We recently interviewed Malcolm Wong, creator of DOGEATERS, the graphic novel, as well as the screenwriter of the original screenplay the novel was based. We asked him about the process of adapting a script to a graphic novel...

What was your original idea for DOG EATERS?

The original impulse for writing post-apocalyptic screenplays started when Bush won/stole the election against Gore. It was an impulse fueled by frustration with Americans' addiction with celebrity while they ignored the political incompetence and arrogance of the U.S. government at the highest levels, the endless and incredibly expensive war -- the feeling that Americans were 'fiddling while Rome burned.' I started to speculate about what would happen if this current incarnation of Rome did in fact burn, bringing down the rest of the world with it in a chain reaction of economic collapse, war, disease, and famine, culminating in the 'Die Off.'

I have written another script with a post-apocalyptic premise, MINSTREL'S SONG, which is about the adventures of a troubadour who travels a feudalistic, war-torn Central Europe.

In DOG EATERS, after this second Dark Age, who would rise from the ashes of the destruction? Who would survive in the US Southwest which is the setting for this story? Prisoners isolated in high-security prisons who interbred to create a super-brutal outlaw, people of native descent who could live off the land, personnel and scientists based in hardened super-secret military installations. What would their daily lives be like? I decided that society would naturally re-coalesce around the casino-cities. And that the tribes like the Black Dog Clan brought goods down the trade route to supply these casino-cities.

What did you find most challenging about writing the screenplay?

I wrote DOG EATERS without thinking too much about structure, so there were no real expectations. It was more of an adventure with the hopes of some kind of self-discovery. I didn't use an outline or a beat sheet for this particular script. I started with the opening ambush and it progressed like a life experienced. Scene by scene, what would happen next and how would I respond or react if I were the characters in this story?

I didn't know exactly where I was going. I didn't have a pre-determined destination. In the screenplays I've written since, I use beat sheets and they are very helpful -- if your final goal is to write a screenplay. But when I wrote DOG EATERS, the process of writing- and thinking about the characters and story -- was like a walkabout.

What did you envision the next step would be for your screenplay once it was written? What were your original goals for the screenplay, DOG EATERS?

The ultimate goal for DOG EATERS is get it made into a movie. This is a movie I will pay to see. In fact, I am already paying as I am one of the producers of the graphic novel/comic.

What were your expectations when you began to enter the screenplay into contests?

Not much - just a vague hope. I have entered screenplay contests before and all of my scripts have placed at least as high as semi-finalist, and one, the adaptation of my Great American Novel (set in Japan), RONIN CAMERA, also won a contest (HollywoodScript.com). I optioned that script, was planning to direct, and got as far as starting to cast before the producer backed out. Looking back, I don't think he ever had the resources to do it. But it was educational to go through some pre-production steps.

I entered DOG EATERS in two contests, AAA and ScreenwritingExpo5. I didn't know at the time, but both are run by Creative Screenwriting Magazine. I entered ScreenwritingExpo5 because of the large comic graphic they had on the contest page with a blaring headline: $50,000 worth of production! DOG EATERS ended up being a finalist at the AAA, top 12. But it went even further at the ScreenwritingExpo5, where it won three awards.

How did you react to the news you had won the opportunity to turn your screenplay into a graphic novel?

It was a bit strange and disorientating because I had originally planned to leave from Tokyo a week before the Expo, stopover in Honolulu to take care of some family business, before going on to L.A.. But there was an earthquake in Hawaii and there was some uncertainty about travel with flight cancellations and whatnot, so I changed my reservation, and left Narita the same day I would have left Honolulu for L.A. What I didn't remember is that Tokyo is almost a day ahead of Honolulu and I ended up arriving in L.A. a day earlier than I thought I would. So I was able to attend a pre-Expo poolside party. I found the contest organizer, Jim Mercurio, and we talked for an hour or two and then after almost everyone had left, he pulled me aside and told me that I had won the Dabel Brothers Award, "If I wanted to accept it." It was a mysterious way to put it.

Hmmm. Weird. I shrugged and asked, "Why wouldn't I? That prize is the reason why I entered this contest." He mumbled something about maybe I wanted to do it myself.

But I had already researched adapting MINSTREL'S SONG into a graphic novel. My day job is representing illustrators (among other things), in Tokyo and New York for commercial work, so I know lot of artists, and a few of them work in comics and design and sculpt vinyl designer toys. When I queried them about the possibility of adapting one of my scripts, the ballpark prices they threw out were way too much to consider.

So yes, I think I will accept the award, thank you very much, Jim!

What did you think the process of adapting the screenplay into a graphic novel was going to be like? What happened in the process you didn't anticipate?

I thought that it would fast and easy. I was very excited to get this off the ground, but it took a while to get started. I'm used to clear-cut schedules and deadlines. I would get vague answers to my increasingly desperate emails. And where were the contracts?

It was a complicated situation. The Dabel Brothers had started 2006 being affiliated with Marvel but right after Expo5, they terminated their business relationship. It was a time of uncertainty. Properties like Laurel K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake," were handed over to Marvel. Projects were dropped from the Dabel production slate.

I wondered if this thing was going to happen. It was following a distressingly similar pattern to the pre-production of RONIN CAMERA, which ultimately had led to nothing. But I was determined to find a way. Come hell or high water, I was going to get this done. When the first invoices that the artist, Guillermo A. Angel, sent were ignored by the publisher, I stepped in and took over payment of the pencil art. Then the Dabels Brothers signed with Del Rey, part of the Random House group. They had found solid ground to stand on. At that point, the project came off life support. It had been resuscitated.

What was the hardest part of adapting your script to a graphic novel?

Adaptation was not that difficult. Sean J. Jordan, who was with Dabel Brothers when I won the award, did the heavy lifting of condensing and restructuring the 118 page screenplay into a 168 page graphic novel. Scenes and characters were cut, but I was fine with his structural decisions. I then went back in and did a lot of re-writing and revision. I guess you could describe it a tag team approach with me having the last say.

The original plan was to go straight to graphic novel and to do it black and white, like a manga. But the pencils were taking longer than expected. If we waited until they were completely finished, it would be another year before it would come out. So we decided to put it out as a color six issue mini-series first and continue to work while the issues came out.

What was the most gratifying part of the process?

Seeing it all come together. The art is amazing. Guillermo has really gone the extra mile. It was a huge thrill for me to see the lettering on the exquisitely ink & toned pages done by Shari Chankhamma for the San Diego Comicon Exclusive Issue #0. I can't wait to see Issue #1 in color. It's all very exciting. And there's still lots more to look forward to.

Do you feel your screenplay is closer to being produced into a movie now that's it's a graphic novel?

I think it's another step closer in the sense that seeing these comic panels is like looking at an extremely detailed storyboard. I can definitely see this movie very clearly in my head. I don't know if it will be produced into a movie, but I think that people will start thinking about casting when they see these panels and pages.

Why would you encourage others to adapting their scripts into comic books? Why would you discourage them?

Anything you can do to lift yourself above the crowd is helpful. Winning script contests, getting caught en flagrante delicto with the governor, stripping, ect. - you got to do whatever it takes to cut through the clutter. And adapting your script into a graphic novel is just another way of doing that. And let me say that for DOG EATERS, the jury is still out on whether this effort will pay off or not.

What's the next step for you with DOG EATERS now that's it's coming out?

There is a lot of stuff out there on the market, a lot of good titles with an established fan base to compete against. DOG EATERS is starting from zero in market recognition. So I'm trying to get the word and an image or two out there to people who will want to check it out. We have a MySpace page and a regular website. I'm doing interviews and getting reviews. We're doing as much as we can without spending much money!

Reading the current headlines, do you feel like DOG EATERS might be easier to sell now?

I don't know if our current dilemma makes DOG EATERS more commercial, but I definitely think that it makes DOG EATERS more relevant. People are actually starting worry about the future and wonder when the American Empire will fall. The premise that the world failed to transcend the Petroleum Age starts to resonate a little bit more.

However, anecdotal evidence with recent box office numbers point to the need for escapism in hard times. Case in point, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." But I think that DOG EATERS would be good counter-programming for a movie like that for obvious reasons! Hmmm, nuggets...

What's the one piece of advice you would pass on to writers considering adaptation of their screenplays to the graphic novel form?

You have to think about how the structure of your script fits a graphic novel. DOG EATERS is a 6-issue mini-series that will be compiled into a graphic novel after the sixth issue comes out. Each of these issues has to have an arc of its own - a beginning, middle, and end -- that is a cohesive story fragment that also fits into the larger story. Luckily, DOG EATERS breaks pretty well into more-or-less 28 page segments. If your series is going to be four parts, you have to think four chapters. If you're thinking graphic novel right from the start, I think you'll have more leeway.

Is there something you would change if you could start over?

Ooh, now you're getting metaphysical - time travel! I won't know until this project is completed what I would change, if I could. It's much like how you evaluate a life. You really can't judge it until it's over and the final tally is in. I'm just trying to keep this on a righteous path and hope for the best. There has been some drama and we have weathered some storms, but we are still on course and hopefully this will end well.