Feature: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season Two poster) Columns 

We Want Comics: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

By | July 13th, 2021
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Welcome back to We Want Comics, a column exploring various intellectual properties—whether they’re movies, TV shows, novels, video games, or whatever else—that we would like to see adapted into comic books. Usually these intellectual properties were originally developed without comics in mind at all, but in this case I’m diving into something that originally began as a comic, the DreamWorks animated television series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts.

Season Two’s poster

While Netflix viewers were introduced to Kipo and company in January 2020, comic readers met them five years prior, in a webcomic called “Kipo” on February 2, 2015. The comic lasted a mere thirty-two pages before it was picked up for development for animation, and since then it’s changed so much that there’s no real point in returning to where it left off. I mean, Wolf was clearly changed a lot for animation, and Benson changed so radically that he’s not even remotely the same character.

Webcomic Benson and TV show Benson

So when I say I want comics, I mean I want comics that build on and extend the world of the animated television show Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. The funny thing about that is, I don’t necessarily want comics about Kipo specifically. See, the television show was so focused on Kipo’s story already—for the first two seasons, each episode of the show roughly covered a day in Kipo’s life, so squeezing in more stories into that period of time would feel completely superfluous. Plus we have a solid arc for the character over the course of the show and I think adding to that would dilute it. Sure, there’s room to tell stories that go on beyond the show’s ending, but I think that’s something creators Radford Sechrist and Bill Wolkoff would like to leave on the shelf for future animated Kipo projects someday.

For now, I think comics could get more mileage out of the supporting cast. Like Avatar: The Last Airbender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power before it, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts has an expansive cast and a rich world full of storytelling possibilities. Those shows may focus on the titular character (well, most of the time), but take that character away and there’s still so much to be excited about.

Part of the charm of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is how tightly woven its world building is, and if there’re going to be comics, they need to fit into that. It’s true we want comics, but more importantly, we want creator driven comics. Radford Sechrist and Bill Wolkoff absolutely have to be involved.

So with that said, and ruling out comics about Kipo, what would Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts be about?

Lone Wolf

Wolf’s my favorite character in the show, so it’s no surprise I want to see more of her. Already the show’s explored a bit of her backstory. Radford Sechrist has mentioned he has plans for a future animated project with Wolf, so this comic would require careful development so that it doesn’t step on the toes of Sechrist’s plans.

Concept art by Radford Sechrist for a Wolf project

Also, I’d want the comic to avoid the Solo: A Star Wars Story syndrome, where a prequel feels the need to micro-explain where every aspect of the character’s appearance or mannerisms come from. I’d rather the comic explore new ground through a familiar character.

Part of the problem with a character like Wolf is that prior to meeting Kipo she spent a lot of her time alone, so I don’t think the character could sustain more than a miniseries. Also, part of the charm of the television series is the varied tone that comes from having an ensemble cast. Think of how many of the comedy beats rely on cutting to reaction shots from three or more characters all with very different reactions. A Wolf comic would feel different from the show simply by the nature of its protagonist. In a miniseries the creators could embrace that aspect and push it to its fullest without it overstaying its welcome.

Continued below

However, for a comic spinoff with longevity, there’s a very obvious candidate. . .

The Bicentennial Dave

Did you know that Dave is two hundred years old? That’s also roughly how long ago the October 2020 disaster was that changed the world. Dave (and the other Daves) was one of the original mutes. Through him, we have a character that we can explore any point in history from the disaster onward.

In terms of character development, I’d be curious to see how Dave deals with his mutation. I mean, bugs are ephemeral creatures living very short lives, but Dave is immortal. Plus, because of the way his life cycle works, he needs someone to look after him—living alone isn’t an option for Dave. At the same time, he also knows he’s going to outlive pretty much everyone he meets (aside from other Daves).

The thing is, it’s hard to think Dave without also hearing “and Benson.” However, his time with Benson makes up such a small part of Dave’s life. It would be interesting to see who else Dave has traveled with these past two hundred years, how those relationships grew, and how they ended. In season one of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, there’s a certain amount of distance between Dave and the other characters, and I can’t help but think that’s deliberate. He’s been through this before, been with other groups, and he’s outlived all of them. I think to a certain extent that distance is how Dave protects himself.

There’s so much here to explore, I could imagine this supporting multiple miniseries. Dave doesn’t even have to be the central character in each one either, but rather the common character in each one. Given the way season two has been able to support large chunks of its episodes focusing on Kipo’s mother, father, and Hugo, it’s not hard to imagine how entirely new characters could carry the comics.

Potentially, the stories could even be framed as stories told by Dave to a younger Benson, and part of the narrative could explore what he does and doesn’t tell Benson, or perhaps even lies about. We could see which parts he keeps private, but still weight in on his thoughts.

And, if you ever want to get silly with it, you could even do a story about that time Dave spent twenty-five years in a Mega Chicken’s stomach.

Jamack

The thing about Dave however, is that he’s a character that works best for people that have already watched Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. If you were going to launch a comic for Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, ideally you’d want to hook readers that have never seen the show. This would be a way to both sell the show to those readers so that they jump onto Netflix and watch it, but also give us something new in the process.

I think season three of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts really showed how much the supporting characters matter and how each have their own stories going on. You could put all the supporting characters’ names in a hat, draw out a few and you could probably come up with at least a decent story. That said, if you really want to explore the timeline that the show is set in from a different pair of eyes, there is no better candidate than Jamack. Not only is he there from the beginning, but he goes through a major character change over the course of the show, and he clearly had a lot of adventures offscreen.

And he’s a fan favorite. I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t like Jamack? Plus, he’s a character made for comics storytelling. If you want to create dynamic movement on the page, you’d be hard pressed to find a character better than Jamack. Embrace the manga-style motion lines! And speaking of translating TV show elements to comics. . .

Characters that make great comics

There are certain elements in the show that won’t translate well to comics—the music, for example—so the comics have to select characters that showcase aspects of the show that can thrive in the comics medium. Wolf would be a great slowburn character, perfect for dramatic layouts, embracing the darker aspects of the show. Dave is perfect for comedy and leans into dialogue heavy stories (which is why I suggested he narrate tales to Benson). And Jamack is great for manga-style action.

Continued below

That said, I think there’s room to nod at those elements that don’t translate to comics. I for one would love to see a little “Benson’s playlist” on the inside cover, with a few tracks selected that fit the vibe of the issue for reader’s to listen to while they read.

Fanart by Mark Tweedale

All this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that’s without even discussing the vast opportunities to tell stories beyond the ending of the show or outside of Las Vistas. Given that the show always skewed toward young adult, it’d be great to see it stretch out in terms of its thematic material, aiming for a slightly older audience than the show itself, growing up with its fans.

Not only do I want Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts comics, I want LOTS of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts comics, and I think they have the potential to be something really special in their own right.


//TAGS | Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts | We Want Comics

Mark Tweedale

Mark writes Haunted Trails, The Harrow County Observer, The Damned Speakeasy, and a bunch of stuff for Mignolaversity. An animator and an eternal Tintin fan, he spends his free time reading comics, listening to film scores, watching far too many video essays, and consuming the finest dark chocolates. You can find him on BlueSky.

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