Sep 2014 *
Here we can talk all things comics. I originally intended this zone just to be for comicbook movies, but why? There are so many trashy and epicy comics and graphic novels - and creators! - that it seemed far too narrow in scope to just make it be about the movies.
To start us off, though, here's a little introduction...
When I was younger, probably about seven or eight*, a chance encounter at the local newsagents led me to a near 30-year (off & on) love affair with comic books. It was on that fateful day (most likely a Saturday afternoon), that I bought (with my well earned 50p – for such I guess the thing cost) The Incredible Hulk 297.
Now, I knew all about the Hulk – as a boy that knowledge just seemed to be inherently in my psychological makeup (alongside the ability to make cool machine-gun noises, turn an innocent stick into any number of melee and projectile weapons, and the certainty that ninjas were in fact the best possible career option for a growing lad, and that Optimus Prime was the fucking man**!)
Goddammit Hot Rod, you Judd Nelson sounding asshole! Sorry guys, but some scars never heal...
But I was never a huge fan – being more of a Star Warser, Transformerser, G.I. Joer (though they were known as the multi-national Action Force in the UK), and He-Manner. Action Figures (they were not dolls, goddamit!) being more my bag than comics. Hmmm, I digress...
Anyway, I bought the aforementioned comic, and read it. And re-read it. Re-re-read it, re-re-re-read it, and then read it again. It blew my mind. As an aside, if you ever get the chance to read it, go ahead. It’s a mind fuck par excellence when taken completely out of context of the longer story line, particularly when I had no knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Gabe Jones, or Dr Strange. It was set in what appeared to be a post-apocalyptic waste-land (where the not-so-jolly green giant was the cause of said end of times), and in a moment of post-rage fatigue, the Hulkster has what can only be described as a fucking disturbingly surreal dream sequence***.
Where is this all going? I hear you ask. You are asking that, aren’t you? Jono waits impatiently for nods and other signs of agreement.
Well, it’ll be going to movies a little bit later, but I’m holding forth, right now.
To sum up the rest of the back-story. I was bitten, not by a radioactive spider, but by the comic-book bug. I was hooked, and through the rest of the ‘80s to the mid ‘90s I could be found, like as not, down the local comic book shop (of which there was precisely…one, in Newcastle****). Sometime around 1996, probably, I got sick of the business – the new stories were mostly crap, the art was crap, there was more interest in the merchandising (Dolls? Who wanted dolls? Why would anyone collect dolls?), and collectible die-cut-holographic-luminous-gatefold-glow-in-the-dark-poly-bagged-collectors’ edition first issues (printed in their millions so as to remain worthless). I still re-read the old classics that I’d acquired, but the new stuff – pah******!
Then, about ten years later, I downloaded a whole swag of comics that I used to own (only a select few made the migration with me), and it re-kindled some of the love. And some of the newer stories caught my attention, and I’ve retained more than a passing interest ever since. I love finding out what my old favourites are up to now – even when they’ve taken a ticket to Dorkville – and here Wikipedia and TVTropes are very much my friends, as I can pick and choose which stories I actually consider wasting my time on.
Anyway, on to the movies.
Cimenatic, ain’t it!
Comics and sequential art are inherently visual media, and the comic book experience can often be very cinematic in scope, so it seems logical that so many characters would make that brave leap from the panel to the silver screen. That so many have tried, and been found wanting is, perhaps, more surprising. With a few notable exceptions, it has only been in the last decade or so that comic book adaptations have really gripped the imaginations of the wider public.
Why is that? Maybe it’s the advances of technology that allow us to see more ‘believable’ CGI characters – let’s face it, a comicbook-like Hulk would be nigh impossible to achieve without it.
Or maybe it’s the fact that the studios have hired the right (or at least better…) people for the job – A-list actors, A-list directors, and screenwriters who seem to have the ability to create sympathetic characters, and tell a compelling story.
Maybe it’s because the ‘big two’ have decided to take creative control of their properties – and are tying them together in the shared universes that we know and love. From this perspective, at least, deals involving Warner Bros and Disney don’t look too shabby…
Of course, it’s a combination of those factors (and many more besides), and of course, it’s not as simple as saying back then they were rubbish, and now they’re gold. There have been stinkers and gems across all the decades of comic book movies. Also, not all comic books and comic book movies are based on Marvel or DC characters, they’re not all about superheroes, and they’re not all American. But, I think it’s fair to say that The Dark Knight Trilogy and the Avengers Phase I & II movies have moved comic book movies into a recognisable, and very popular******* genre of cinema right now.
So what’s the purpose of this post? I hear you ask. No? Well, I’m a tell you anyway, biatches!
I am going to read comics and watch some comic book movies. Not all – there’s far too many for li’l ol’ me to watch, and far too many that I have no intention of seeing (Kick-Ass and Wanted I’m looking at you********), and I shall share my thought with the Trash Epics group. Hopefully, you will share your thoughts on any that you’ve seen/read, and between us we’ll examine the latest cinematic cause celebre. And maybe, just maybe, save the world from certain destruction (possibly involving big lasers) and the machinations of a diabolical super villain. Or, you know, watch a bunch of movies. Whatevs.
One of the things I’m keen to investigate in my musings is, not just to see if the films are good or enjoyable, but specifically to see if they are good adaptations of the source. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean slavishly reproducing the printed page on screen, but do they feel true to the characters. If there’s one thing that bugs me about criticism of comic book movies it’s the cry of pedantic fans who can’t bear the fact that Captain America’s boots don’t fold over at the top (though some pedantry is justified – Judge Dredd’s helmet should not come off! How could anybody get that so wrong?)
Just try it again, perp!
I prefer to look on them as one of the many ‘alternate realities’ that the books themselves love to show – an Elseworlds version, if you will.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Hopefully you will be able to join me on this Journey*********.
First up – Captain America (1979), starring Reb Brown (Saluting Trash Legend post for this man coming soon!), and nobody else, whatsoever.
Excelsior!
*my internet detective skills show me that it would have been about a month before my 7th birthday)
**man in this context meaning truck-robot with lasers
***I’ve since tracked down the preceding and subsequent issues, and, tbh, it’s a fun story, but it never lived up to the old 297 magic…
****I should probably add, at this point, that comic books in the UK were very much considered for kids – a la Dandy or Beano – and anyone over the age of about seven who read them was clearly a freak of the highest order. Compare that to today, where you can’t move without tripping over Superman, or the Avengers. And suddenly my Spiderman pyjamas aren’t so tragic now, are they Colin Bagley*****?
*****This didn’t happen…
******Of course, there was actually some really awesome stuff coming out those days – mostly from smaller presses and independents, but I didn’t really get those back then. I’m much prefer this stuff to the heroes now, though.
*******$$$$$ kerching $$$$$
********Nothing by Mark Millar. He is a cock of the highest order, and a terrible writer.
*********Into Mystery!
To start us off, though, here's a little introduction...
When I was younger, probably about seven or eight*, a chance encounter at the local newsagents led me to a near 30-year (off & on) love affair with comic books. It was on that fateful day (most likely a Saturday afternoon), that I bought (with my well earned 50p – for such I guess the thing cost) The Incredible Hulk 297.
Now, I knew all about the Hulk – as a boy that knowledge just seemed to be inherently in my psychological makeup (alongside the ability to make cool machine-gun noises, turn an innocent stick into any number of melee and projectile weapons, and the certainty that ninjas were in fact the best possible career option for a growing lad, and that Optimus Prime was the fucking man**!)
Goddammit Hot Rod, you Judd Nelson sounding asshole! Sorry guys, but some scars never heal...
But I was never a huge fan – being more of a Star Warser, Transformerser, G.I. Joer (though they were known as the multi-national Action Force in the UK), and He-Manner. Action Figures (they were not dolls, goddamit!) being more my bag than comics. Hmmm, I digress...
Anyway, I bought the aforementioned comic, and read it. And re-read it. Re-re-read it, re-re-re-read it, and then read it again. It blew my mind. As an aside, if you ever get the chance to read it, go ahead. It’s a mind fuck par excellence when taken completely out of context of the longer story line, particularly when I had no knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Gabe Jones, or Dr Strange. It was set in what appeared to be a post-apocalyptic waste-land (where the not-so-jolly green giant was the cause of said end of times), and in a moment of post-rage fatigue, the Hulkster has what can only be described as a fucking disturbingly surreal dream sequence***.
Where is this all going? I hear you ask. You are asking that, aren’t you? Jono waits impatiently for nods and other signs of agreement.
Well, it’ll be going to movies a little bit later, but I’m holding forth, right now.
To sum up the rest of the back-story. I was bitten, not by a radioactive spider, but by the comic-book bug. I was hooked, and through the rest of the ‘80s to the mid ‘90s I could be found, like as not, down the local comic book shop (of which there was precisely…one, in Newcastle****). Sometime around 1996, probably, I got sick of the business – the new stories were mostly crap, the art was crap, there was more interest in the merchandising (Dolls? Who wanted dolls? Why would anyone collect dolls?), and collectible die-cut-holographic-luminous-gatefold-glow-in-the-dark-poly-bagged-collectors’ edition first issues (printed in their millions so as to remain worthless). I still re-read the old classics that I’d acquired, but the new stuff – pah******!
Then, about ten years later, I downloaded a whole swag of comics that I used to own (only a select few made the migration with me), and it re-kindled some of the love. And some of the newer stories caught my attention, and I’ve retained more than a passing interest ever since. I love finding out what my old favourites are up to now – even when they’ve taken a ticket to Dorkville – and here Wikipedia and TVTropes are very much my friends, as I can pick and choose which stories I actually consider wasting my time on.
Anyway, on to the movies.
Cimenatic, ain’t it!
Comics and sequential art are inherently visual media, and the comic book experience can often be very cinematic in scope, so it seems logical that so many characters would make that brave leap from the panel to the silver screen. That so many have tried, and been found wanting is, perhaps, more surprising. With a few notable exceptions, it has only been in the last decade or so that comic book adaptations have really gripped the imaginations of the wider public.
Why is that? Maybe it’s the advances of technology that allow us to see more ‘believable’ CGI characters – let’s face it, a comicbook-like Hulk would be nigh impossible to achieve without it.
Or maybe it’s the fact that the studios have hired the right (or at least better…) people for the job – A-list actors, A-list directors, and screenwriters who seem to have the ability to create sympathetic characters, and tell a compelling story.
Maybe it’s because the ‘big two’ have decided to take creative control of their properties – and are tying them together in the shared universes that we know and love. From this perspective, at least, deals involving Warner Bros and Disney don’t look too shabby…
Of course, it’s a combination of those factors (and many more besides), and of course, it’s not as simple as saying back then they were rubbish, and now they’re gold. There have been stinkers and gems across all the decades of comic book movies. Also, not all comic books and comic book movies are based on Marvel or DC characters, they’re not all about superheroes, and they’re not all American. But, I think it’s fair to say that The Dark Knight Trilogy and the Avengers Phase I & II movies have moved comic book movies into a recognisable, and very popular******* genre of cinema right now.
So what’s the purpose of this post? I hear you ask. No? Well, I’m a tell you anyway, biatches!
I am going to read comics and watch some comic book movies. Not all – there’s far too many for li’l ol’ me to watch, and far too many that I have no intention of seeing (Kick-Ass and Wanted I’m looking at you********), and I shall share my thought with the Trash Epics group. Hopefully, you will share your thoughts on any that you’ve seen/read, and between us we’ll examine the latest cinematic cause celebre. And maybe, just maybe, save the world from certain destruction (possibly involving big lasers) and the machinations of a diabolical super villain. Or, you know, watch a bunch of movies. Whatevs.
One of the things I’m keen to investigate in my musings is, not just to see if the films are good or enjoyable, but specifically to see if they are good adaptations of the source. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean slavishly reproducing the printed page on screen, but do they feel true to the characters. If there’s one thing that bugs me about criticism of comic book movies it’s the cry of pedantic fans who can’t bear the fact that Captain America’s boots don’t fold over at the top (though some pedantry is justified – Judge Dredd’s helmet should not come off! How could anybody get that so wrong?)
Just try it again, perp!
I prefer to look on them as one of the many ‘alternate realities’ that the books themselves love to show – an Elseworlds version, if you will.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Hopefully you will be able to join me on this Journey*********.
First up – Captain America (1979), starring Reb Brown (Saluting Trash Legend post for this man coming soon!), and nobody else, whatsoever.
Excelsior!
*my internet detective skills show me that it would have been about a month before my 7th birthday)
**man in this context meaning truck-robot with lasers
***I’ve since tracked down the preceding and subsequent issues, and, tbh, it’s a fun story, but it never lived up to the old 297 magic…
****I should probably add, at this point, that comic books in the UK were very much considered for kids – a la Dandy or Beano – and anyone over the age of about seven who read them was clearly a freak of the highest order. Compare that to today, where you can’t move without tripping over Superman, or the Avengers. And suddenly my Spiderman pyjamas aren’t so tragic now, are they Colin Bagley*****?
*****This didn’t happen…
******Of course, there was actually some really awesome stuff coming out those days – mostly from smaller presses and independents, but I didn’t really get those back then. I’m much prefer this stuff to the heroes now, though.
*******$$$$$ kerching $$$$$
********Nothing by Mark Millar. He is a cock of the highest order, and a terrible writer.
*********Into Mystery!
@Moffat, I'm promoting you to regular moderator, so you can now add titles to our media database. (Don't worry, it's easy. You basically just copy and paste imdb info). This way, you can update your featured media with more relevant titles. We don't have many trash-tastic comic movies on the site.
Remember, you can edit the zone's look and feel as much as you want to now, but I'll help if you don't understand CSS code.