GVN Talking Comics Interview: Chris Ryall & Jacob Phillips On Abrams ComicArts’ Megalopolis Adaptation

Megalopolis: The Film

Francis Ford Coppola’s 2024 film, Megalopolis, was first envisioned by Coppola in 1977. However, the film faced numerous delays due to financial challenges and project rejections. Megalopolis finally began production in 2023. But only after Coppola himself personally invested $120 million into the project to help fund it. The film featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D. B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman.

Set in an alternate version of 21st-century New York City, reimagined as “New Rome,” Megalopolis tells the story of visionary architect, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) and his battle against the corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). Cicero opposes Catilina’s ambitious plan to transform New Rome into the futuristic utopia called “Megalopolis.” The film takes inspiration from Roman history, particularly the Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BC and the fall of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

Adapting Megalopolis to Graphic Novel

When it was time for Abrams ComicArts to seek permission to adapt the film to graphic novel, it was Coppola who was thrilled to let writer Chris Ryall to bring his film to the comic page. Working with Eisner-winning artist Jacob Philips, they we allowed to pay homage to Coppola’s story while expanding its scope. Quite the challenge but one both Ryall and Phillips were up for. You can check out the fruits of that labor as Megalopolis by Chris Ryall and Jacob Phillips as it hit stands on October 7th through Abrams ComicArts.

In advance of this exciting adaptation and the upcoming NYCC, we caught up to the creative duo to get a feel for their creative beginnings and how they approached bringing the iconic director’s film to graphic novel form. So, let’s welcome Chris Ryall and Jacob Phillips to GVN Talking Comics.

A Conversation with Chris and Jacob

GVN: I want to thank you both for giving us a part of your day. Since I have had the fortune of talking to Chris previously (albeit in 2022 for Chris’ book, “Groom Lake: Grey Skies Above”), I going to start with you, Jacob. When did you first take an interest in comic art and whose work inspired and motivated you to pursue that career?

JACOB: I’ve always been surrounded by comic art. I grew up with my dad drawing comics in the house so for me it was always just a regular job. I never had the thing of my parents telling me to go and get a “real job”. And although I always enjoyed reading comics I was more interested in freelance illustration purely because I had seen how much work making a comic is. And yet the comics pulled me in anyway and now here I am, 5 or so years later still making them.

Involvement with ‘The Marvel Age of Comics Series’

GVN: So, Chris, needless to say, a lot of time has passed since we last spoke. But you have not stopped creating interesting and thought-provoking comics and books. One of which was your contribution to “The Marvel Age of Comics Series,” specifically your look at Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s 1986 classic “Daredevil: Born Again.” How did you get involved in this series and why that particular book?

CHRIS: The funny thing is, that Groom Lake sequel still hasn’t fully come to pass yet. But maybe someday, we can have a reunion chat about that one! In the meantime, I’ve been doing a number of Marvel archival projects and other such books. I seem to be entering some kind of “historian” phase in addition to doing new comics. So Marvel reached out and asked if I’d want to be part of Bloomsbury’s new line of Marvel-related books. When they described the line as, basically, “the 33-⅓ line only with Marvel instead of music,” I jumped at it. I love those 33-⅓ books, and them offering me 30,000 words to explain all the reasons why I think “Born Again” is the best superhero storyline ever, and dig deeper into the reasons it’s still so resonant today, seemed just about perfect for me. I put together three pitches, all of which I liked, but “Born Again” is the one I most wanted to spend time writing about.

Choosing the Next Project

GVN: OK, Jacob, as I look over your work, there seems to be a leaning toward darker stories and ones that not only frighten but draw the reader in to the point that they can’t help but want to pick up that next book. Are those kinds of books more to your liking or does it depend on whose writing? How do you choose what your next project will be?

JACOB: It definitely depends on who is writing the story but it’s the characters that really pull me in. For me the genre or bigger picture is kind of secondary to the characters and their smaller, personal stories within the book. I love portraying the small moments and focusing on what makes the characters feel human and the world feel lived in. But in terms of actually deciding on the next project it usually comes down to who do I want to work with and that is often my friends or previous collaborators. Until something like this comes along and completely changes that, Francis Ford Coppola was not a buddy of mine, surprisingly!

A Request from Francis Ford Coppola

GVN: So, let’s get to the meat of the subject we are here for and that is your graphic novel adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” Chris, how did this opportunity come about and was Jacob your idea choice to bring the story to graphic form?

CHRIS: It started simply enough, but also in a surprising way to me: I got an email out of the blue. From Francis Ford Coppola. A couple mutual friends and friends of friends told him to drop me a line when he mentioned to them he wanted to make a graphic novel connected to his Megalopolis film. Which was thrilling to get and even more thrilling to work on, thanks to his close participation all along the way. And it all got even better once Jacob Phillips signed on, too.

I knew the story involved a New York-like city called New Rome and also included some grounded science-fiction-like elements and cityscapes, too, and I’ve been impressed with Jacob’s work across pretty much everything he’s done; it felt like the approach he took to his work perfectly evoked both mood and specific setting whether in the Old West or a dingy New York street. And his lighting work, often filled with very specific and fitting choices that further enhance a particular mood or scene, all made me think he’d be great at bringing to life scenes set in familiar architectural settings as well as these entirely new and unique locations, too. And he was.

Approaching the Artistic Chores of ‘Megalopolis’

GVN: Jacob, as you approached this challenge, did you refer to the film for likenesses or atmosphere, or did you and Chris decide on a different path to visualize the story?

JACOB: Well, I was actually working on drawing the book as the film was being shot so I couldn’t even if I wanted to. But that was the whole point I think, it was for Chris and I to create our own version of the story based on the script, not the finished film. I got to see some concept art and a few photographs of the sets but I was free to use or not use whatever I wanted from that. I only got to see the film when it was out in the cinema like everybody else and I spent the entire time going “that’s different, that’s the same, that’s different”.

The Challenges of Adaptation

GVN: When it comes to adaptations, Chris, you have worked on many adaptations for iconic creators like Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Harlan Ellison, to name a few. Have you gotten past the point of having any anxiety about such projects, or do you still feel a current of intimidation when you tackle such books?

CHRIS: I think there’s no way to ever get to a point of not being intimidated by working on projects by talents such as those or someone like Coppola. But the thing I’ve learned along the way – thanks to all of those guys’ encouragement to use the tools of the comic-book medium to make the graphic novels their own thing – is to not treat their work or mine as anything precious. In the earlier days, I felt presumptuous to edit parts of their dialogue or scenes, but I came to realize that not doing so in order to make the story fit this medium would be doing a disservice to them and to readers.

I certainly didn’t take any major liberties with Megalopolis, but I did add scenes, add and change dialogue, and really worked to make this not an adaptation but rather, as Francis calls it, “a sibling to the film.” And he was immensely encouraging and helpful in that regard. This was one of the more inventive and unique projects I’ve ever been involved with, and it offered a huge degree of freedom. And that’s all due to Francis Coppola and the very unique and thoughtful film he created that gave us such an “open-platform” field in which to play on the pages of the book.

Future Projects

GVN: I want to thank you both for talking with us. I could go on but I’m sure you have other things to attend to. However, before we part, as usual, I want to give you both the chance to talk about any other projects you have upcoming (that you CAN talk about). Starting with you, Chris.

CHRIS: It’ll be great to have Megalopolis finally out in the world, especially releasing as it does just a couple days before the New York Comic-Con. I’m currently working as editor on a few other high-profile adaptations with Abrams that I can’t quite discuss yet; I’ve got a number of other Marvel archival projects under way, too. On the comic front, we’ve done a couple Dread the Halls horror anthology comics over the past year (one set at the holidays, and Dread the Hall H, a companion comic set at Comic-Con that launched this past July); the next holiday installment of Dread the Halls was just solicited for December release through Image. And I’m part of Bloomsbury’s launch of a new line of Marvel-related books called The Marvel Age of Comics. My entry, out in early November, is a deep dive into Daredevil: Born Again, my favorite superhero storyline. So, a nice mix of playing with both old and new comic-book material, which is just the way I like it.

JACOB: Thanks so much! I’m excited for people to finally get their hands on Megalopolis. I also have a new series out with writer Tate Brombal called Everything Dead & Dying, a story about a man trying to survive alongside his undead family after the zombie apocalypse which is out now from Image Comics. We have just released new editions of my other Image series That Texas Blood Volumes 1-3 with lovely new covers. The Knives, the new Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Criminal graphic novel with colours by yours truly is out now too. And lastly I have a new top-secret series being announced at New York Comic-Con in a couple of weeks. This is something I have been quietly working on for over a year so I can’t wait to get it out into the world.

You can find Abram ComicArts adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis by Chris Ryall and Jacob Phillips, where all great comics and books are sold.