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This week, Spider-Man is finally leaving my local AMC theatre. Not only did it out last Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but it even beat the prequel/sequel in box office revenue. Added to both these revelations, Spider-Man was even released around nearly two weeks previous to Star Wars and its assumed forthcoming onslaught. If that wasn’t enough, the opening of Men in Black 2 (now finally acknowledging the comic it was adapted from) has now broken the previous record for early July weekends at the box office. Not only have the performances of these comic-to-films prove positive for Sony and their franchises, but these events also push the overall attitude toward comic material even further into the green. Friday will see the release of Road to Perdition, yet another comic adaptation taking the form of a drama starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. This film is already being touted as a major Oscar-contender. If Spider-Man and MIB aren’t enough to create a mainstream culture shock in terms of comics, features like Road to Perdition and From Hell will probably catch their attention. Now of course not everyone is aware these movies are actually based on illustrated art, but try telling that to the bookstores across the nation that couldn’t meet the unforeseen demand for the From Hell graphic novel shortly after it’s theatrical release. These numbers say something, folks. It may not be a huge splash, but it’s definitely more than just a ripple. Just imagine Donald Sutherland at the next Oscar ceremony reading “and David Self, nominated for his screenplay adaptation of the original graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner,” or something to that effect. Sure, it’s just a mention… but for goodness sakes, people around the world will be hearing it. How quickly the pendulum swings back, eh? Now these productions are not the only reason I’ve brought up comic book movies today. Not at all. In fact, in case you haven’t heard about them already I’m going to take the time to brief you guys on a lot of the Hollywood happenings lately, due in part to the success of films like Spider-Man and the achievements of those who brought us this far. It seems for every *admittedly* comic book film that succeeds (whatever the scale, large or small), 3 more features are given the green light in response. It all began with Blade, followed by Spider-Man (though it took a while to get here), X-Men and Blade 2. X-Men, having proven skeptics who called Blade a fluke were wrong, lead to X-Men 2, Incredible Hulk and Daredevil. If you’re beginning to see the pattern, just imagine all the screaming producers who just saw the numbers on Blade 2, Spider-Man and (now that it’s safe to come out of the closet) Men in Black 2. If you’re too lazy to use your imagination, I’ll paint you a picture. How about another sequel to Blade and MIB, Spider-Man 2, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, the Punisher (yes, a remake), Wonder Twins (not another word about that one), Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (you’ll hear more about this soon) and Batman/Superman. Yes, you heard me correctly. A Batman *AND* Superman movie, to be directed by Wolfgang Peterson of popular films such as Das Boot, the Neverending Story, Air Force One, the Perfect Storm, etc, etc. Oh, and written by Andrew Kevin Walker of Seven fame (who also wrote drafts of X-Men and Silver Surfer). Drooling yet? Marvel stands to conquer May’s national box office for the next several years, with X-Men 2 set for 2003 and Spider-Man 2 the following year. Considering that the individual studios (in conjunction with Marvel Studios) have spaced Hulk away from the X-Men sequel by about a month in a half and weighing the ramifications of the previous sentence… these people are obvious not fooling around. This isn’t the same company that used to sell their properties like french fries for whatever minuscule flat fee they could barter for… these are people with a purpose. They know what they’ve got and where to place it. Time Warner (owner of DC Comics) has spent the better part of the last decade self-destructing their franchises and then cleaning up the pieces, proving that having all your eggs in the same place isn’t nearly as smart as people had assumed. This negligence and overall stupidity has left them with little more than a larger television presence (Justice League cartoon, Smallville, upcoming Birds of Prey), and pondering such monstrosities as Tim Burton/Nicholas Cage’s Superman, Nicholas Cage’s Hellblazer and well, plenty of other frightening concepts that almost came to fruition much like the spectacular (more like unwatchable) Steel with Shaquille O’Neil. Despite the fact that Warner chose to go with Batman/Superman, it barely beat out 2 other comic book adaptations (and this time I use that term loosely) that would have been eye sores the size of Texas. The scary part is, it only takes one really bad movie (the scale of Batman & Robin comes to mind) to put an end to this virtual theme park of live-action features. Again, leaving all your children under one roof has proven to be a move that can lead to ruin. After all, if daddy snaps and starts to wield an axe, everyone in the house is a victim. Luckily, learning from both their mistakes and those of other publishers, Marvel took the initiative and bargained with as many different studios as possible to bring their babies to life on the big screen. Though Fox, New Line and Universal still retained the rights to several of their big guns, the publisher brought in Columbia Pictures/Sony (shaking hands over Spidey instead of more legal battling), Dimension Films (a.k.a. Disney!), New Regency and Artisan Entertainment. Now there are more than 30 Marvel properties in various forms of active development. Marvel’s advantage not only set the stage for their future, but also for the prospects of creator-owned characters and other various publishers across the industry. All of a sudden it wasn’t just Marvel that was hot, it was comics as a whole. And the fire just keeps on burning brighter. There’s no telling where or when it will end, but so far the filmmakers have played it smart and appear interested in keeping it that way. I’m sure many of you have seen the Daredevil preview currently attached to films like Minority Report and Men in Black 2. One of the most pleasant trends currently visiting us along with these films is seen quite prominently in this production. What would this particularly positive element be? Why, respect to the original source material. I’m sure many of you out there, especially longtime comic book fans, have noticed how different each and every adaptation from each other (especially varieties of the same one). Several of these productions - including the Hulk TV series, Punisher and (ugh) Batman Forever - tried to get as far away from the “serious fantasy” feel of their original material because they couldn’t see how audiences would react kindly to something foreign to themselves. Foreign, of course, due to the closed minds many of these older producers and filmmakers had to material that was outside their respective influences. That is why, today, these films are so much closer to the original stories and more enjoyable in their approach. A television series with more than one monster, a vigilante with a skull on his shirt (far be it for him to intimidate folks with a symbol), or a costumed superhero taking action without an accompanying campy attitude was just too much for these people to bear. They had to water down these properties, or at least remove any offending imagination or seriousness. Now these comments may sound like an exaggeration to you, but the overwhelming limitations and changes made to these kinds of films from the 70’s to the 90’s is undeniable. How many times did you find yourself commenting to friends at how far below your expectations these examples fell? Where was the moment where they introduced the bigger villain? You know, the one that didn’t resemble every other opposing force you had seen so far? Why was everyone plainclothes and everything rarely breaching the realm of science fiction? Why in the Hell is Batman presenting people with his American Express card? You know why? Because the people who had grown up with comics existing as part of their culture understood that they were more than just funnies meant for children. They had a spark within them that could appeal to anyone, because they contained archetypes that transcended the costumes or cosmic rays. They were our modern mythology. Unfortunately, it took a good twenty years before filmmakers the likes of producer Tom DeSanto (X-Men), writer David Goyer (Blade) and director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) reached a point of influence where they could make these dreams a reality. True creative visionaries such as Richard Donner (Superman) were few and far in-between, neither allowed the freedom or appreciation work like his deserved. Nowadays, not only has the attitude of the comics become possible, but also the direct use of actual printed storylines as they were originally intended. Spider-Man immediately comes to mind, but many of you may find Daredevil and X-Men 2 very familiar territory as well. When all is said and done, it’s probably better to be grateful of where we are today rather than dwell on the past or worry about the future. We should all enjoy it while it lasts. Or at least until Warner Bros. ruins it for everyone with "Wonder Twin powers activate!" I’m not kidding folks. Until next time.
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