10 ADAPTATIONS FROM OTHER MEDIA
the original series, Next Generation , and Th e New Frontier , as well as various alien races
(such as Klingons) and other secondary characters. Th is included the characters from
the original series episode “Assignment Earth” and the evil mirror universe from the
episode “Mirror, Mirror.” IDW has also begun collecting and reprinting the comics put
out by Marvel, DC, and Malibu.
Th e case of two Star Trek series being simultaneously licensed by two diff erent
companies has happened on other occasions as well. For example, Dark Horse once
owned both Buff y and its spin-off Angel; however Angel has since moved to IDW.
Dark Horse had held the Star Wars license for about 20 years, but it was previously
owned by Marvel. One of the reprint collections put out by Dark Horse is Star Wars:
A Long Time Ago which collects the Marvel run. Th e same holds for Marvel’s Conan
Th e Barbarian titles which are being reprinted by Dark Horse, who also publishes new
stories. Th e new Adventures of Red Sonja, a Conan spin-off once published by Marvel,
is now being distributed by Dynamite Entertainment.
Dark Horse is one of the larger publishers of licensed materials. Besides Buff y ,
Star Wars , and Conan , Dark Horse has also published comics based on Aliens , Preda-
tor , Th e Mask , and Indiana Jones. Besides Star Trek and Angel , IDW also publishes
new adventures featuring the toy/cartoon characters Transformers and GI Joe (both
of which were once licensed by Marvel), the television shows CSI , 24 , and Doctor
Who , and the fi lm Galaxy Quest. Dynamite’s other licensed properties include Xena:
Warrior Princess , Army of Darkness , Highlander , Zorro , Th e Lone Ranger , and Th e Green
Hornet all of which have previously been adapted over the years by other publishers.
DC/ Wildstorm has had new stories with Jason of Friday Th e 13th , Freddy Krueger
of Nightmare on Elm Street , and the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface from Th e Texas
Chainsaw Massacre. Several other companies have also used licensed characters in
original stories.
In addition to the X-Men’s encounters with Dracula and the various Enterprise
crews, licensed characters have interacted both with other licensed characters and with
characters owned by the publisher doing the licensing. “Ash,” the character played by
Bruce Campbell in the Army of Darkness movies, has encountered Jason and Freddy
Krueger, the Marvel zombies, and characters from Xena , including one also played
by Campbell. Th e “Aliens” fought the “Predators” in the comics long before they did
so in the movies and they both have had encounters with several DC superheroes,
including in one comic with the lengthy title of Superman and Batman vs. Predator
and Aliens.
Th ere are also signs of increasing diversity in recent adaptations. For example,
two international publishers have created graphic novel literary adaptations aimed at
younger readers. Th e British Classical Comics publishes adaptations of both Shake-
speare and 19th-century classics, but in multiple versions. Some have the text in the
original form, while others contain easier to understand plain text, or an even easier
quick text version. Campfi re is an imprint of India’s Kalyani Navyug Media and pro-
duces 72-page adaptations of classic works. Whether it is a direct adaptation of a
