Some people think a sequel to Palahniuk’s epic novel (and subsequent film) is blasphemy. David Guba, on the other hand, is pumped.
For many Gen-Xers and Millenials, Fight Club opened a dialogue about masculinity, manhood, and friendships in a more meaningful way than many books or films since. And, of course, fighting. Lots of fighting. It screamed against a society unsustainably moving toward increased consumerism and comfort. Fight Club the movie did poorly at the box office, but simmered in to cultural relevance, becoming one of the early cult classics of the dvd era. The David Lynch-helmed 1999 film version of the quick, 208 page novel has been attributed to laying much of the groundwork for mainstream acceptance of mixed martial arts. The Easter egg-laden movie cemented author’s Chuck Palahniuk’s place in the cultural canon, which saw two more of his books get the big-screen treatment, and many butchering his last name.
(“Paula-Nick”. It’s pronounced “Paula-Nick”.)
In an unexpected move which violates the oft-quoted first two rules of Fight Club, Palahniuk announced he is doing a 10-issue comic book sequel to his revered 1996 novel. The maxiseries is scheduled to his shelves next May. Palahniuk states this continuation of the story will carefully examine fatherhood, whereas the first book excoriated the institution, declaring: “What you see at fight club is a generation of men raised by women”. I, for one, am looking forward to see his spin on aging, fatherhood, and family life, and am more than a little relieved to learn The Narrator didn’t die at the end, and that Project Mayhem lives on.