March 30, 2005

• missing_by_a_mile requested that I answer some questions of his, so here goes…

  
  > I’d like to ask your opinion on
  movie adaptations about your favourite comic books and graphic novels.
  Do you think Hollywood is doing an adequate job in adapting the comics
  on the screen?

  I think that for the most part, Hollywood is in fact doing an adequate
  job in adapting comics on the screen.  There has been more of an
  emphasis these past years to please not only the mainstream movie
  audience but comic book fans as well.  Compared to how it’s always
  been, that is in fact a step up for Hollywood. They are being more
  conscious at what made the comic books worked in the first place, and
  tries to apply that to the movie adaptation.  It also helps that
  CGI has really liberated some freedom in the visual aspects of comic
  books.

  
  > Do you think that they are especially targeting your
  generation, because there is clearly a huge market for comic book movie
  merchandise?

  Well, first off, I don’t know if my generation relates to comic book
  movie merchandise (being that I’m late 20′s). I understand the need for
  comic book movies to have merchandise to tie-in with it, but lately
  there are far less of that going around.  And by far less, I mean
  particularly the toys.  Kids today have more or less gone
  dissenchanted with toys, which results in less merchandise needed for
  movies to make.

  But going back around to movies targeting my generation, I would
  determine that on how serious the adaptation are.  If all
  Hollywood does is make movies that cater primarily to the PG-13 crowd
  then I would easily say that they do not target my generation. 
  But we do in fact have comic book movies that try and please a more
  adult audience.  Adult meaning stories, characters, and situations
  that is primarily associated with dramas and epics.  Ironically
  enough, those “adult” types of stories, characters, and situations are
  actually more faithful to the feel of the comic books.  Not every
  comic book is all POW BIFF ZAM and actually have realized characters
  with drama and tragedy and such. The problem there is that the majority
  of the audience only want to see fantasy and action sequences when it
  comes to comic book movies.  Most cannot get past the idea that
  comic book movies can’t always just be action sequences.

  
  > Are you a purist who nitpicks every single flaw that
  departs from the original comics, or do you think that film is just
  another medium to explore the world of the comic book creators?

  I think film is just another medium to explore comic book creations.
  But like all movies, I will nitpick on how the movie is made first and
  foremost, before I start nitpicking on what the changes are from the
  original source. If there are creative liberties done by changing
  things from the comic book to the movie, it has to be done in a logical
  fashion that would work better for the film. Afterall, not everything
  in the comic books can be translated to film anyway.

  
  > Finally, what are your favourite comic books?

  Favorite comic books of mine would be The Sandman, Stray Bullet,
  Lucifer, Uncanny X-Men (Claremont/Byrne era), Ultimate Spider-Man,
  Kingdom Come, Marvels, The Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Man
  Without Fear, and many others.  This also includes Japanese Manga
  like Maison Ikkoku, Vidoe Girl Ai, Rurouni Kenshin, etc…

  • 10:52 am
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