Comic book writer takes graphic look at Greek tale

By Matthew Price

Published: October 13, 2006

WORD BALLOONS

A stubborn princess, born of an incestuous union, demands burial for her rebellious brother -- despite the king's refusal.

The king's imprisonment of Antigone sets off a series of events that leads to tragedy, as related in Sophocles' play "Antigone."

Arlington, Texas-based writer David Hopkins, recently named "Best Local Comic-Book Writer" by the Dallas Observer, is adapting "Antigone" to comic-book format with artist Tom Kurzanski for Silent Devil Press.

Hopkins was inspired to write "Antigone" by Antony Johnston's "Julius," a modern retelling of "Julius Caesar" in comic-book format.

"I wanted to take a story I was familiar with, like 'Antigone,' and give my own spin," Hopkins said in an e-mail interview. "The Oedipus story is a wonderful mythic take on the dysfunctional family, which as a subject has always intrigued me." Hopkins said adapting the work of Sophocles was more difficult than he had originally assumed.

"I wanted something that a hardened Greek scholar could read and give the thumbs-up," Hopkins said. "So I did just that, I got a Greek scholar to read my script and give me his feedback."

Greek theater also differs from comic-book storytelling in an important way. "Most of the action scenes are never shown. Instead, focus is on the discussion between the two actors about the action, which we never saw. This ruins the whole 'show don't tell' adage we get when writing comics," Hopkins said.

"As a result, you have to find clever ways to bring those important action scenes back into the story while remaining faithful to the original work."

Hopkins and Kurzanski have worked together before, on the Viper Comics series "Karma Incorporated."

The first work they did together was actually for "Antigone," a five-page prologue that appeared in a mini-comics anthology.