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Comic-book movies on the Internet
Last summer, "Spider-Man" brought in more than $114 million in its first three days of release alone, shattering box-office records and making it the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie. At the time, Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution for Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, said, "It took a superhero to deliver these historic numbers."
Comic books and Hollywood have shared record highs—and lows—for many years, but following on the success of movies like "X-Men," "Daredevil" and the aforementioned "Spider-Man," it should come as no surprise to anyone that more comic-influenced movies are on the way. Next up is "Bulletproof Monk" http://www.mgm.com/bulletproofmonk/ with Chow Yun-Fat, scheduled to debut on Wednesday. This summer also will see the debut of "X2" http://www.x-men-the-movie.com/, the sequel to last year's X-Men," which features Oscar-winning actress Halle Barry. Following on its heels is The Hulk http://www.thehulk.com, starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly, another Oscar winner, and directed by Ang Lee of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
But these potential blockbuster movies really only represent one kind of comic book genre, that of the superhero. "Road to Perdition" http://www.roadtoperdition.com, starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman and recently released on video and DVD, was drawn from an original graphic novel, as was the critically acclaimed "Ghost World" http://www.mgm.com/ghostworld/ with Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi. Other independent and underground comics have been optioned to become movies as well.
The connections between Hollywood and comics run both ways, with prominent movie directors and screenwriters often finding themselves working in comics. Kevin Smith, best known for writing and directing small independent features like "Clerks" http://www.viewaskew.com/clerks/ and "Chasing Amy" http://www.viewaskew.com/chasingamy/ also has written a number of comics, including "Daredevil" and "Green Arrow." Other screenwriters and actors turned comic book creators include Patton Oswalt ("King of Queens" on CBS) and Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer").
So many comic books have been optioned to become movies that a whole Web site, Comics2Film.com http://www.comics2film.com/, serves as a kind of clearinghouse on these kinds of projects. More than 500 different comic book-related film or television projects currently are listed on their site. A regular daily news feature from C2F is posted on the Comic Book Resources site http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/c2f.cgi.
Comic books are a visual medium, just like television and film. While some translations of comics to the big screen fail miserably, there is really no denying the potential impact the one medium has upon the other.
—Stewart Brower and Laura Taddeo, University Libraries