When I was annoying all of my high school teachers with my argument that comic books were a valid form of literature, Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics was always my secret weapon for making them see the light. I’ve never delved into his other work, but his newest novel, The Sculptor, sounds right up my alley. A down-and-out artist makes a deal with Death to be able to sculpt anything he imagines. The catch: he only has two-hundred days before he shuffles off this mortal coil. Naturally, he meets (or possibly makes?) the woman of his dreams, and things get all sorts of complicated.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Sony and producer Scott Rudin have won the rights to adapt the book, and I must profess a touch of excitement. Any comic book movie that isn’t superhero related often turns out to be pretty great (Road to Perdition, American Splendor, A History of Violence, Ghost World, Persepolis, and something else I’m surely forgetting. That’s what the comments section is for!), and this is McCloud’s first piece of fiction work in over twenty years. The guy is a master storyteller with sequential art (Understanding Comics isn’t just incredibly informative, it’s also super entertaining), so I hope that will translate well to the screen.
So, who wants to buy me a copy of The Sculptor?