Summary
Good Omensis coming to the comic book world. The hilariously fantastical Armageddon tale by veteran writers Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett has been a staple of the cozy fantasy community since 1990. With a new adaptation on the way from artist Colleen Doran, fans might see an entirely different iteration of everyone’s favorite angel/demon duo.
After a record-breaking Kickstarterthat beat its goal in just ten minutes, aGood Omensgraphic novel is nearly finished, and itpromises to be a faithful adaptation as it flourishes in Doran’s classical nineties style, in the spirit of when the book was published.
Working together to keep the fantastical elements as well as the inevitable humor, this brilliant team of Gaiman and Doran offers a dreamlike rabbit-hole for fan-favorite moments to come to life in a new, storybook world.
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10Readers Are Anxious To Get A Glimpse Of Good Omens' Garden Of Eden
Setting The Tone
Setting up the comical flavor for the rest of the story, the opening prologue ofGood Omensintroduces the two key characters of the book: theangel and part-time book dealer Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, who “did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downwards.” These dual forces, who from the very start already seem like the best of friends, are the dynamic push that drives the themes of good versus evil to its apocalyptic conclusions.
Here, in the Garden of Eden, just after Adam and Eve’s expulsion, Colleen Doran will introduce her version of the opposed pair, depicting them as guardian angel and snake chatting calmly. It is this scene that will set the tone for the rest of the graphic novel,as Doran expands her style, one that belongs to the world of dreamlike fairy tales, to fitGood Omens’ambitious storyline
9Readers Will Be Thrilled When The Satanic Nuns Swap The Antichrist
The Inciting Incident
The introduction of Sister Mary Loquaciousalso introduces the main plot of the book, in the form of a human baby. Part of the Satanic Chattering Order of St. Beryl, the nuns are tasked with swapping the Antichrist into an affluent and powerful family, so that he might grow into his powers and rule the world. Naturally, these chit-chatty anti-nuns do the job incorrectly and swap the soon-to-be Antichrist into a family of no importance.
With a plot like this, it can truly be understood how Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett were trying to make each other laugh while writingGood Omens.The slapstick comedy of these secretly Satanist nuns shines clearly in the book as well as the television adaptation, butthe comedy can only be enhanced by peeking under their wimples and seeing just how Doran will imagine them on the page.
8The Death Of Agnes Nutter Will Satisfy Good Omens' Fans Burning Desire
Essential Backstory
The entire plot hinges on a book of (nice and accurate) prophecies by a witch named Agnes Nutter whose descendant, a witch herself, just happens to get involved with a descendant of her killer, the witchfinder Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer. Though the burning doesn’t go as the witchfinder planned, thanks to a lot of fore-planned gunpowder.
Agnes Nutter is the face behind all the good and bad things that happen in the book. Having worked with Neil Gaiman on graphic novels such asSnow, Glass, AppleandSandman,Colleen Doran understands how to bring a fantasy to life. This scene of a witch-burning gone wrong will feel like dreamy interludes inDoran’s ethereal style of storybook fables. In fact, this short scene plays very much like a folk tale. Albeit a silly one with more than memorable names.
7Aziraphale Possession Of Madame Tracy Will Be High Comedy On The Page
1/2Good Omens’Dynamic Duo
After being dragged back to Heaven, Aziraphale enacts a decidedly demonic method by possessing the body of Madame Tracy, an occultist and medium - just so he can continue helping Crowley. Both of them are trying to stop the apocalypse, and in Aziraphale’s case, he thinks that’s what God would (ineffably) do. Whether God would possess the body of an old lady remains to be seen.
Aziraphale is the kindest, most British angel in Heaven’s army, even as he’s best friends with a demon. The preview images of him are already heartwarming, and to see his expressionssplayed across the face of an entirely different character can add pieces of comedy that no other adaptation can touch.Unlike television adaptations, the artist can contort the characters on the page into whatever position best fits the story.ForGood Omens, that story is the punchline.
Neil Gaiman has also written for DCand Marvel Comics with titles likeSandman,Eternals, Marvel 1602,andBatman:Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
6It Will Be Awesome To Behold Crowley Saving The Day In His Beloved Bentley
The Other Half OfGood Omens' Odd Couple
Near the climax of the story, Crowley races towards the site of the rumbling Apocalypse in his destroyed Bentley, purely by imagining that the burning metal, rubber, and leather is a fully-functioning automobile. That 1926 Black Bentley is a personal favorite of Crawley’s which, cursed as it is, can only play Queen no matter which tape is in the player. The car gets him to where he needs to go in a flourishing style, even if it is on fire.
Crowley is a fan-favorite contrarian,whether being played by David Tennant or Peter Serafinowicz. However, the preview images ofDoran’s Crowley reveal a slicker and smoother devil that certainly belongs behind the wheel of an old Bentley.Nothing will look better than the comic splash of that burning car flying across the pages as a bedraggled Crowley almost falls out of the flaming heap of junk.
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5Colleen Doran Can Offer The Definitive Dog in His Original Hellhound Form
Jolting Imagery Brought To Life
This fiendish horror of hell is certainly no joke when it arrives on Adam’s eleventh birthday. Its description is of a grotesque, snarling, saliva-dripping hellhound, and it’s come to be the Antichrist’s servant and his guardian. This is all just a set-up, however, as the punchline comes with Adam transforming the vicious creature into a tiny, yapping dog named: Dog.
Words can only do so much to paint the picture in the mind.For Dog’s metamorphosis to land as a joke, his previous form has to be vile and eye-popping;Doran is a veteran at drawing fantastical beasts and monsters, especially in the worlds of Neil Gaiman. Seeing as how her art plays like a bedtime story, this adaptation can be expected to balance both the terror of the wolf and the simplicity of Little Red Riding Hood.
4Hastur Chasing Crowley Through A Telephone Will Be Among The Adaptation’s Most Memorable Moments
Demonic Chase Sequence
A demon is nothing if it is not rebelling, even against his own kind, and Crowley demonstrated that when he raced through a telephone, bouncing between connections. Fellow demon Hastur chased him through this liminal space in between rings in an effort to drag him back to hell. But Crowley pops out of a different phone and traps his friend-turned-enemy in the voicemail of the very British “ansaphone”.
The quirkiness of this situation, so unique to a literary plot point, can’t quite be pictured in the mind’s eye without the help of the splashing of a comic book page. The draw of a comic book is its ability to show a story that can’t be told in any other medium. WhileAmazon’s season 3 of Good Omens threatens to disappointits fan base,a moment like this translates better to the illustrated page, where anything is possible.
3Colleen Doran’s Metatron Will Be Entirely Her Own
Wide Open To Interpretation
InGood Omens,Metatron gets a comical makeover as the Voice of God, as he takes on the role of a presidential press secretary, showing up after the President fumbled and trying to clear up the mess with a few politically-correct terms. This is especially true at the advent of the apocalypse when he arrives to clean up the mess that Adam the Antichrist, Aziraphale, and Crowley have all made.
If Aziraphale is any reference to how angels will be depicted in this world, Metatron can be expected to be beautiful and striking.In regard to his appearance, Doran has full reign to illustrate Metratron however she wishes, given that his description in the book only says “a young man made out of golden fire.” For an artist, a simple sentence like that has endless possibilities.
Neil Gaiman has several other novels that have been adapted into graphic novels,includingHow to Talk to Girls at PartiesandAmerican Gods.
2Beezlebub Manifesting To Start The Apocalypse Will Be Key To Good Omens' Themes
Preserving The Essence Of The Original
Beezlebub, the prince of Hell, comes onto the scene the same time as Metatron, only for the opposing side. With a comical fly-like lisp, he really can’t do anything that intimidates Adam, the son of his own boss, into losing his willpower. In fact, if the adaptation stays true, then Beezlebub and all his demons won’t be as scary as expected.
The demons ofthe world ofGood Omensaren’t scary - if anything, they’re silly like over-the-top Halloween costumes. Neil Gaiman is no stranger to fantastical demons. Having worked onThe Sandmanat the same time asGood Omens, he let the worlds blend with his own idea of what hell would be like: more bureaucratic than anything else. Even when the demons appear macabre, they are only ever harmless creatures, andthis climactic moment will be pivotal to bringing to life that fairy tale quality of the powerlessness of monsters.
1Introducing The Four Horsepersons Of The Apocalypse
Colleen Doran Previously Drew Death In Neil Gaiman’sSandman#20
At the peak of the Apocalypse, the Four Horsepersons of War, Famine, Pollution, and Death face off against the Antichrist and his gang of kids called The Them. While they took more humanoid forms earlier in the story, the Horsepersons are now only vaguely humanoid in shape, described as looking akin to the very things they represent.
As Amazon’s adaptation confirms season 3,the heralds of the end times are still the most anticipated moment for bothGood Omensadaptations.Just how Colleen Doran plans on depicting these abstract ideals is something only an artist can answer. As seen by her work in other fantasy tales, there is truly no one better suited to the task of defining these otherworldly elements than Colleen Doran. As for this adaptation ofGood Omens,the comic Apocalypse will have wait just a little while longer.
Source:Good Omensby Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Good Omens
Cast
Based on the bestselling novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Good Omens follows an angel and demon as they attempt to defy the forces of Heaven and Hell in order to avert the apocalypse. With Pratchett and Gaiman’s funny and irreverent style shining through, Good Omens stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant as Aziraphale and Crowley, with a larger cast that includes John Hamm, Francis McDormand, and Michael McKean.
