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| Some legendary faces along with some lesser known ones from the DC Universe. |
I've been a comic book fan for as long as I can remember. During that time, my two bigs have been Superman and Batman, which is not surprising since they were the first two superheroes and established the basic archetypal blueprint for virtually all spandex clad heroes who followed in their wake. As I got older I was introduced to other characters such as The Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Aquaman as well as a multitude of others mostly from the DC Universe. I didn't grow up reading any Marvel comics. Even though I liked Marvel characters such as Spiderman, X-men, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, I never knew where a good place to start would be in order to familiarize myself with these characters. Even with DC, it was only as I got older that I started to seriously read issue after issue in sequential order and became familiar with the continuity of Superman and Batman. Since those early years of dressing up like Superman and jumping off the bed or the couch and pretty much anyplace where I could get some air but avoid seriously hurting myself, I've acquired what I think is a pretty considerable store of superhero knowledge. Still, I don't consider myself a comic book expert by any means and am still being taken to school by people whose know how seems to rival the comic book writers themselves. I'm aware that there's still so much I've yet to learn, particularly from the Marvel Universe since my only real source of knowledge has been from the successful Marvel films and the meager stack of Marvel comics I own (a few Thors, X-men, Spiderman.) Given the surge of comic book inspired films that have flooded theaters recently, both great and mediocre, I've been reading whatever I can get my hands on, from DC, Marvel, and companies such as Image. As much as I'm a comic book fan I'm also an appreciator of film, one who understands that comic books/graphic novels and film are two unique mediums of storytelling, both containing their own sense of verisimilitude and therefore don't always mesh perfectly. As much as fan-boys would like to see their favorite comics and stories translated panel by panel to the big screen, the truth is that certain comic book elements don't translate well to film and belong solely in the pages of a comic. Ironically, it sometimes seems that the closer a filmmaker gets to the source material, the harder it can be to buy into the story. As a fan of both comic books and many of the films based on them, I hope to move from one world to the other, discussing the big titles and collections I've been reading and hearing about along with the big comic book films coming out one after the next. My aim is to find ways to bridge these two worlds by finding similar themes and concepts explored in different ways. I also wish to discuss certain Sci-Fi and Fantasy works in both television and film. In a lot of ways Comic books have moved out of the cramped hole in the wall stores and dingy basements and into the spotlight where they're more glamorous and widely loved than ever before. As comic books move further into the mainstream and writers and artists, both in the comic and film worlds, seek to add their own spin to classic and more contemporary characters with mixed results, it becomes clear that this is a very exciting time to be a comic book fan. Indeed, the future still looks very bright for people in tights.
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