Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017): the film versus the comics

Two sequels to the same work, released in the same season, one in theaters and the other in bookstores, without the slightest point in common: Kingsman offers a unique case in this series of articles. Source-by-source decryption.

As in each article in this series, only verified information (creators, distribution, dates, publishers) is stated; the comparative analysis is ours, without reproducing dialogue or protected images.

The Secret Service (2012): a closed story

The first film adapted The Secret Service, mini-series published from 2012 under the Icon label – the Marvel line reserved for creations of which the authors remain owners. Mark Millar on screenplay, Dave Gibbons on drawing: the designer of Watchmen brought to this spy story a graphic rigor which contrasted with the excess of the subject. The story followed a young man from a working-class neighborhood recruited by his uncle, an agent of an independent spy organization, and confronted by a billionaire with genocidal ambitions.

The essential point to understand this sequence is simple:this story was over. The mini-series closes with a clear conclusion, andthe first filmhad already covered the entirety of it - while allowing itself large liberties, including the invention of the character of Harry as played by Colin Firth and the much more stylized tone of the production. When Matthew Vaughn tackled a sequel in 2017, he therefore had no source to adapt. The Golden Circle is, entirely, a cinematographic creation.

Two competing sequels, the same season

This is where the case becomes unique. In September 2017, as The Golden Circle hit theaters, Image Comics launched Kingsman: The Red Diamond— a six-issue mini-series, written by Rob Williams and drawn by Simon Fraser, presented as a continuation of Millar and Gibbons' story. It appears from September 2017 to February 2018, exactly during the film's run, and finds Eggsy in a completely different context: an agent still rough by agency standards, confronted with an international terrorist plot.

The two sequels are unrelated. Neither the same plot, nor the same antagonists, nor the same issues – two parallel extensions of the same work, released simultaneously, each ignoring the other. This configuration is explained by the mechanics of rights: Mark Millar retains ownership of Kingsman, which allows him to authorize both a completely independent film adaptation and a continuation in comics entrusted to other authors. For the reader, the consequence is concrete and rarely said:if you're looking for "the Golden Circle comic", it doesn't exist— and the comic that bears the name Kingsman on that date tells something else. Few franchises offer such a clear divergence between their two branches.

What the film invents, and why it matters

Freed from all sources, The Golden Circle deploys an entirely new plot: the British organization is decimated by a preventive strike, forcing the survivors to seek help from their American equivalent, Statesman - a whiskey agency instead of tailors, lassos instead of umbrellas -, facing Poppy, head of a global cartel withdrawn in a fake city in the heart of the jungle. None of these elements have an equivalent in the comics. Statesman is a pure invention, as is the character of Poppy and the device of poisoned trafficking on a planetary scale.

The most discussed invention remains the return of Harry Hart. The first film had closed its arc definitively, and its resurrection – explained by technology from the American agency – was divisive: it offers the film its best emotional spring, but retroactively cancels the issue which gave its strength to the previous one. This is the classic peril of sequels designed without source material: you have to resuscitate what made the first valuable, even if it means damaging the conclusion. WhereKick-Ass 2could rely on existing albums, Le Cercle d'or had only itself. The reception was affected: a decent commercial success but much more lukewarm criticism than for the first part, with recurring criticisms of overkill and length.

The characters, from paper to screen

• Eggsy— The spy of popular origin, the only character common to both sequels.
• Harry Hart— Largely constructed for the cinema, resurrected by the film.
• Merlin— The agency's technical support, developed on screen.
• Poppy and Statesman— Complete creations of the Golden Circle.
• The Red Diamond— The antagonist of the sequel in comics, absent from the film.

Millar, owner of his worlds

This double life of Kingsman illustrates the strategy that has made Mark Millar one of the most lucrative authors in the medium. By publishing at Icon then at Image, he retains ownership of his creations, which allows him to sell the audiovisual rights well in advance — sometimes before the publication of the first issue — while continuing to exploit the universe editorially. Kingsman offers the most successful example: an original mini-series at Marvel, an adaptation at Fox, a comic book sequel at Image, and a film franchise which will continue its journey with a prequel set during the First World War.

For the collector, this architecture creates a bibliography split between several publishers, which one must know in order not to make a mistake. The key remains The Secret Service #1(2012, Icon), Eggsy's first appearance and only number directly related to what the first film adapted.The Red Diamond(2017, Image) constitutes an interesting curiosity: an official comic book sequel which does not correspond to any film, published during the release of a feature film telling something completely different. These issues are widely available and inexpensive, with demand concentrated on the original series. This is typically the type of piece that a discerning enthusiast acquires for the coherence of his collection rather than for its value.

Dave Gibbons, the cartoonist who anchored the story

One element that the films lost along the way is worth noting: the drawing. Entrust The Secret Service to Dave Gibbons was not an insignificant choice. The British designer, known worldwide for Watchmen, practices an art of rigorous grid, absolute readability and sober detail – the exact opposite of overkill. Applied to a deliberately outrageous spy story by Mark Millar, this trait produced a singular tension: the bigger the story, the calmer and more methodical the imagery remained, which gave the whole thing an unexpected credibility.

Matthew Vaughn's films have taken the opposite approach, and this is their signature: twirling camera, choreographed sequence shots, slow motion and acceleration. The first film found a balance there; The Golden Circle pushes the process to the point of saturation, which is precisely what critics have criticized it for. For the reader, this divergence is instructive: where Gibbons contained excess through form, cinema amplified it through it. Rediscovering the mini-series after the films means measuring how much the same scenario changes in nature depending on who puts it into images - and why Gibbons' name on a cover remains, for collectors, an argument in itself.

Where to start reading

To discover the source,The Secret Service(2012) by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons reads like a collection and covers everything the first film adapted — just drier and more cynical. For the real sequel in comics,Kingsman: The Red Diamond(2017) by Rob Williams and Simon Fraser extends Eggsy's story in a direction that cinema has never taken. No album tells The Golden Circle.

Chronology of comics to know

• 2012— The Secret Service: the mini-series by Millar and Gibbons at Icon.
• 2014— The first film adapts the entire story.
• September 2017— The Golden Circle is released in theaters, without a comic source.
• September 2017 - February 2018— Kingsman: The Red Diamond is published by Image.

Collection side: what numbers to aim for after the film

Kingsman points to two separate publishers.The Secret Service #1(2012, Icon) is the master key: first appearance of Eggsy, drawn by Dave Gibbons, in the series that the first film adapted.Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1(2017, Image) completes the collection as an official comic book sequel — an inexpensive curiosity, widely available, with no cinematic equivalent. As with all Millar series, the rating follows the news of the adaptations, which makes off-peak periods favorable. As always, condition and gradation determine value; relying on real recent sales is strongly recommended.

Its place in the saga and for the collector

Kingsman: The Golden Circle will remain as the sequel that had nothing to adapt – and the rare case where a franchise was split, one branch in the cinema, another in bookstores, without the two ever crossing paths. For the reader, this is a useful warning: the name Kingsman now covers two parallel continuities, and looking for “the film comic” is a dead end. For the collector, the hierarchy remains clear, The Secret Service #1 ahead of all the rest. The Golden Circle reminds us that an adaptation which exhausts its source from the first film condemns its sequels to invention - with the risks that this entails, starting with the temptation to resuscitate what we had known how to kill.

The verdict: the characters kept, the story invented

• Loyalty: Eggsy, the independent agency and its codes, the contrast between British elegance and brutality, the satire of the spy film and the mentor-protege relationship come from the comics.
• Freedoms: the entire plot, the Statesman Agency, Poppy and the World Traffic, and Harry's return are creations of the film - while an unrelated comic book sequel appeared at the same time.
• Collectible numbers: The Secret Service #1 (2012, Icon), Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1 (2017, Image).

Kingsman: The Golden Circle does not adapt any comics: Millar and Gibbons' story was closed in the first film. Unique fact, a sequel in comics —The Red Diamond— appeared exactly as it was released, telling an entirely different story. For both the reader and the collector, it is an invitation to explore the two branches of a franchise that has become dual.

Frequently asked questions