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Written on the page, drawn into half-colored word bubbles, these
exclamations of superhero splendor are nothing more than inked-in
words accompanying an occasional clenched fist or two cars about to
collide. Besides a series of carefully crafted still frames and a
few scattered words, comic books and graphic novels still leave
most up to the imagination.
Step in Hollywood. The result: the developing art of the
comic-book film.
Between a thrill-loving billionaire with the wings of a bat, an
Oscar-winning actress dressed as a cat, and a web-throwing college
student, comic book films have recently hit the Hollywood jackpot.
Just as novels, plays and television shows are adapted to the big
screen, comics have become the biggest craze in the mill for
Hollywood blockbusters, and the comic book subculture at UCLA is
keeping tabs.
“There is a freedom allowed in comic books that cannot be
compared to anything,” said Dave Columbo, a fourth-year
theater student. “(With comic books) it’s not hard to
justify a guy in a red and blue costume swinging from webs across
the Manhattan skyline, or a giant, green monster hurling a tank
into the distance.”
The comic-book genre has gifted an unmatchable creativity to its
filmic counterparts, and a world where anything is possible.
Since 1978, when audiences first saw Christopher Reeve fly in
the first “Superman,” it seems that Hollywood and its
special effects can make anything real. Remarkable advancements in
computer graphic imaging have driven the increasing parade of
fantastic characters performing fantastic feats on the silver
screen.
“Audiences tired of the generic action movie can now see a
green monster terrorize a city or a guy who can stretch to
ridiculous proportions,” Columbo said.
However, while filmmakers are granted more and more freedom
through technology, it often becomes harder to stay true to the
source material. Adapting a comic book is about as easy as walking
through a wall or throwing fireballs: difficult, but not
impossible.
Often, the ultrahigh cost of a film overwhelms the artistic
intent of the original book. And in compressing a multifaceted
story that may have taken creators years to tell into a single,
two-hour spectacular, filmmakers encounter the inherent issues of
translating one artistic medium to another.
“There are a lot of things comics writers get away with
that just make no sense when live action,” explained Dean
Leng, a third-year and self-proclaimed comic-book junkie.
“There’s cheesy dialogue, ridiculous costumes and
unbelievable plot devices. There’s definitely a delicate
balance of the fantastical and grounding a story in a reality
familiar enough for the viewer to lose themselves in it. You have
to get the audience involved to the point where they walk outside
and can really imagine a superhero battle royale in that very
street.”
Nevertheless, there is something that the book and the movie
most undeniably share: a following. Despite critical raves and
rising box office numbers, Hollywood’s biggest judges are the
loyal fans expecting nothing but the best, and both Columbo and
Leng are at the center of UCLA’s own comic-book fan base.
“Hardcore fans like me are always going to walk into a
comic book movie with a mental war going on between preconceived
notions of what we would do with the characters if we had the
talent to make the movie, versus what we think we are going to see
based on the latest movie trailer,” Columbo said, who also
works at Westwood’s own comic book store, Jay and Silent
Bob’s Secret Stash, owned by writer-director-actor Kevin
Smith.
“Filmmakers are aware of the massive fan base that can
make or break these comic book films. (Fans) won’t stand for
the alteration of their golden calves. They can and will spew venom
and bile over such artistic license,” Leng added.
Leng, who started his collection with Spider-Man in high school,
is the founder of the UCLA Facebook group Comics for the Soul. The
90-member group attempts to take weekly outings to the Secret
Stash, located a few blocks from campus on Westwood Boulevard.
Meanwhile, it is not uncommon to see a slowly forming line of
fans in front of one of the Westwood theaters for a midnight
screening of the newest comic-book flick.
“There is some palpable joy in the air when you wait for
six hours in a line, then file into a theater with 1,000 other
geeks that are just as excited as you are. I’d tell my
friends to get into comics just so they could experience
that,” Columbo said.
The “geeks” are by no means the only audience of
comic book films: “Spider-Man 2″ grossed over $400
million in 2002, and “Batman Begins” has already topped
$100 million in its first week. As a result, the star-studded,
action-packed films have sparked a renewed interested in the comic
books from which they came.
“There’s a wealth of amazing stories out there, and
viewers coming out of the theater have just gotten all the primer
they need to dive in. Reading the comics is the next logical step
from most of these films,” Leng said.
Sure enough, a quick glance at eBay listings will demonstrate a
renewed interest in “Batman: Year One,” upon which
“Batman Begins” was based, and “Fantastic
Four,” which comes out this summer.
Fans can look forward to more, as the number of projects
Hollywood has down the pipeline indicate the trend is showing no
signs of slowing down. According to E. Favata’s Comic Book
Movies Web site, over one hundred adaptations are currently in
production ““ sequels, franchises, remakes and a whole host of
new adaptations.
In an appearance on National Public Radio’s “Talk of
the Nation” earlier this month, comic-book artist Frank
Miller, author of “Sin City” and co-author of
“Batman: Year One,” offered his take on the current
phenomenon. “What I think has happened, really, is that a
generation of people who read comic books have come up and taken
over certain aspects of entertainment,” Miller said.
“In other words, the inmates have taken over the asylum and
you’re all in trouble.”