|
|
Art tips and techniques and some reviews by illustrator Joe Corroney.
Current Comics 101 >>
Comics 101 Archives |
About Joe |
Books by Joe |
General Forum
COMICS 101 for 09/26/2002
Editorial: The Top Five Comic Book Movies for Fan Boys
Hi Everybody!
This week I thought it would be fun to share my views on a topic that I had been discussing with some friends recently. Since many of us love comic books just as much as movies and the two storytelling mediums are so closely related I figured the topic would make (hopefully) interesting reading for this week's column.
So without further adieu, here are my 'Top Five Favorite Comic Book Films'...
Number Five - The Shadow
As my buddy Tom Mandrake put it, "Alec Baldwin made a great Cranston and Shadow. I felt they really caught the flavor of the pulps with this one. PERFECT costume and character design."
Right on, Tom! A terribly underrated comic book film. This one just gets better with multiple viewings. One of my all time favorites. No wonder since it's from the same director of the original Highlander film, another classic. Some of the best scenes in the film are the confrontations between Baldwin as Cranston and John Lone as Khan.
Number Four - Superman
Tom says, "Chris Reeves first movie. I particularly like the Ma and Pa Kent part of the movie. I think they really caught the right feel and emotional quality of this most important part of Superman's development."
I still get goosebumps when Clark Kent first runs across the street towards the camera and opens his shirt the first time revealing the 'S' symbol. Such an iconic Superman image captured perfectly in motion on celluloid. And next to Spider-Man, a very well done origin story that doesn't play like a boring set-up or is the slightest uninteresting even though we're all so familair with the story already.
Gene Hackman here was the perfect foil as Lex Luthor, almost akin to Nicholson's Joker in Batman.
The romance aspect of the film here was not quite as enjoyable to me as the Lois Lane/Superman dynamic in the second film. Even with the cool super villians from the Phantom Zone and great over the top action, Superman 2 comes up just abit short in comparison for me since I felt the original film was so solid across the board.
Number Three - X-Men
Tom -"Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan show everybody how it's done whenever they get the chance to be in a scene together. Great casting for the rest of the X-Men and the Brotherhood as well."
I was nervous about seeing this film since I loved the comic and grew up on the book from the era it was drawing on most of the film's character's and story. So I had high hopes for this one... and it delivered. This film gets many merit points on the list for having so many characters and so much set up to do and nailing it. Before this, I would have thought pulling off a comic book 'team' movie would have been next to impossible. Now I have no doubt X-Men 2 will deliver. 'Nuff said.
Number Two - Spider-Man
"This new version was just about perfect. Great casting, a visual homage to Ditko's art, the story and slightly revised origin were well considered. Just loved it. " -Tom
Right on, again. MacGuire's low energy approach to Peter Parker was well suited for the character. Not only was the 'Spidey' action great but the love story and chemistry between Tobey and Kirsten was right on par, proving that character development, strong acting and decent writing can go a long way for a typical summer action/comic book blockbuster flick. Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin was great casting, but I felt the character went through his develpoment too rapidly or was under-developed in general and came off abit too silly at times. Somewhere Dafoe's true potential went fully untapped behind the Goblin suit.
So rounding out my list I still need to include...
Number One -The Crow
Probably, next to Spidey, the one comic book movie that is really, really close to the actual, original comic (much closer than Batman) and really evokes the mood and feel of the graphic work and source material. Alex Proyas' film is a true work of art and a testament to Brandon Lee's talent. He would have been a superstar after this movie.
And now we have my honorable mentions...
Batman and Batman Returns
These are really still fun for me and I hold them real close to my heart but probably just recently don't make the cut of my top five now since Spider-Man has came out.
Hackman's Luthor may have been filmdom's first true iconic super-villian but Nicholson's Joker sets the standard here, perhaps almost inadvertantly, for all comic to film super villians to come (examples- Tommy Lee Jones misfire as Two-Face, Jim Carrey's enjoyable yet 'Nicholson' derivative Riddler and also in some instances even Dafoe's Goblin).
Blade
This just misses the top five cut (probably would replace X-Men or Superman depending on my mood) but damn do I love this movie. Wesley Snipes' anti-hero growls and exudes coolness throughout and the art direction and action really put this movie high on the genre totem pole.
Road to Perdition
A very, very good movie. True Oscar potential (it better at least be nominated for Best Picture next year). I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hanks and Newman hit every note with their characters.
And let's not forget Superman 2 and Blade 2. Both fine and truly enjoyable examples of how to properly handle the storyelling, visuals and dynamic punch of translating comic book characters to celluloid. Kudos to comic book artist icons Mike Mignola and Tim Bradstreet for Blade 2 as well. Epecially since Tim finally gets deserved credit for an official contribution for this movie after his uncredited influence on the character designs of the original Blade.
How about I add three movies to this list that were not really originally actual comic books?
Robocop, Unbreakable and The Matrix
These three films feel more like 'comic book films' than most 'actual' comic book films do, and they're often times much better in comparison. Especially Robocop. This film is in my top five films of *all time* list! Clarence Boddicker is one of the *best* movie villains ever (only right behind Darth Vader) and followed very closely by Alan Rickman's no-nonsense, uber-villan Hans Grueber from Die Hard. But that's another list for another day.
Next week in Comics 101 and just in time for one of my favorite holidays, Halloween, I'll be sharing an exclusive interview with one of my heroes and one of *the* definitive horror comic book artists of our time, Berni Wrightson!
See ya next week!
-Joe
<< 09/19/2002 | 09/26/2002 | 10/03/2002 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board
and visit my website at www.joecorroney.com.
Recent Columns:
| NEWEST | You Have the Comic, Number One: A Star Trek Interview (11/06/2008) |
| 10/25/2007 | Download Zombie Prom for FREE at iTunes, My Top Five Favorite Horror Films and The Horrors of Canada |
| 09/06/2007 | Movie Review - Rob Zombie's Halloween |
| 06/21/2007 | Star Wars: Celebration Europe 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Print - Photo Reference, Finished Pencil Art, In Progress and Final Color Art and Comic-Con International 2007 |
| 05/03/2007 | Star Wars: Celebration IV 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Print - Photo Reference, Finished Pencil Art, In Progress and Final Color Art and Free Comic Book Day 2007 |
| 03/08/2007 | Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between #5 Cover - Rough Sketch, Finished Pencil Art, In Progress and Final Color Art |
| 02/22/2007 | Star Trek: Klingons: Blood Will Tell #1 Cover - Rough Sketch, Finished Pencil Art, In Progress and Final Color Art |
| 12/21/2006 | Angel: Spotlight Trade Paperback Cover - Rough Sketch, Finished Pencil Art, In Progress and Final Color Art |
| 10/26/2006 | My Top Five Favorite Horror Films and The Horrors of Canada |
| 10/19/2006 | The Horror Art of Bryan Baugh, Bill Bronson and Tom Mandrake, Movie Review - Dellamorte, Dellamore (a.k.a. Cemetery Man) and The Incredible Two-Headed Marathon III: Horror Hosts Gone Wild UPDATE! |
| 10/12/2006 | The Incredible Two-Headed Marathon III: Horror Hosts Gone Wild! |
| 10/05/2006 | Spike Vs. Dracula #3 and #4 Covers - Rough Sketch, Finished Pencil Art, In Progress and Final Color Art |
| 09/28/2006 | Digital Inking vs. Traditional Inking: UPDATED |
| 09/21/2006 | 'Z' Formation In Page Design - Part 2 |
| Archives >> |
Current Comics 101 >>
Comics 101 Archives |
About Joe |
Books by Joe |
General Forum
COLUMNS >>
Tony's Online Tips |
Philodoxer |
Cover Stories |
After the Golden Age |
Baker's Dozen |
Comics 101 |
CyberDen
|
|
|
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
