The Great Superman Movie Book

I grew up on the Christopher Reeve Superman movies.  Superman II, the one where Supes has to battle the three baddies from the Phantom Zone, is my favorite movie of all-time.  I've watched it at least 200 times in my life.

When I was a kid in the 80s, I stumbled across this little gem of a book in my public school's library.  The Great Superman Movie Book.  It covered the first three Superman films and it was awesome.

You've gotta remember, that this was long before the internet, and there were only so many blockbuster movies released each year.  Books like this weren't as common as they are today.  Go into your local bookstore today and you'll find a shelf with six or seven different books all about the current blockbuster movie (Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, Captain America... wow, Marvel has done a great job with their marketing department). 

There weren't very many books that focused on the classic Superman movies, so this one stands out - and is a quality little read too. Just from looking at the cover you can see we're treated to Confidential Close-Ups, A Fabulous Photo Collection, and a pull-out poster!

The two different versions of The Great Superman Movie Book.

Believe it or not, I loved this book so much as a kid that I borrowed it from the library enough times to fill up three of those sign-out cards that they stuck in the back.  It was destined to be mine.  But I could never find it anywhere for sale.  My mother even tried to have it specially ordered through the bookstores in town, but by 1988 it was out of print.

everyone needs someone to look up to.

This was clearly a job for Superman.

Or a super-lie.  The last time I borrowed the book from my school's library, I hid it in my room and didn't return it.  A week or so went by and the librarian sent me home with a note for my parents that I would have to reimburse the school's library for the lost book.

I think the fee was something like, $2.50... which for an eight year old kid in 1988 was a lot of money. 

My mother, who was no idiot, asked me where the book was.  I couldn't lie to her. 

Kids, don't lie to your mother.  It's wrong, and it's stupid, and it's just silly.

So my mother gave me the money to reimburse the school for the book, on the condition that I would work it off around the house.  This whole solution may seem strange because the actual issue at hand was never solved... the school never got their book back, I worked my debt off around the house, and in the end I got what I wanted all along - The Great Superman Movie Book.

Kids, don't go looking for a real moral in this story.  You won't find one. 

Unless you keep reading!

back cover

Many years later I was at a rummage sale outside my old public school.  People in the neighborhood and the community donated items for sale.  I forget what they were raising money for, and really, it doesn't matter to this story.  For the sake of argument, let's say they were raising money to build a super-computer for Gus Gorman. 

I was going through the books at the sale, and lo and behold was a copy of The Great Superman Movie Book!  However, this one was a little different.  It didn't have anything from Superman III in it.  Great Caesar's Ghost, I had found the original edition!  And I didn't even know it existed.

"How much for the book?" I asked.
"I dunno... fifty cents, I guess," said the rummage saleswoman.
"Here's twenty bucks," I said. "It's for a good cause."

And really, it was for a GREAT cause.  The Great Superman Movie Book!

- ryan

Top 11 Superhero Movies

It's not an "S".  It's actually a $.

... you may remember that I did a little list like this way back in 2008, when my website was still pink.  You can still see it (and the worst) at: http://www.ryanfanclub.com/archive/top11bestsuper.html

But that was then, and this is now.  Much has changed, including my opinion of several of those "top" films.  Looking back, I can't believe I ever liked Superman Returns as much as I did.  So here's a brand-new list of the Top 11 Super-Hero Movies.  There's also been an onslaught of new super-flicks in the last five years, and that makes the competition even stronger. 

*I think it's important to point out that I'm reflecting specifically on super-heroes here and not comic books in general.  For instance, V For Vendetta should surely be on the Top 11 Comic Book Movies list but it's not a super-hero flick.

Here we go.

11. The Incredible Hulk
No, no, no.  Not the one directed by Ang Lee.  This is the one with Edward Norton.  You know, Edward "Everything I Do Is Fucking Awesome" Norton.  Norton is such a good actor that he legitimately made us care about his Bruce Banner and the beast inside.  And that's really the first rule of story telling.  Make us care.  The fight scene at the end between the Hulk and that monster was really cool too.  This was just an all-around enjoyable superhero film.

10. The Amazing Spider-Man
It only took four movies for them to finally get it right.  I'm a big fan of the first Tobey Maguire movie, and I sincerely did enjoy the third one with Venom, but Spider-Man 2 bored the pants off me.  And then just a couple years ago they restarted the franchise.  The Lizard was awesome, Emma Stone is great in anything she does, and Peter Parker was actually a character you could relate with - which is what he always was in the comics anyway.  I really hope they make more to this series. 

Why so serious?

9. The Crow
You can pretty much thank this film noir from the early 90s for the gained interest in comics by independent publishers.  The Crow, often overshadowed by the on-screen death of star Brandon Lee, was the alternative superhero movie.  You can also say that because of the Crow we were also forced to sit through Judge Dredd, Tank Girl, and Spawn during the 90s.  At it's heart The Crow is a love story in a very grim world.  And that's the beauty of it.  Budding rock star Eric Draven and his new bride are murdered (she's raped too) and he returns from the dead to hunt down the gang members that caused their demise.  Amid all the drugs, gangs, violence, and rain, a dark hero emerges for vengeance.  Along the way of claiming vengeance, he makes friends with a little girl and Ernie Hudson.  Who wouldn't want to be friends with Ernie Hudson? Nobody, that's who.

8. Superman: The Movie
It's the movie that defined a genre.  Really, every other superhero movie owes their existence to Richard Donner's Superman. You can talk at lengths about Christopher Reeve's performance, and you can rave about John Williams' musical score, but there isn't just one piece to this puzzle.  Superman succeeds purely on charm, delivered by the ensemble cast.  The flick chronicles Superman's life, from Krypton through Smallville, and into Metropolis where he does battle with the land-hungry Lex Luthor.

We are family!

7. The Incredibles
I really wanted to avoid putting any animated features into this list (it pains me deeply to omit Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm), but there's simply no denying just how wonderful Pixar's The Incredibles is.  If you've ever been a fan of superheroes, there's something in this movie for you.  It's cheesy and often tongue-in-cheek and doesn't take itself overly seriously, but at the same time treats the medium and subject matter with the utmost respect.  I'd love to see a live action version.  That would be unstoppable.

6. Marvel's The Avengers
There's not much else to say about a movie that made a butt-load of money at the box office and on DVD.  Oh wait, they did it with a bunch of second-string Marvel characters.  Just goes to show that if you make a superhero movie aimed at children, you'll hit the nail on the head.

5. Man Of Steel
It's still relatively new, but what Man Of Steel has done is make Superman accessible and relevant to modern day audiences.  This is hands down the most intelligent Superman film made yet.  Looking at Kal-El as an alien on Earth from the perspective of humans is what makes this film so believable.  You want to see Kal win and save the day, just so he can fit in with the rest of us... even if he never truly will.

Act now and get these steak knives!

4. X2: X-Men United
You might think topping the first X-Men flick would be pretty tough, but Bryan Singer managed to make one of the best action movies I've ever seen with X2.  Sure, it's mostly a Wolverine story, but it's way better than any of his own films.  And Rogue is pretty sexy, let's not forget that.  What Singer did with this movie was pretty simple: stick to the source material and give the fans what they want to see on the big screen.  I'm actually disappointed in myself for waiting for this one on DVD for a first viewing.

3. The Dark Knight
It was the best of the Nolan trilogy, riding completely on the performances of the Joker, Commissioner Gordon, and Harvey Dent.  People often say that there wasn't enough Batman in Batman Returns, but with The Dark Knight our hero doesn't even really need to be in the movie.  This is a Joker movie, and admit it to yourself, he's the reason you went to see it. The Joker has never been quite as menacing, or even frightening, as he is in The Dark Knight  and it's a darn shame we didn't get him in the third movie.

It's not an "S". Where I'm from it's saran wrap.

2. Superman II
I might be a little biased because it's my favorite movie of all-time, but what premise could be better than Superman going toe-to-toe with three Kyrptonian baddies who all have the same powers (and some new ones invented for the movie) that he does?  They throw a bus at the Man of Steel for Christ's sake.  That was awesome in 1981 and it still is today.  I'm not going to say which version of the movie is better - there was also a director's cut released about five years ago - but neither of them are the same movie. So many other super-hero movies have followed the format of Superman II.  A few years back, Spider-Man 2 was regarded as the greatest super-hero movie ever made and yet few people mentioned how it was pretty much a clone of Superman II.  Think about it: The hero wants to be with a girl he loves, loses his powers, the bad guys take over, and the hero has to get his powers back to save the day and then ultimately choose the rest of the world over the one person he loves more than any other.

1. Batman Returns

Robin eats yellow snow.

This installment of the Bat-Franchise has gotten too much flack over the years.  Some said it was too dark for children.  Others said there just wasn't enough Batman in it.  But if you look a little closer, you'll see that Batman's psyche is actually divided between the three villains in the movie.  The Penguin is the lonely child in search of his lost parents.  Catwoman is the dual personality that wants to lead a normal life but feels the need to put on a mask at night.  And Max Shreck is the billionaire tycoon.  Put them all together and you've got Batman.  And in Tim Burton's second film of the series, he has Batman do battle with all three sides of himself.  I used to think that Returns was just a Tim Burton flick that so happened to feature Batman from time to time, but then I picked up on the subtlety of it all.  Visually, the movie is leaps and bounds ahead of it predecessor or any movies that followed it.  Michael Keaton continued being perfect in the bat-suit too.  Danny Elfman's score evolved from the first round into something more twisted and bone-chilling.  If comic books are a medium that are often misunderstood by those who aren't die-hard fans, then Batman Returns is the perfect representation of that medium on the big screen.

And there you have it!  Who's to say what my opinion will be in another five years.  Maybe I'll pick Batman & Robin as the number one movie of all-time.

- ryan

DC Villains Month... Did It Work?

... depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer about DC Comics' "The New 52."

Superman's Bad!  I'll say he was!

Some would say, "if it wasn't broke, why fix it?" while others like the fresh approach.  Many fanboys found the New 52 confusing - some of those classic stories we grew up with happened, but not really.  Or something like that.

Personally, I think it's time to drop the "New 52" moniker.  It's been two years now.  The new design of Superman is showing up on kid's clothing.  So it's clear that it's here to stay.  And it's not new anymore.

You might remember I did a blog about three months into the New 52 praising their fresh take on Superman.  That lasted about eight or nine more months, and then I got bored of the stories.  Honestly, the only New 52 book I'm still really enjoying is Supergirl.

So DC decided to have another Villains Month... I remember "New Year's Evil" from the late 90s when we were treated to one-shots of Mr. Mxyzptlk... and this time they'd re-introduce the core villains of the DCU.  Or is it DCNew?  DC52?  Fuck it, it doesn't matter.

Of course this was a marketing ploy.  But did it work?

DC Comics offered special editions of each comic.  These came with 3D motion covers.

Meh.

puddin'

All this really did was cement all of the New 52 naysayers who claim that DC is trying to return to the 1990s era of comics.

gross...but very intriguing.

Sure, some people were grabbing those special editions because of a low print run, so they're expected to be collectible, or some bullshit like that.  I buy comics to read them.  And the best ones (Tiny Titans, Superman Family Adventures, Bone) are the titles I can read with my little girl.

So, if you go visit Adam (the dude who owns my local comic shop and kinda looks like a more awesome Jesus) and ask to see what comics I buy, you'd see:
Supergirl, Smallville, He-Man & The Masters of the Universe, and occasionally the Marvel Wizard of Oz series.

So what villains comics did I pick up this month from DC?
Cyborg Superman, Joker, Doomsday, Harley Quinn, Zod, and Joker's Daughter.

All of this was based on characters I liked (except for Joker's Daughter; the title alone intrigued me) and wanted to read a single story of.  So this month I bought six extra comics.

I'd say their marketing plan worked.  Good for them.

DC vs Marvel. When voting sorta counted.

Wolverine versus Dee Snider!

In 1996, DC Comics and Marvel Comics combined for what should have been the greatest crossover in the history of comics.  Maybe it was.  I don't know.

I do remember a lot of hoopla around being able to vote for the winners of five superhero battles.  There was nearly some fanboy fisticuffs.  Just imagine the amount of empty basement bedrooms if things got too carried away and some of these comics nerds actually killed each other over this stuff.  Anyway, the fans were able to cast their votes at their local comic book store via secret ballot, and this way we could finally get our answer to who would win in a fight between Black Lightning and Quasar.

Okay, that fight never happened.  But really, who would YOU vote for?

Marvel Comics won three of the five voting battles, with Storm, Spider-Man, and Wolverine defeating Superboy, Wonder Woman, and Lobo.  While the on the DC side of things, Superman and Batman scored W's against The Hulk and Captain America.

Doesn't that all seem... uh... lop-sided to you?

There's no way Superman or Batman were going to lose to the Hulk and Captain America.  Even the biggest Marvel fans will show respect to the big two.  But did Superboy ever stand a chance against Spider-Man?  And what about Lobo?  I think Lobo is awesome, but he was pitted against the most popular comic book character of the 90s.  At first glance, seeing Wonder Woman lose to Storm could be surprizing, until you remember again that in the 90s the X-Men were the #1 selling comic book around.

The Royal Rumble!  30 will enter!  Only one will go to the main event at Wrestlemania!

I can just imagine the boardroom meeting for this "event"...

DC: Okay, this is gonna make us a shitload of money.  And the fans get to vote, so they feel a part of it!
Marvel: Sweet!  Let's have Spidey duke it out with the Flash, and Silver Surfer fight Green Lantern!  Those would be awesome to see.
DC: Uh... I dunno... Warners doesn't really like talking about any characters that aren't Superman or Batman.  So let's throw Superboy in there against Spidey.
Marvel: Oh.  That's... ummm... sure, I guess.  Well, Batman's really popular in the movies right now, and our number one guy is Wolverine, so they should totally battle.  The fanboys will drool at that!
DC: Yeah... so here's the thing... we know just how popular your X-Men characters are... and we really can't have Batman lose here.  Warners is planning on making a fourth Bat-flick and they want it to be the best one ever.  I hear Clooney is gonna be in it!  So you got any characters that everyone knows but nobody cares about?
Marvel:  Yeah... The Hulk and - -
DC: Perfect!  He can fight Superman!  We've got a new movie for him coming too with Nicolas Cage!  

So why didn't we get the REAL match ups that would have us all excited?
What about Superman versus Iron Man?
Or Batman versus Wolverine?
Aquaman versus Namor?

Okay, Aquaman DID fight Namor in that story, but nobody got to vote for it.  I'm pretty confident everyone would vote against Aquaman anyway, even his own mommy.  Poor Aquafucker.   Nobody likes his fishy smell.  And there's always those nit-picky arguments like,Superman would just rip off Iron Man's armor and throw him into space. Game over.  Well, yeah, but that wouldn't be a very fun story.  In the right scenario, Iron Man could actually beat Superman in a fight.

Anyway, my point of all this is, a lot has happened in 15 years.  Superman is about to become popular again this summer.  People actually know who Iron Man is now.  We now have this fancy technology called the Inter-something-or-other for voting.  The Spider-Man in that classic battle was some clone who wasn't a clone but really was a clone... ?  Confusing, I know.

I say they do it again, and this time do it right. 

Don't play the safe bets.  Let the fans vote on the fights that matter, and if their favorites lose, then oh well, suck it up and do it again ten years later when their popularity changes.  What's in it for them?  Uh, fucking market research.

And the winning comic book company should be allowed the rights to one of the others' big name  characters for a year.  Just imagine Captain America in the Justice League.

Who would YOU vote for?