I find myself somewhat concerned with these.
I am a tremendous, tremendous nerd. With that out of the way, I think it's safe to say that I am a big fan of comics (or "graphic novels" to those that want to seem less like a neckbearded basement-dweller.) A few favorite heroes are Spider-Man (but everyone loves him anyway), Iron Man, and Rorschach (see: Watchmen), and I've been a fan of them even before their transition onto the big screen.
However, with the ongoing rise in popularity of comic book movies, it seems as if the material for them is getting more and more scarce. This isn't like taking ideas from novels, where you have near infinite material. There are only a handful of really recognizable/popular superheroes, and only so much you can do with them.
Watchmen, the 12-issue comic written by Alan Moore, is currently in post-production and should be out sometime next year. For those who don't know, Watchmen is often heralded as the end-all-be-all for comic book fans. It's a masterfully written, beautifully drawn, very thought-provoking piece of work, one which almost any comic-enthusiast would call a masterpiece (and also my absolute favorite, as far as graphic novels go.) From what's been shown so far, the movie promises to be both entertaining and very true to the material itself.
With that, though, where will things go? After Watchmen, this acclaimed pinnacle of the comic book industry, how much material will be left to continue the trend? Sure, Nolan will have another Batman, there may be a series of Avengers movies (god I hope so), but how much longer before they start beating a dead horse?
also if it seems like i am just a little bit excited for watchmen it's because i am just a little bit excited for watchmen
OK....first, you know I take offense to the neckbeard comment, and don't think I don't know you were gunning for me with it.
ReplyDeleteI was an avid comic reader/collector between the years of 1980 and 1992...the Golden Age of Marvel...this was the height of Wolverine and the X-Men chronicles. It was the height of Amazing Spidey, and so many great story-lines. Robin died. Spidey donned the black costume. Todd MacFarlane's series made Spiderman dark and brooding like Batman, who was made darker and more brooding when the term "Dark Knight" was coined. The Joker became a torturer and menacing killer, instead of a super villain.
It is my feeling that these things come and go in waves. The early 90s saw a relative dearth in interesting story-lines, but the comic world survived to evolve. Today's comic book shop looks nothing like it did when I was a kid. Mutant heroes and satires like "Groo the Wanderer" and "The Tick" ruled my adolescence. Now comics focus on horror and femme fatales...a truth that harkens back to the the pulp horror comics of the 1950s, when comics were so "graphic" that they were banned.
The cheesy superhero movies of the late 70s and 80s didn't kill the comic world, neither will the hero rush of the 00s. Sustainability.
I’m not a HUGE graphic-novel fan (that you may already know) but I am into anything that is beautifully geared towards thought-provoking storyboards and asks the questions “Why?”
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to explain, but from what I have read in the Watchmen book James leaves so eloquently placed in the center of his bedroom floor while he was napping (aka all the time) I enjoy it thoroughly and not so much because of the art, but because of the questions it makes you ask yourself.
I once saw this special on the History channel (duh, because what other channel would I watch besides the History Channel) about comic books and I must say, I enjoyed it. I’m not so much a fan of the older comics, mostly because they’re a bit cheesy for me, but I loved what happened to the comics when they got their “makeovers” it just seemed so fitting for them, and everything felt so much better. Not only did our favorite comic book heroes get a twisted new makeover, but their stories, they became so real. You could almost identify with them, in some weird twisted way.
I’m going to have to flat out say this, but I agree with Costal.
Comics gone big screen will never, ever, die.
Because everyone needs a hero.
I feel that if comic book films are to survive they must change their direction a bit. At the moment they are growing in width, and in the future they will have to move more towards depth. At the moment they seem to simply be in a mad dash to find a title that hasn't been done yet. Now we're running out of well known heroes who haven't gotten a film treatment so Hollywood will have to move towards elaborating on the characters they have already shown in film.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just want to add, I love The Tick. Why is there not a movie based on the Tick? All it ever got was a cartoon and a live action tv show that was canceled after one season, and I DEMAND more. If Ant-man gets a movie, why can't the Big Blue Bug of Justice?
Sorry to break it to you John but there was a live TV series for the Tick in 2001. The Tick was played by the man who voices Joe on Family Guy, Patrick Warburton. Funny I read this comment now seeing that I sort of just looked at this on imdb.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242949/
There ARE 4 full episode on there too. Lol. There was only 9 episodes. You can look at the rest yourself.
As for the topic at hand. Well I think we should be happy with how the comic book movies are going right now. I mean they just fixed their unholiest of mistakes, The Hulk. Be happy where we are and that they've started trying to actually make them well and not just make gimmicky films. Nolan truly is the brightest and I've felt that with Batman Begins. I think the movie industry learned from horrible films like Daredevil and Electra and Hulk and Ultraviolet and well you see what I mean.
I know I know. I mentioned it. that's what I meant by "short lived action tv show that got canceled after one season." I'm just saying the Tick deserves more than that.
ReplyDeleteinteresting you mention the tick becuase the guy who plays the mexican batman in the show was also the mayor in the Dark Knight
ReplyDelete"the guy who plays the mexican batman in the show was also the mayor in the Dark Knight"
ReplyDeleteget the hell outta here
that is awesome
Batmanuel was his name lol
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu1cWaKTlt8&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Batmanuel&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&s
ReplyDeleteBatmanuel is definately the best superhero name ever. I'm glad they changed it from Der Fleitermouse or however you spell it. I miss that show. I'm gonna go watch the dvd now.
ReplyDelete