joshua Lind said...

I'm reminded a bit of Dick's ambivalent examination of collecting in "The Man in the High Castle." He seems to poke a bit of fun at those who collect items just because of their "authenticity." But at the same time, you can pick up on his interest in these items, such as the "Horrors of War" cards. It's been a long time since I've read some of those scenes, but it seems that those self-made items (like the jewelry) win out over the mass-produced items. These comic books definitely sound like second-order creations....

Pantomime Horse said...

Excellent title for this post.

Anonymous said...

Didn't the original PKD story end with a magic wand and some mice? Or was it a magic wand? It's only the first 15 minutes of the film have anything to do with the short story (and it was pretty short!).

I don't mind. I see Total Recall as the creation of whoever wrote the film. It took the initial ideas from PKD, and maybe used his name to borrow some of Bladerunner's excellent credibility.

If you read the original story (and I haven't for a while, but) I think you'll opine it wasn't one of his best, not even particularly good really. PKD's real genius is in some of his other stuff.