One of Penny Arcade‘s comic ideas has finally been optioned into a feature length film! This is the sort of thing fans have been waiting for, I imagine. I know after playing Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness I’ve been awaiting it.

Wait a second! The concept chosen was…The New Kid? That doesn’t seem right. If you check the news post, it wasn’t one of the winners, and word on the forums and blogs is that people are angry that Lookouts or Automata weren’t selected. Of course, Lookouts is already getting a board game and I seem to recall mention of further Automata plans in the works (unfortunately, I cannot find a link to verify). So it is not like those properties are being ignored.

Oddly enough, no one thought to really bring up the other two concepts that were created at the time. Not even the winner, Sand, got a mention (or the one I personally preferred, despite having no idea what was going on, Queen of Bells). In the end, either one of these concepts seems better than The New Kid, right? At least, if the forums and blogs are to be believed.

No one seems to care for Jim Darkmagic, though.

Yet as I was pondering this turn of events, I realized that, while I’m not that much of a fan of The New Kid as a concept, everything about it stuck in my mind. I couldn’t even remember the two comics it went up against in terms of a vote. I had to go look them up. In terms of Lookouts and Automata, imagine if it was never left up to a vote and the Penny Arcade guys never did anything more with them.

In truth, The New Kid is actually the best bet Paramount had when buying the film rights. Queen of Bells and Sand are easily forgotten, but everyone remembers The New Kid. That’s the sort of concept you want to use. And while an audience of 13-30 somethings may not have preferred it (though truth be told, the polls were favorable, unlike current internet reactions) the idea certainly has great merit. In particular, as an animated family film.

Which is really part of the goal of making a film. If they deliver a trailer exactly like the comic strip, the idea will stick in your average film goer’s mind. Not only do you have a hook that kids will remember, but you’ll have one that will intrigue parents as well.

In truth, I think choosing to build a film off of The New Kid is a fantastic idea. It is really the one concept that, as a movie, can’t go wrong. That is, as long as you keep Robert Zemeckis away from it.

Besides, if this proves to be a success and gets Gabe and Tycho’s (real) names out there, then there will be plenty of opportunities to expand on both Lookouts and Automata, and maybe even all their other concepts. In truth, there’s no bad side to this development.