It seems the entertainment industry in general can’t come up with any original ideas anymore. Movies based on TV shows… TV shows based on movies… Movies based on TV shows based on Bazooka Joe comics… Yeesh! So why hasn’t this trend hit the funnies pages yet?
Well, normally, something being remade has been off the air/out of theaters for twenty years or so, and since many strips are still chugging along decades after the original creators shuffled off their mortal coils, there’s not such a wealth of stagnant material to pull from.
Still, there’s a good amount of stuff out there, and so, for the next few days, I’ll be “re-imagining” a few older strips for modern audiences. Let’s start with…
Bill Holman’s punny fireman ran Sundays from 1935-1973 and brought into being catchphrases including “Foo,” “1506 nix-nix” and “Notary Sojac.” Other characters included Chief Cash U. Nutt, Spooky the firehouse cat and Smokey’s wife Cookie.
I’d like to remold Smokey into more of an NYPD Blue with firemen. I see Smokey as a fireman so gritty and urban he won’t even play by his own rules. Instead of his trademark “Foo!” I’d suggest “F.U.!” Have Chief Nutt lighting fires and sleeping with Cookie and I think you could really have something!
Bill Holman's ghost will visit you tonight my friend, and he will not be in a good mood! 😉
Yess! All the more appropriate now that advanced computer effects will make it possible to put a one-wheel, one-seat car on the screen!
…or how about a gritty, updated big screen remake of "Smilin'Jack"? The catchphrase could be "He's not smilin' anymore!"