Books and other printed materials >> That time DC Comics looked into producing a series of Lord of the Rings graphic novels
That time DC Comics looked into producing a series of Lord of the Rings graphic novels
27 May
2026-5-27 12:39:47 PM UTC
2026-5-27 12:39:47 PM UTC
Thought this was interesting. Comics industry legend Scott Dunbier, posted this on his Facebook page this morning.
“ File this one under the heading of "what might have been..."
About 25 years ago, as the first Peter Jackson helmed Lord of the Rings was released, I was asked by someone at DC Comics to do a proposal for a series of Lord of the Rings graphic novels. No idea who asked me about it (Richard Bruning?). Warner Brothers had the rights to the property so it made sense for DC to do adaptations. I started mulling it over in my head, pondering what my "dream team" would be. For the adaptation (both the layouts and the scripting) I reached out to Craig Russell. He seemed perfect to me. For the finished art it was a bit more tricky. It was a huge, multi-year project–having one person do it all felt impossible. I started to think of all the lush back rounds, all the trees and foliage. Which led me to Charles Vess. Then I thought of Charles' old flatmate and close friend Michael Wm Kaluta to do all the figures, horses, creatures. All was good until I got word that the Tolkein estate had slammed the door on it. God, it would have been magnificent.
C'est la vie”
“ File this one under the heading of "what might have been..."
About 25 years ago, as the first Peter Jackson helmed Lord of the Rings was released, I was asked by someone at DC Comics to do a proposal for a series of Lord of the Rings graphic novels. No idea who asked me about it (Richard Bruning?). Warner Brothers had the rights to the property so it made sense for DC to do adaptations. I started mulling it over in my head, pondering what my "dream team" would be. For the adaptation (both the layouts and the scripting) I reached out to Craig Russell. He seemed perfect to me. For the finished art it was a bit more tricky. It was a huge, multi-year project–having one person do it all felt impossible. I started to think of all the lush back rounds, all the trees and foliage. Which led me to Charles Vess. Then I thought of Charles' old flatmate and close friend Michael Wm Kaluta to do all the figures, horses, creatures. All was good until I got word that the Tolkein estate had slammed the door on it. God, it would have been magnificent.
C'est la vie”
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