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History Channel's Documemtary on Comic Books
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Posted by: Philosofy

If you are a comic book collector, this one is pretty good. Has interviews with Stan Lee, Denny O'Neil, Jim Steranko, Kevin Smith, etc. Check it out.

Posted by: jones07

As a big Marvel comic book Fanboy. *Back when they cost 12/25/50 cents a copy. I bought 4 or 5 every Friday, with my income of $2.00 a week. The History channel did a great job. It was great seeing Stan lee again. How old is that guy ? I thought he was old when I was a kid. :)
He still looks great. If you were/are a comic book fan. This is a must see.

*How do kids afford comic books now days ?

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

quote:
Originally posted by jones07
*How do kids afford comic books now days ?

Mostly, they don't. It's not a kids' medium any more.

I thought it was an interesting show, but it was terribly slanted towards people they interviewed. That's OK, but it gave a pretty unbalanced account, and left out an enormous amount of really important stuff. The only thing they covered by somebody they didn't interview was Watchmen.

Posted by: Big_Daddy

It was somewhat slanted towards the participants, but interesting in any case. Nice to see Michael Chabon (author of "The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay" - a good book for those of you interested in this stuff).

Was also nice to see Frank Miller - I've never seen a picture of him before. He looked creepy.

Posted by: billypritchard

I think seeing almost all the comic writers was bizarre. They never look like you would imagine them do they?

I agree also that it seemed slanted towards the participants, but I only noticed that retroactively. I thought they did a good job giving a brief overview, and making it interesting for fanboys and non-fanboys alike. I watched with a 37 year old female friend, and she was pretty fascinated by it.

(although my 25 year-old girlfriend was close to snoozing...)

And thank god there was a segment on the Watchmen.

Posted by: Graymalkin

I liked the line: "Jim Steranko was the first rock star comics artist." I'm sure Jim suggested that line to the producers. He has always had a huge ego.

I'm going to have to order "Watchmen" from amazon.com or bn.com, and see what the fuss over Alan Moore is about. (Same goes for his "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.")

Posted by: xix_84

'League' wasn't all that interesting (to me) and the upcoming Connery movie is likely to be fluff - this year's time machine, anyone? However, there was a recent interview with Moore on an NPR show talking about 'League' and other things - you may be able to find an archived copy online. If you thinking seeing comic book writers/artists is weird, wait 'til you hear him.

The best Moore work was 'V for Vendetta', (buy this book: Moore's 1984/Animal Farm, - better than Watchmen IMHO), and the more recent 'From Hell' (which suffered from another bad movie adaption), illustrated by the also excellent Eddie Campbell, whose solo stuff is also worth a look.

I've long outgrown my fanboy period, but still occasionally pick up the more sophisticated Love & Rockets, Palookaville, Optic Nerve and other independents. Check 'em out.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

Yeah, the Moore of the 80s is a different beast from the Moore of the 00s. When he was doing Watchmen, V For Vendetta, Swamp Thing, etc., he was redefining comic books--to the extent that when you look at the stuff today, it doesn't seem all that special, because everybody's been spending the last 20 years ripping it off. Watchmen especially seems dated; it was probably the most important superhero comic book ever published, but all its themes, which were radical in 1985, have been rehashed endlessly by countless lesser talents.

His new stuff (the ABC line of comics he created) is more fun than ambitious. LoEG is a Victorian romp, showing off how many literary references can be crammed into a page. Top Ten is about a superhero police station. Tom Strong is a pulp fiction throwback. They're almost pure fun. But Promethea is something more--it's a mythic look at the mythic quality of comic book heroes, telling the story of a relatively ordinary young woman who becomes the latest in a line of women to merge with Promethea, kind of a super-hero lifeforce; it's a very trippy, philosophical story that is Moore's best sustained work since Watchmen (V For Vendetta was earlier; From Hell didn't do as much for me as for some people). But I've never been let down by any of the ABC books, which are all available in pretty cheap trade paperbacks (except for the last volume of Promethea, which is still coming out monthly, and in which Moore will apparently destroy the ABC universe!).

Posted by: Graymalkin

I think I'll stick to Watchmen and LXG for now. I need to keep some money in reserve for the Chicago picnic!

Posted by: dmdeane

I generally have no interest in comic books, at least those which feature "superheroes"; my childhood was mispent reading somewhat more substantial works of fiction/non-fiction, which is why I am glad they included Neil Gaiman in that documentary, as his Sandman series is virtually the only comic book series I was ever interested in; it is a rare thing indeed to read a comic book series that not only measures up to the best non-graphic works of fiction, but which is rooted in our rich cultural, literary, and mythological heritage.

I'm sure these other comic book series hold wonderful memories for others, but for me, all of the guys in capes and tights who have "super powers" tend to blur together after awhile.

Good documentary overall; this coming from someone with not much knowledge of the subject, however.

Posted by: xix_84

The comments of the last poster are, unfortunately, why comic books have failed to find a significant audience in Western culture, despite the mirage of the imminent arrival of the mass-appeal 'graphic novel' in the '90s.

(This is not a criticism of the poster, but of the comic medium that has failed to break through the teen fanboy barrier.)

What's really amazing to me is the resurgence of the superhero movie adaptation (Hulk, Spiderman, Daredevil, Batman etc. etc.) as a perfectly acceptable form of entertainment.

Why is it that millions think it fine to go see The Hulk this past weekend, yet would probably view someone reading a copy of, say, Maus, somewhat immature, 'cos its all in pictures?

But, this is probably a conversation for another board ....

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

Especially considering the current state of the Daredevil, Incredible Hulk, and New X-Men comic books (all intelligent, literate, innovative books under writers Brian Michael Bendis, Bruce Jones, and Grant Morrison respectively).

Posted by: Big_Daddy

I finally finished the episode. I didn't realize the comics industry was currently in the hole - I assumed that with the major movie productions, it was doing well. I DO remember the bubble of the early 90's though, where every other issue had multiple covers or special gimmicks designed to increase demand.

I guess the industry got what it needed. And if current quality is better, than so be it.

One title I haven't seen anyone mention is Cerebus - one of the first creator-owned comics, and amazingly intelligent and satirical. The author/illustrator set out to tell a coherent story about a character in 300 issues. As I think there's only a few left before the series' end, it may be too late to dive in, but he does come out with "phone book" compilations of major story arcs so getting through the backlog is easy.

Posted by: Graymalkin

I remember the Cerebus-Spawn crossover in Spawn #8 or #9 (can't remember which). It was a post-"Death of Superman" commentary on evil comic book companies who steal the creators' rights and do whatever they want to the characters.

Posted by: daylightpossum

I'm usually a lurker around here, but as an actual bona fide comic book writer, I just can't help but jump in!

From the point of view of someone in the business, this was actually a pretty decent overview of the industry. Yes, it was slanted towards the people who were interviewed and there were plenty of important contributors who weren't mentioned at all, but that is the nature of this type of documentary.

It certainly was slanted towards the super hero aspects of comics, but I'm guessing that was done because super hero adaptations are big in the movies right now.

I do write super hero books, but I have lots more fun with the other types of series that we create (I work with my husband/ co-writer). For example, we have a series called Tongue/Lash which is a Mayan-Bondage-Detective-Sci-Fi series. Nothing like niche marketing!

Randy

Posted by: Philosofy

Cerebus is a great read, but I've found that its better to read a whole story arc at once. When I read it monthly, I miss too much. I have almost every issue of Cerebus (missing #1 and some of the first year), but I haven't read it in ages. After #300 comes out, I'll devote some time for it.

Oh, and if you have issue #72 (or was it 76) there is a picture of me and my college dorm room on the letters page.