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‘Clueless’ Gets a Comic Book

The 90’s brought us some iconic teen films, but I would venture to say that none were as brilliant as Clueless, a film that entails a vapid teen realisation that there is more to life than shopping. The film has […]

The 90’s brought us some iconic teen films, but I would venture to say that none were as brilliant as Clueless, a film that entails a vapid teen realisation that there is more to life than shopping.

The film has been referenced countlessly in pop-culture, with everyone from Andrew Garfield to Gabriel Macht’s character Harvey Spector in legal drama, Suits, attempting to mimic Alicia Silverstone’s character.

Now, we get to enjoy Clueless characters Cher, Dionne and Tai in a whole new medium: a comic book. The film, based on Jane Austen’s Emma, is being reimagined by BOOM! Studios, and at the helm of the project with writers Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex) along with artist Siobhan Keenan.

Clueless
ARGHH. Source.

Sarah admitted that there have been some difficulties in writing the book, particularly mimicking the 1990’s slang. She told EW:

” One of the things people love about Clueless is its really distinctive voice. There are these key catchphrases people remember from that movie, and I think it would be very boring to write a follow-up to Clueless and just keep going to those same five phrases over and over again. This paper Shannon sent us is actually from the U.C.L.A. linguistics department and tracks all these terms that I guess “the kids” were using back then.”

Now, you may be thinking, how can a film made in the 90’s, based on a book that was originally published in 1815, be relevant today? Amber explains that.

“[Cher] is flawed and she fails, and instead of just quitting when she fails, she actually learns. Every person in Clueless—and in Emma—they have something to impart to her. The Tai character teaches Cher to relax; she learns to enjoy her life a little more. That’s a beautiful thing, and I think as a woman, you can identify with that—because we’re told to be perfect all the time, and to take somebody who looks perfect and has kind of a perfect life and go, ‘You know, I’m not perfect. I fail, I make mistakes, but I learn from them.'”

We are desperately excited to see how they recreate this story as a comic. There are so many bright and colourful outfits, quotable references and hilarious scenes that all women and female-identifying folks can relate to. We definitely rate the idea of having more girl power films turned into comics.

Clueless
‘Clueless’. Source.