Comic Books 101

by Chris Ryall

  Just as the characters and relationships were being remodeled, so too were the character designs. While developing the Superman animated series, Bruce Timm refined his style, making his characters sleeker, more streamlined and a touch more angular. Timm and art director Glen Murakami carried this new design theory to the Batman universe, giving all the Batman: The Animated Series characters the new treatment, some more drastically than others. While not everyone loved the new design scheme for The New Batman Adventures, no one could argue that the production was in high gear. The new animation was tighter and more lavish than ever (especially for network television), and the scripts were outstanding, with not a stinker in the series' twenty-seven-episode run.

  The Batman movie series continued in 1995 without Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, though it was not a smooth transition. Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever, featuring Val Kilmer in his sole turn in the Batsuit. Kilmer's portrayal was muted, as if he had been trying to mimic what Keaton had done, but could not channel that manicness behind the eyes that Keaton does so well.

  Also introduced in Batman Forever was Chris O'Donnell as Robin. Although the movie keeps pretty close to the character's comic-book origins, the fact that Dick Grayson is a grown man when Bruce Wayne takes him in is dumb at best and troubling at worst. The Batman/Robin relationship has always been that of surrogate father/son, which is why Robin by definition must be a child. Even worse, both Jim Carrey (as the Riddler) and Tommy Lee Jones (as Two-Face) have their overacting meters cranked up to eleven, as they carry out a criminal plot to suck the brains out of Gotham with some “brain machine” devised by the Riddler. Whatever, man. While Carrey's overacting is to be expected (and we maintain that Frank Gorshin, even at his age, would've been a far better choice for the part), Tommy Lee Jones's performance is truly awful. Rather than researching and understanding the character, who's meant to be coolly psychotic, Jones tries to out-Jack Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker, giggling, butt-shaking and all. As for leading lady Nicole Kidman, she has even less to do than Kim Basinger.

  However, Batman Forever would look like Citizen Kane in comparison to Schumacher's thankfully final Batman film, Batman and Robin (1997). Where to start?

  The lingering shots of Batman and Robin's rear ends in the opening sequence let you know just what you're in for, and the nipples on the sculpted Batsuits don't help. George Clooney has repeatedly credited himself for killing the Bat-franchise, but it really wasn't his fault. Between the horrible script by Akiva Goldsman and the completely misguided and juvenile direction from Schumacher, Clooney was doomed from the start. Arnold Schwarzenegger spouts off one awful cold-related pun after another as Mr. Freeze, when he's not shuffling around in an unintentionally comical oversized “freeze suit.” Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy is also atrocious, but again, it's not really the fault of the actors. With a good script and a talented director, this same cast could have created a first-rate Batman movie.

  There's just so much to hate about the movie. Batman pulls out a credit card at one point that reads “Batman Forever” on it. Alfred comes down with a terminal illness, so he transfers his brain into the Batcomputer (complete with “Max Headroom”-style animation, which was about ten years out of style) and then encourages his niece to put on a Batsuit and go fight criminals alongside Batman, even though she has no training nor experience. As for Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, it's no good. Silverstone is passably entertaining in comedies, but here she pouts and scrunches her face through action sequences, and mumbles her inane dialogue with all the conviction of a high school play. Batman & Robin is cinematic Ebola. Avoid it at all costs.

  BEGINNING AND BEYOND

  While the films floundered, Batman continued to thrive in animation, thanks to the caretaking of producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini. Starting in 1999, viewers were treated to a look at Batman's dystopian future in the criminally underrated series Batman Beyond, which featured teenage Terry McGin-nis taking up the cape and cowl some forty years in the future, with the assistance of his crotchety mentor, an elderly and still intimidating Bruce Wayne. Smartly avoiding the easiest route of creating updated “future” versions of Batman's rogues' gallery, Beyond's producers instead created a whole new mythology for their Batman that subtly builds upon the old without strip-mining it. When Beyond finished up, Timm turned his attention in 2001 to a wider look at the DC Universe with Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, both of which heavily featured Batman. But even before Justice League Unlimited came to an end, an entirely new Batseries had already made its debut.

  Premiering in 2004, The Batman was completely unrelated to the earlier Batman series and its descendants, instead featuring a younger Batman (voiced by Rino Romano) and a more anime-influenced design. While the series is clearly intended for a younger audience, with less sophisticated stories and dialogue, it improved steadily over the course of its four-year broadcast run, maturing into a fine series. There was also a direct-to-video film, The Batman vs. Dracula (2005), which is much better than it sounds.

  The Caped Crusader made his triumphant return to the silver screen in 2005 with Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan.

  Christian Bale as Batman brought a physicality and sense of menace to the character that had never been seen, while retaining some of Keaton's intensity. Jettisoning the previous four films entirely, Batman Begins finally brings a proper version of Batman's origin to the screen, with David S. Goyer's script deftly interweaving elements of Denny O'Neil's “The Demon's Head” stories and Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. It also smartly avoided any villains that had ever been seen in film, instead featuring immortal assassin Ra's al Ghul and the master of fear known as the Scarecrow, played with aplomb by Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy, respectively. Throw in Gary Oldman's wry and subtle performance as not-yet-commissioner Gordon and Michael Caine's delightfully sardonic Alfred, and you have pretty much the perfect Batman movie.

  THE DARK KNIGHT

  That is, until Nolan and Bale struck again in the The Dark Knight, anchored by Heath Ledger's spellbinding performance as the Joker, perhaps the best portrayal of the character ever. However, it's unfortunate that Ledger's performance somewhat overshadows the equally impressive work done by Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent and his tortured alter ego Two-Face. Really, this film is Eckhart's more than anyone's, because it's his character that undergoes the most change, and his tragedy that is central to the film.

  Almost everyone gets his moment in the spotlight here, whether it's Batman struggling with how to deal with copycat vigilantes and finally getting to do a bit of actual detective work, or Gary Oldman's Gordon struggling as what seems like the only honest cop in Gotham. And there, constantly circling, is Ledger's Joker, both repellent and undeniably magnetic, leaving the viewer deathly afraid of what he'll do next yet unable to look away.

  This is a movie about things, about the choices we make and how they define us, about what a man is willing to give up for the greater good, and whether or not he's able to live with it. Every character in the film is met with a moral dilemma, and one way or another, they all bear the scars. All except for the Joker, who explains his scars away differently as the situation requires, and laughs his way through life free of moral repercussions, leaving only bodies in his wake.

  3 Movies

  You oughtta be in picturesMovies and comic books go hand in hand. All the way back to the 1930s, comic-book artists have looked to film for inspiration, and as succeeding generations who grew up reading comics have gone on to work in cinema, they've been inspired by the four-color exploits from their childhood. It was only a matter of time before the comics themselves were translated into movies, and as you'll soon discover, with varying degrees of success.

  Your humble narrators might not love every comic-based movie to be released, but we're duty-bound to see ‘em all.

  30 DAYS OF NIGHT

  David Slade's directorial effort on 30 Days of Night accomplished a lot: i
t gave actor Josh Hartnett a role where his laconic, low-key delivery enhanced the role of Eben; it maintained the stark, washed-out look and feel of Ben Templesmith's graphic novel art; and best of all, it restored some of the horrific luster that big-screen vampires had lost in recent years. The vamps here, as in the graphic novel, are monstrous things, single-minded, feral and terrifying. Slade's movie is an admirable and truly frightening flick, one that deserves more credit for remaining so loyal to its source material.

  300

  Perhaps the most literal comic-book translation ever made, 300 (2006) is practically a line-for-line, panel-for-panel adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the legendary Spartan sacrifice at the Hot Gates, brought to the screen in loving, gruesome detail by director Zack Snyder. Gerard Butler brought humor and a super-size dose of testosterone to the role of King Leonidas. Not for those with weak stomachs, but brutal and satisfying.

  AMERICAN SPLENDOR

  Much like Harvey Pekar's life itself, the film American Splendor (2003) defied conventions and exceeded expectations by turning an independent cartoonist's small, rather grouchy and mundane autobiographical tales into an awardwinning movie. The film version of Pekar's comic series stars Paul Giamatti as Pekar, and also features Pekar as himself, commenting on the movie version of his character. This worked much better than it might sound, and it resulted in accolades from the Sundance Film Festival and the Writer's Guild of America. A quietly intriguing and well-acted affair.

  AVENGERS

  Released direct-to-DVD in 2006, Ultimate Avengers and its sequel try to have it both ways, adapting Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Avengers revamp The Ultimates for animation, while excising some of the more controversial elements of the book, including much of the sexuality and violence. What resulted was a project that's decent if not inspired, but ultimately pleased no one. It's not enough like classic Avengers for Avengers fans, and not enough like The Ultimates for Ultimates fans.

  BLADE

  Unlikely as it seems, it was Blade, an R-rated adaptation of a second-string horror character, that kicked off Marvel's current run of success at the box office. Released in 1998, Blade starred Wesley Snipes as the title character, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid devoted to eradicating vamps from the face of the earth. Co-starring Kris Kristofferson as Blade's mentor, Whistler, and Stephen Dorff as the evil Deacon Frost, Blade was a solid and satisfying action piece as directed by Stephen Norrington. However, it was surpassed by its 2002 sequel, Blade II, directed by Guillermo del Toro, offering a sharper, wittier script, more visually inspired action sequences and a strong performance by Ron Perlman. Sadly, the same can't be said for the final installment, Blade: Trinity, written and directed by David

  Goyer, who had scripted the previous Blade films, as well. Snipes's Blade takes a back seat to two new vampire hunters portrayed by Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel. While not a terrible movie, it lacks the mood of the first film and the vitality of the second. The entire trilogy is fun and definitely worth watching, but if you've got time for only one, make it Blade II.

  CAPTAIN AMERICA

  Cap's career in film has been a decidedly mixed bag. Actually, it hasn't been that mixed; it's been pretty much all bad. Cap was in movie theaters as early as 1944, thanks to the fifteen-episode Republic Saturday-morning serial Captain America. Starring Dick Purcell, the serial pitted a shieldless Captain America (who was really crusading District Attorney Grant Gardner) against the villainy of the Scarab, who was plotting to destroy the city with a sound-vibration device. Pretty routine Republic cliffhanger stuff. Nothing terrible, but certainly not up to the standards of Republic's earlier effort, the outstanding Adventures of Captain Marvel. The Republic Captain America is available on VHS, but it's really only for the hard-core fan.

  As bad as the serial was, it was still just Saturday-afternoon kiddie fare. The 1990 Captain America film, however, has no such excuse. Directed by Albert Pyun from an atrocious script by Stephen Tolkin, the film is awful in every category. At the time, Pyun and Tolkin professed in interviews their total lack of interest in the history of the character, and boasted of having never read a Captain America comic. Believe us, it shows. Cap is in costume for maybe twenty-five minutes out of the entire excruciating two-hours-plus running time. Pyun, who had previously directed such gems as The Sword and the Sorcerer and the abysmal Kathy Ireland vehicle Alien From L.A., couldn't even get a good performance out of stalwart character actors Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. Actor Matt Salinger, J.D.'s son, is stiff and uncharismatic, showing neither Steve Rogers's all-American charm or Captain America's gritty determination. We won't even discuss Scott Paulin's horrendous performance as the Red Skull; even through what looks like pounds of latex makeup, he's dull and uninspired.

  The 1940s Captain Marvel serials: you will almost believe a man can fly.

  ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL © 1942 REPUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

  CAPTAIN MARVEL

  In 1941, The Adventures of Captain Marvel graced Saturday-morning theater screens for twelve weeks. The Republic serial, starring Tom Tyler as Captain Marvel, is considered by many to be one of the best examples of the action serial genre. You can still find this on VHS in video stores if you look hard enough.

  CATWOMAN

  For most moviegoers, the definitive big-screen Catwoman is Michelle Pfeiffer, the insanely sexy bad girl Selina Kyle from Tim Burton's 1992 film Batman Returns. With a skintight vinyl catsuit, a bullwhip and a withering glare, Pfeiffer's Catwoman can drive you crazy one moment and break your heart the next. Definitely the highlight of the film.

  Not a highlight was the 2004 attempt to give Catwoman her own film. Catwoman, directed by uni-named French director Pitof and starred Halle Berry, who earned a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performance. However, she's far from the only thing wrong with this movie. An incomprehensible plot, horrible origin for Catwoman and Sharon Stone's performance as an evil cosmetics magnate all contribute to the stink. Avoid at all costs.

  CONSTANTINE

  Keanu Reeves took on the role of John Constantine in Constantine, Francis Lawrence's 2005 adaptation of the Hellblazer comics from DC's Vertigo imprint. Fans of the comic were aghast at the notion of Reeves playing the blond, sardonic, British title character, and the end result is a somewhat mediocre mystical thriller that didn't really please anyone. It's neither a must-seenor an all-time worst, but might be worth your time if you catch it on cable.

  DAREDEVIL

  Daredevil hit theaters in 2003. This overblown and occasionally unintentionally funny adaptation by director Mark Steven Johnson starred Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Jennifer Garner as Murdock's ninja love interest Elektra, Colin Farrell as the murderous assassin Bullseye and Michael Clarke Duncan as crime boss the Kingpin. Well-intentioned and far more faithful to the comics than one might expect, the movie suffered from a slightly too angsty, melodramatic script and an at-the-time overexposed star (Affleck), who may not have been the best choice for the brooding, intense Matt Murdock. At times, it stretches the suspension of disbelief, but it's not the worst movie you'll ever see.

  DOCTOR STRANGE

  The only appearance for Doc Strange so far has been the 2007 direct-to-DVD animated feature Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, directed by Batman: The Animated Series alum Frank Paur. An extended version of Strange's origin story, the movie does a fair job of capturing the feel of the comics, but lacks both Stan Lee's trademark rhyming couplets for Strange's spells and the trippy, psychedelic look of the original Steve Ditko artwork. Maybe the biggest disappointment is Dormammu, the Ditko-designed Doctor Strange villain, who loses his trademark flaming-headed look in favor of a sort of fiery horned skeleton.

  ELEKTRA

  Not satisfied to let DC claim the “worst comic-book movie ever” crown with Catwoman, Marvel rallied in a big way in 2005 with Elektra, its spin-off of the Ben Affleck Daredevil film, with Jennifer Garner reprising her role as Elektra Natchios. The film takes its cue from
much of the Frank Miller comic-book run, involving the sensei Stick (played by onetime General Zod Terence Stamp) and the ninja organization known as the Hand. Bad script, bad performances, bad fight scenes, just bad all around.

  FANTASTIC FOUR

  As much as the never-released 1994 Fantastic Four movie has been pilloried by the fan press over the years, it may actually be the more faithful and better-acted adaptation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's most famous comic-book creations.

  In 1992, German producer Bernd Eichinger held the production rights to the property. The scuttlebutt in Hollywood was that Chris Columbus, fresh from the success of the Home Alone movies, wanted to make Fantastic Four his next project and was waiting for the rights to lapse. So he wouldn't lose his option, Eichinger called in famed B-movie schlockmeister Roger Corman to produce the film. The movie was quickly filmed and in the can, only to never again see the light of day.

  The producers of Columbus's version bought up Corman's film so his low-budget version couldn't be released before theirs. Eventually Columbus lost interest in the project, and Fantastic Four was locked away to languish in limbo for nearly a decade.

  Directed by Oley Sassone and written by Craig J. Nevius and Kevin Rock, The Fantastic Four (1994) is a surprisingly decent little piece of escapism. Not to say there aren't problems — there are problems by the bucketload. The dialogue has more than a few real groaners, the plot is needlessly padded out with a dull B-story and a secondary villain, and the special effects are occasionally low-rent beyond belief. But there are more than a few things to like here, too, not the least of which are the engaging performances by the four leads, who do their best to elevate the occasionally cheesy dialogue and chintzy-looking props with real emotion and heart, succeeding more often than not. The relationship between Reed and Sue is believable and kinda sweet, and Michael Bailey Smith's limited screen time as Ben Grimm goes a long way toward investing the Thing with his necessary humanity, allowing the puppeteers to do the rest. Even the score is very effective, conveying both the action-adventure derring-do and the nostalgic, family feel the story needs.