The Man Who Fell To Earth

The Graphic Novel

Written by Dan Watters and drawn by Dev Pramanik

Mysterious extra-terrestrial Thomas Jerome Newton falls to Earth on a mission to save his drought-ridden home planet of Anthea from ecological destruction.

Determined to find a way to transport water back to his dying world, Newton begins selling patents for advanced technology, but his success soon makes him a target for both the government, and a sinister rival corporation.

As his mission drags into years, Newton finds himself seduced by the excesses of our world and becomes desperate to return home to his family.

An all-new, fully-authorised graphic novel adaptation of the cult 1976 movie starring David Bowie and directed by Nicholas Roeg.

The film, based on the classic science fiction novel by Walter Trevis, sees an extra-terrestrial called Thomas Jerome Newton (played in the movie by David Bowie) land on Earth in search of water to save his dying home planet.

Using his advanced scientific knowledge, Thomas Newton becomes incredibly rich and uses his wealth to search for a way to transport water back to his home planet. But as his mission on Earth drags on, Newton becomes seduced by the excesses of our world and grows increasingly desperate to return home, unaware that he has become a target of interest for the U.S. Government and a sinister corporation, eager to exploit him.

The all-new graphic novel also features exclusive bonus material including a 10-page article on the production of the original film and is illustrated with dozens of rarely seen on-set photographs. As well as cover concepts, character designs, a ‘script to art’ section chronicling the development of the artwork, and a reproduction of the original movie poster.

Book details:

Title: The Man Who Fell To Earth

Authors: Dan Watters

Illustrator: Dev Pramanik

ISBN: 978178737013

Language: English

Pages: 128

Format: Hardback/Illustrated

Weight: 1.25 pounds

Dimensions: 11.75 x 7.77 x 0.64 inches

Publisher: Titan Comics

Walkabout

One of my all-time favourite films is Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout (1971). It stars Jenny Agutter, Lucien Roeg and David Gulpilil and it is loosely based on Edward Bond’s free adaptation of James Vance Marshall’s novel, The Children.

Walkabout is a poignant, deeply moving, profound, beautifully-filmed, well-acted film classic.

Plot synopsis (includes spoilers): A teenage girl (Agutter) and her younger brother (Roeg) are left to fend for themselves in the Australian outback after their father drives them out there in his car for a picnic, and then kills himself. The children do their best to survive, but they are ill-equipped for the harshness of the outback. An aborigine boy (Gulpilil) gives them some help, leads them to a deserted house, where, after a ceremonial dance, he hangs himself. The boy and the girl follow the road to an abandoned mine, where a solitary employee tells them which way they need to go to find civilization. The film ends a few years later with the girl, now a woman, thinking back in a romanticized way to her outback experience, which she has re-imagined as an idyll.

The mine scene is hauntingly beautiful and quite poignant, and the girl thinking back to her ordeal in a romanticized way is perfect.

The film ends with a quote from an A. E. Houseman poem:

Into my heart and air that kills

From yon far country blows;

What are those blue remembered hills,

What spires, what farms are those?

That is the land of lost content,

I see it shining plain,

The happy highways where I went

And cannot come again.

There is now a very good Criterion Collection DVD of Walkabout available. It’s the best version of the film that there is. If you haven’t seen Walkabout yet – you should perhaps try it. If you’ve seen it already, you could try watching it again. It certainly won’t be wasted time.

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