Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked 06-23-03
06-20-03, 06:32 AM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked 06-23-03
I think The History Channel is starting to take a few pointers from MTV and ESPN:
Link
Sounds interesting though, especially with Gaiman, Lee, and Miller all showing up.
Oh, and the DVD is already available: http://store.aetv.com/html/catalog/v...wseCategoryId=
Just $29.95
Industry insiders like Stan Lee and Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) reflect on the way their colorful creations reflect society at large.
They have spread from the pulpy pages of nickel comics to Saturday morning cartoons, the big screen and beyond. They have evolved from simple, All-American heroes to tortured, complicated characters reflecting the dreams, desires and fears of modern society. From Superman to The Sandman, COMIC BOOK SUPERHEROES UNMASKED is a fascinating, feature-length look at the evolution of an art form that has proved remarkably adaptable and enduring.
Filled with classic images from DC and Marvel Comics as well as extensive interviews with modern masters of the graphic novel like Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns), TIME MACHINE goes far beyond the superficial escapist fantasies to probe the forces that shaped the characters who have become legend. In the adventures of The Incredible Hulk, Spider Man, The X-Men and many more are echoes of American society in the last century, and the art form continues to evolve and innovate today.
They have spread from the pulpy pages of nickel comics to Saturday morning cartoons, the big screen and beyond. They have evolved from simple, All-American heroes to tortured, complicated characters reflecting the dreams, desires and fears of modern society. From Superman to The Sandman, COMIC BOOK SUPERHEROES UNMASKED is a fascinating, feature-length look at the evolution of an art form that has proved remarkably adaptable and enduring.
Filled with classic images from DC and Marvel Comics as well as extensive interviews with modern masters of the graphic novel like Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns), TIME MACHINE goes far beyond the superficial escapist fantasies to probe the forces that shaped the characters who have become legend. In the adventures of The Incredible Hulk, Spider Man, The X-Men and many more are echoes of American society in the last century, and the art form continues to evolve and innovate today.
Sounds interesting though, especially with Gaiman, Lee, and Miller all showing up.
Oh, and the DVD is already available: http://store.aetv.com/html/catalog/v...wseCategoryId=
Just $29.95
06-20-03, 11:40 AM
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Chew
Oh, and the DVD is already available: http://store.aetv.com/html/catalog/v...wseCategoryId=
Just $29.95
Oh, and the DVD is already available: http://store.aetv.com/html/catalog/v...wseCategoryId=
Just $29.95
So, A&E is now creating DVD+Rs? When did that start?
06-20-03, 11:52 AM
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Originally posted by bboisvert
So, A&E is now creating DVD+Rs? When did that start?
So, A&E is now creating DVD+Rs? When did that start?
I didn't even see that!Not only is it $30 for the DVD, but it's no better than what I could slap together with my DVD burner?
Actually, mine would be better: I'd have menus
06-20-03, 08:52 PM
#8
FAQ
Why did A&E Television and The History Channel create the DVD Library on the DVD+R format?
We receive many emails from customers that write, "I'm interested in owning a show on DVD but I only see it available on video. I don't buy videos anymore. Do you sell it on DVD?" Customers have spoken and we have listened! As more and more people are interested in DVDs, we want to offer as much of our programming on DVD as we can. We chose the DVD+R format to sell our shows over other DVD formats due to its high digital video and audio capability and its compatibility with most DVD players.
Why did A&E Television and The History Channel create the DVD Library on the DVD+R format?
We receive many emails from customers that write, "I'm interested in owning a show on DVD but I only see it available on video. I don't buy videos anymore. Do you sell it on DVD?" Customers have spoken and we have listened! As more and more people are interested in DVDs, we want to offer as much of our programming on DVD as we can. We chose the DVD+R format to sell our shows over other DVD formats due to its high digital video and audio capability and its compatibility with most DVD players.
06-21-03, 11:05 PM
#10
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
I just put up advance coverage of the documentary, if anyone's interested. A&E sent me a bunch of great art for it.
http://www.slushfactory.com/content/...FVFLaAyxYD.php
It's worth watching, by the way. I enjoyed it.
http://www.slushfactory.com/content/...FVFLaAyxYD.php
It's worth watching, by the way. I enjoyed it.
06-22-03, 11:19 AM
#11
Banned
Is it better than Kevin Smith's Mutants & Monsters? Lee is intereting but Smith worships him so much its more like a mutual admiration society than anything.
Plus I don't believe alot of the stuff Lee says anymore- it seems like half of it is BS he's built up over the years. I'd love to see him interviewed by an objective source.
Plus I don't believe alot of the stuff Lee says anymore- it seems like half of it is BS he's built up over the years. I'd love to see him interviewed by an objective source.
06-23-03, 10:25 PM
#13
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This was very well done. I've been a comic geek for over 15 years, so I would have preferred more modern creators talking about their's and other creator's work. But as a history of superheroes in comics, this was great.
I'm curious how many people on this board read comics. TV and comics are my favorite mediums for art and entertainment. I really enjoy seeing characters and plots developing over time and think there's lots of crossover appeal between comics and TV.
For anybody who doesn't read comics, but is interested in them, I highly recommend Ultimate Spider-man and Y-The Last Man. They're my 2 favorite monthly comics and I can see some aspects of my favorite TV shows in them. They are also both collected in affordable collections that you can usually find at bookstores.
I'm curious how many people on this board read comics. TV and comics are my favorite mediums for art and entertainment. I really enjoy seeing characters and plots developing over time and think there's lots of crossover appeal between comics and TV.
For anybody who doesn't read comics, but is interested in them, I highly recommend Ultimate Spider-man and Y-The Last Man. They're my 2 favorite monthly comics and I can see some aspects of my favorite TV shows in them. They are also both collected in affordable collections that you can usually find at bookstores.
06-23-03, 11:11 PM
#14
Moderator
I know this special was specifically on the American superhero comic scene yet with mentions of British series as Watchman and The Sandman, the filmmakers didn't even dare mention the manga/anime scene since that would have been a whole two hour docu in of itself. Fascinating docu, for anyone who missed it, a DVD/VHS edition of the film is available for ordering from History Channel's online store.
06-24-03, 11:07 AM
#16
DVD Talk Limited Edition
They talk about the collecting boom in the early 90's and showed several of the "Death of Superman" comics,
but did they ever mention that Superman was killed off and that is what caused people buying multiple copies of Superman/Batman/X-Men...
It seemed like Stan/History Channel skipped over that point.
but did they ever mention that Superman was killed off and that is what caused people buying multiple copies of Superman/Batman/X-Men...
It seemed like Stan/History Channel skipped over that point.
06-24-03, 12:49 PM
#18
DVD Talk Legend
I thought it was pretty interesting. Stan Lee seemed pretty objective and honest about his place in the whole scheme of things. They didn't spend a whole lot of time on any one particular comic, either.
For the most part, I liked the semi-animated panels from the old comic books, too. Good show.
For the most part, I liked the semi-animated panels from the old comic books, too. Good show.
06-24-03, 01:09 PM
#19
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Originally posted by Iron_Giant
They talk about the collecting boom in the early 90's and showed several of the "Death of Superman" comics,
but did they ever mention that Superman was killed off and that is what caused people buying multiple copies of Superman/Batman/X-Men...
It seemed like Stan/History Channel skipped over that point.
They talk about the collecting boom in the early 90's and showed several of the "Death of Superman" comics,
but did they ever mention that Superman was killed off and that is what caused people buying multiple copies of Superman/Batman/X-Men...
It seemed like Stan/History Channel skipped over that point.
I think the speculator market may have actually started with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Modern comics weren't worth much because there was so many copies of them, but TMNT was the first really successful indie comic. Since independent comics weren't popular, there weren't that many copies of the early TMNT comics, so their value justifiably went up. People thought this would carry over to comics that were already popular. For a short while this was probably true since the speculators created a false demand. But, when the supply grew to meet the demand, the demand vanished.
06-24-03, 02:07 PM
#20
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the speculators market also stopped after the formation of image. when image first started, the issues were flying off the shelves, but after awhile, when most of the creators couldn't keep anything on schedule is another point when the bubble burst.
anyway, as someone who has been collecting comics for 20 years, i thought that this was really good. it didn't have time to go in depth with everything, but i thouroughly enjoyed what there was of it.
anyway, as someone who has been collecting comics for 20 years, i thought that this was really good. it didn't have time to go in depth with everything, but i thouroughly enjoyed what there was of it.
06-24-03, 02:27 PM
#21
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My only complant is that it was too short. I really wish that they did this over two night. And had it be four hour long. Other wise it was a great show. It was nice to put faces to a lot of peoples faces.
06-24-03, 03:37 PM
#22
I missed something.
When that "M.D." tried to crack down on comics in the 50's, he said that Wonder Woman had that "S&M" thing going on and that Batman and Robin were "homosexuals". What was his argument against Superman? I didn't catch that.
When that "M.D." tried to crack down on comics in the 50's, he said that Wonder Woman had that "S&M" thing going on and that Batman and Robin were "homosexuals". What was his argument against Superman? I didn't catch that.
06-24-03, 03:42 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
I think it was that Superman solved all his problems through violence.
Never knew about the S&M thing with Wonder Woman. Did they really have a kinky side to them, or did this guy just overreact to a handful of double entendre drawings?
Never knew about the S&M thing with Wonder Woman. Did they really have a kinky side to them, or did this guy just overreact to a handful of double entendre drawings?
06-24-03, 05:03 PM
#25
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A couple of interesting articles:
Fredric Wertham - Anti-Comics Crusader Who Turned Advocate
William Marston’s Secret Identity: The strange private life of Wonder Woman’s creator
Fredric Wertham - Anti-Comics Crusader Who Turned Advocate
Seduction of the Innocent is a remarkable book. Like most of Dr. Wertham's publications, it is short on proof of its assertions and long on polemics, anecdotes related without any sources cited, and literary quotations or allusions crowbarred into the text. Several generations of comics fans have had a chance to discover the book and react to it now, and everything you've heard about it is probably true. Dr. Wertham does accuse Superman of being a fascist, Batman and Robin of being a homosexual fantasy of a man and a boy living together, and Wonder Woman of being just plain kinky (judging from the early years of that strip, with all the downright astonishing emphasis on bondage and submission, I'd have to say he called that one pretty well).
Marston’s personal life was every bit as unconventional as his ideas about matriarchy; if nothing else, the details make one wonder about his fixation on liberated women. In 1915, the same year he graduated from Harvard, Marston married a Mt. Holyoke grad named Elizabeth Holloway, who went on to earn an M.A. and law degree, and to assist him in his psychological research. In the late ’20s, when teaching at Tufts University, Marston met a student named Olive Richard, who moved in with him and his wife.
Marston had two children by each woman and he and his wife formally adopted his children by Richard. "It was an arrangement where they [all] lived together fairly harmoniously," one of Marston’s sons told Daniels. A business associate vouched for Marston’s offbeat arrangement, remembering him as "the most remarkable host, with a lovely bunch of kids from different wives...all living together like one big family -- everybody very happy and all good, decent people."
Marston had two children by each woman and he and his wife formally adopted his children by Richard. "It was an arrangement where they [all] lived together fairly harmoniously," one of Marston’s sons told Daniels. A business associate vouched for Marston’s offbeat arrangement, remembering him as "the most remarkable host, with a lovely bunch of kids from different wives...all living together like one big family -- everybody very happy and all good, decent people."
Last edited by Dimension X; 06-24-03 at 05:08 PM.