From Comic Book to Film; It Really Should Be a Movie 1: American Century

By Patrick Oliver
Nov 12, 2009 - 15:27

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I'm going to be straight with you.

I love 'American Century' by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman. It is great entertainment, a lovely glimpse into a time long past and a cracking good read. The series is chock full of strong stories, often told in three to four issue arcs. I think that this makes it not only something I would not hesitate to recommend to an older reader, but also makes it prime material for a film, or even a trilogy.

The series centers on an ex-serviceman, Harry Block who decides to leave his boring and unsatisfying life behind and create a new life for himself. He does this under the assumed name of Harry Kraft. He flies to Central America and that is where the story really takes off!

Harry Kraft is a decent man. He is personable, has an eye for the ladies and is multi-talented. All he wants to do is to earn some money, and live a good, rounded life. But in life, things don't always work out the way that we would like them to. Or even how we would like them to. So Harry sometimes gets his wish, but with far more added on than he could ever have bargained for.

Put in situations that would wilt a lesser mortal, Harry rises to the challange, often helping out people, and himself, in the process. Whether that be in the middle of an uprising, a moonshine war or accidentally drawn into blackmarket shenanigans in the Parisian art world!

The many and varied adventures that he is party to and involved in are exhilarating and all expose the politics of the time and the place to us the reader. There is danger, death and deviousness going on around our Mr Kraft, but he holds true. He is a (loosely!) moral center in a sometimes immoral storm.

'American century' has marvelous scope for great production and acting talent. Audiences love a good hero, intelligent driven women and femmes fatales. We love a good thriller and we love to think while being entertained. Many of Mr Krafts' hard-boiled exploits are perfect for the big screen and would translate easily. This fast paced, clever, funny, and entertaining series would be an ideal choice (and chance) to bring something fresh from the realm of comic books to film.

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American Century can be bought in collected volumes.