Messages

Whaaaaat? I canâ??t believe Donner put that stupid-ass time-travel thing at the end of Superman II, as if the amnesia-inducing kiss wasnâ??t bad enough. Just what the feck is going on here!?!
   Someone told me the other day that maniac Lucas has put CGI monkeys in the end of THX 1138.
   CGI MONKEYS!!!
   Someone please tell me this isnâ??t so and, in the words of Peter Duncan in Flash Gordon, â??spare me the madnessâ?â?¦
   Anyway, as for the Superman Returns/Kevin Spacey thing I guess I was just disappointed that Supesâ?? character had moved on while Lexâ??s hadnâ??t. Given the movieâ??s whole reboot angle I canâ??t help feeling it would have made more sense to have gone with a post-Crisis corporate monster.
   Youâ??re absolutely right about the world changing to complement the presence of the superhero â?? this is exactly what SF/fantasy/horror must do in order to work. Iâ??d also add that itâ??s a matter of perception, of what the writer/director wants the reader/viewer to see throughout the story.
   I also reckon youâ??re spot-on about the mainstream being more likely to come to comics through non-superhero movies. So many people seem surprised to learn that stuff like Road to Perdition or History of Violence actually came from comics. Theyâ??re mistaking a medium for a genre.
   As for the Great Beardâ??s Supreme and Top 10, Byron, youâ??ve sold me â?? if only on the promise that Iâ??ll get to see Monica off Friends eat a bullet execution-style. There is a God.
   I have, however, asked for Lost Girls for Christmas. I mean, what better way to celebrate the birth of Christ than by reading a book full of gangbangs and lesbian three-ways? Although maybe I should have waited for the paperback edition as I understand the hardback is too heavy to hold in one hand.
   Erm, yes, anyway. Have I read the latest Megazine? I dunno, whatâ??s a Megazine?

Hi there,
   Thanks for reading my piece on comic-book adaptations in the Meg 253. Hope everyone enjoys it more than they do my movie reviews â?? ouch! Just felt I had to sign in and add a further couple of points after reading Byron Virgoâ??s post. Hi Byron.
   First of all, I have to say that I certainly didnâ??t mean to give the impression that I believe all superheroes pre-Moore/Miller are â??rubbishâ?. I simply feel that they are naïve compared to the superhero comics of today, which comment, satirize and reflect the real world, a la Watchmen, The Ultimates and Supreme Power.
   Yet itâ??s the perceived naivety of modern comics that Hollywood movies, and hence their non-comics-reading punters, generally appear to believe is what comics, all comics, are about.
   I confess, Byron, youâ??re much wider read than me (Iâ??ve yet to read Mooreâ??s Supreme and Top 10 and had to strike All-Star Superman a couple of issues in following fresh budgetary constraints on my standing order). However, I disagree strongly with your point about there being nothing more to say on the subject of superheroes and on the â??inherent silliness of the superhero as a concept.â?
   On the contrary, I believe superheroes, costumed or otherwise, are nothing less than incarnations of ourselves as we wish to be, and are therefore powerful indicators of our aspirations and fears. They are the modern-day equivalent of Gilgamesh and Achilles, projections of our collective desires, which is why they work so well on the world stage in the hands of astute writers like Moore, Millar and JMS.
   If only Hollywood movies had half the political nous of The Ultimates (sorry, Byron, I still think this title rocks â?? well, at least it did before Jeph Loeb got his mitts on itâ?¦) the mainstreamers wouldnâ??t be half as eager to dismiss comics (which most people are ignorant enough to believe is all guys in capes anyway) as escapist daydreams we all should have grown out of years ago.
   As for the point about the real world and superheroics being mutally exclusive, I guess itâ??s all a matter of degree. Just because Supes exists in a world one remove from our own (one that allows superheroes like him to exist) doesnâ??t mean his story canâ??t maintain some kind of dialogue with the real world as we live it, as was done in Watchmen, et al.
   Iâ??m always reminded in discussions like this of a mate who always lets bad storytelling in fantasy movies slide, saying â??itâ??s fantasy, anything can happen.â? WRONG! Itâ??s all a delicate, delicate balance within that make-believe world, whereby rules are created and adhered to in order for the story to work as drama.
   For me, and Iâ??ve had plenty of people disagree with me, I felt that after Superman Returns went to so much trouble making us not only believe a man in red pants can fly but also care whether or not heâ??s happy it was a shame to pit him against a villain with all the emotional depth of a Frosties commercial.
   Like I said, reality in fantasy â?? itâ??s all a delicate balance.
Cheers.
Alec