Except as was pointed out in the Heroes thread at the time, Alan Moore took that concept from an episode of The Outer Limits.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=102

The Spirit still stands as a landmark regardless of your personal opinion. At that time Noir, which was also racist, emerged as an yet unheralded cinema theme. Unfortunately most of America was still racially segregated and once you accept that as a dated aspect of society, this series is the best non-superhero comic of its age (although anyone who returns from the dead sure isn't normal).

I suppose you can sue it for more reasons.. You know, like having the fantastic four represented in your family.

I'm a HUGE fan of the Spirit and will forever defend the title as a milestone of comics history and THE comic that broke the ground of graphic storytelling.

And personally, I've never found Spirit racist. Stereotypical yes, but not racist. Sure one can criticize Ebony's speach patterns and appearance, which were played for comedy, but look at how the Spirit interacted with him. Ebony was never treated with disrespect by the Spirit or Eisner for that matter. He sometimes solved cases, had adventures of his own, and saved the Spirit's life on several occasions. So, while Eisner's portray of Ebony certainly isn't appropriate today, it was very much a product of its time, and never came across as mean spiritied or denegratinig. At least to me. Eisner himself has said that he never received any complaints from the black community and was often times commending for having a black character so prominent in the series.

As for Watchmen, I don't know about a movie. I especially enjoyed the Rorshcach storyline and feel that it is an overall great series, I just don't know how well it can translate into a movie. Especially transported out of the 80's.

Dark Knight, which I enjoyed, is a strange series. What's with the woman with swastikas on her breasts? Or was it her ass? I don't remember. And the Reagan character draped in the flag. VERY 80's. The tone of the story was good though I think flawed, but you can't deny the impact it had on comics.

How can you possibly call DKR dated?

I would say that is the complete opposite of dated.

None of the 3 comics mentioned are dated or overrated. But this discussion is better served for the Comic Book Forum at DVDTalk.

Oh man. It better be Dr. Manhattan. The Comedian really needs to be some ugly dude. Not just big scar ugly. Ugly ugly.

But the Comedian is supposed to be a big, vain, pretty boy. Well, maybe not a pretty boy, but dashingly handsome, which makes his actions even more despicable.

Um...
 

did you read much of The Spirit? I ask is because that's the response of many people who simply heard a bit about it or read the first few issues. Eisner had the Ebony character go through a LOT of changes beyond the intitial stereotype he was in the early issues. You could say the character evolved as society did (actually prior to it evolving). He went from a street kid, to a college grad with an important job, respect of all the main characters, and a family. If anything, Eisner did an amazing job of walking a fine line with what he thought was right and what he could get away with at the time.

Some more Watchmen news today:

Zack Snyder Almost Confirms 'Watchmen' Casting Rumors

Posted Jun 8th 2007 1:31PM by Patrick Walsh
Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Comic/Superhero/Geek
I brought you some casting news last month on Zack Snyder's highly anticipated adaptation of the beloved graphic novel Watchmen. The big news at the time was that Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, and Patrick Wilson had been offered roles in the superhero flick. Reeves was rumored to have been offered the role of Doctor Manhattan, Law was rumored to have been offered Ozymandias, and Wilson was rumored to be playing Nite Owl. (The Reeves choice in particular didn't seem to appeal to the Cinematical commenters!). At the time it was just hearsay, but an interview with Snyder over at MTV.com confirms it. Kinda. Almost. When grilled about the accuracy of those reports, Snyder responded "Um -- you know what? I would say 'No,' but then you'd call me later and go like, 'Dude, what are you doing?' I don't know who's leaking this stuff, but they're good." So make of that what you will, but it's pretty far from a denial.

The other big question has been whether or not Gerard Butler would be involved with the film. "Yeah, we'll find a spot for him," says Snyder. "They'll let him (off the other sets for a while); he's not gonna get out that easy." Shooting on Watchmen starts this September, and Snyder is eagerly anticipating directing the film's opening scene: "At the beginning of the movie there's a character called the Comedian. He gets in a fight with a guy that we don't know who it is, and (the Comedian) gets thrown out a window. That's what I'm working on right now, and it's pretty intense." Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, Watchmen is considered by many to be the finest graphic novel ever made. Directors such as Paul Greengrass and Terry Gilliam have been circling the material for years. Do you think Snyder will do it justice? One last tidbit for you 300 fans -- Snyder briefly mentions a sequel in the article, saying "If Frank (Miller) wrote it, and drew something cool, absolutely."

That is one kick-ass cast.

I just think Law is too skinny to play the Night Owl. I liked the casting of Alex Baldwin.

Law would be playing Ozymandias if the rumors are true.

I'm sorry I meant Wilson. Either way, same opinion.

I think that Butler would be all but a shoo-in to play the Comedian. He looks the part, has the physique, and the part is small enough that they could shoot most of his scenes in a week while he is off from his other projects.

Looks like Keanu Reeves will not be in Watchmen after all ... (source)

John Cusack is interested in the Night Owl role. I think he would be perfect.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=5849

I'd love it if John Cusack played Nite Owl.

That's too bad. Dr. Manhattan (once he becomes Dr. Manhattan) has a blank, unexpressive way about him that would work perfectly for Keanu.

Jude Law as Ozymandias I like although he's a bit too young.

Looking at that poster, "music by Radiohead" would be perfect. I'd like Gerard Butler for the "Black Freighter" portions of the story.

cheers,

-the Jesus

I might be mistaken, as it's been a few years since I last read Watchmen all the way through, but wasn't Ozymandias in his 30's? I recall him making a point of all that Alexander the Great did by the time he was in his 30's before he died. If so then Jude Law would be pretty darn close to the correct age.

The rumored cast so far is amazing.

Watchmen FINALLY gets casted
 

And here we go.....


http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=122573