Comic Book Based Movies

Original Lone Ranger & Tonto

We often hear sayings that are loaded with wisdom but ignore them because after all they are only based on historical precedence.  Here is a few in case you haven’t heard any lately: 

• “Leave the world a better place than you found it.” 
• “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
• “If you can’t improve on something, leave it alone.”
• “Don’t ruin a good thing.”
• “It’s not always about money.”
• “Something’s can’t be improved.”

Who amongst us likes to admit being wrong.  Not me! But I will admit to being a little over confident and trusting.  Ultimate Hog Heaven, Posted June 12, 2013: http://www.being50.com/2013/06/ultimate-hog-heaven.html

I was exuberant about the promise that the year 2013 was going to be so great for many of my comic book heroes.  Remakes of comic book characters were being advertised as the bigger and better productions for all of the fans from the early years.

 

Well, I will admit that the effort was not only not impressive, but in fact a disaster for the most part.  Let start with the Lone Ranger and make comparisons to times gone by:  Johnny Depp and Jay Silverheels one character you could look up to and the other was laughable.  In the original, the main character was the Lone Ranger with Tonto as a very strong second.  In the remake:  the main character is Tonto even if he is supposed to be mentally ill.  The Lone Ranger doesn’t even rate a second or third place in the lineup.  The silver bullet concept of the original series was reduced to one silver bullet period.  The trusty horse Silver hardly rates a mention in the whole movie.  Some images like words, once released can’t ever be undone.  In all honesty I couldn’t differentiate between the Captain Jack Sparrow and Tonto characters.

 

Many of the Comic Book Characters that I grew up with were meant to be taken serious.  Big time money investors in the film industry need to stay true to what the fans want:  They should make up their minds and make comedies or improve on the legends that we grew up with.  Finally as a true Aficionado of the Comic Book Era that I grew up with, I would give this Lone Ranger effort three thumbs down, but I only have two hands.  The best is yet to come……

Smashing Return

Creative Mind Times 10

• The first Superman movie in seven years is already on its way to becoming the highest-grossing film featuring Clark Kent. "Superman Returns" started with $52.5 million in its opening weekend and went on to collect $200.1 million in the U.S. and Canada — just over 50% of the movie's final $391.1 million global tally. - Box Office

You would have to know me to understand how creative and wild my imagination can get.  We finally went to see the Man of Steel, which is where the outcome was, creative mind times 10.  While I am creative I don’t like to overplay the massive explosions, destroying the city even if characters fighting, all have super powers.  Before I forget one of the most amazing things about this particular theater attendance, not surprising but definitely amazing; when the movie was over and we left the auditorium I was in a crowd of Baby Boomers, just as I pictured I would be.

I once said that if I was in charge of marketing for the Super Heroes’ movies I would show a bunch of Baby Boomers buying tickets going in, and a bunch of 8 to 13 year olds walking out wearing the same clothes as the Boomers buying the tickets.  The whole crowd was discussing the movie plot on the way out. You could feel the level of satisfaction of seeing a well done movie, pretty much the way we imagined it.  The loud explosions and high Dolby volume was probably spot on for all those Boomers that are hard of hearing anyway.

There were some low level (whispers) commentaries going on during the movie.  I know, I leaned over and explained to my wife, how the Kryptonite affects Superman, and where it comes from.  I also explained the other main characters in the storyline, such as Lois Lane, the Kent’s (adoptive parents), Perry White, etc.  Another amazing thing is how they managed to get so much of today news events into the plot, NSA type surveillance, use of drones, dis-trust for government, Internet, spying and traitors, etc.  Man of Steel definitely gets “two thumbs up from me!” There is rumor that the sequel has already been agreed to.  The best is yet to come….

Emerald City Comicon

Emerald City Comicon

As a child, my life was disrupted by my parent’s divorce, I guess disrupted doesn’t describe it; turned it upside down, tore it apart that’s a better description.  I know that divorce is much more common now than it was back in my time, I know the feelings that young people growing up are experiencing, when their families are broken up.  Part of my family (children) lived through a family break-up, I can only hope that now that they are adults, they understand the mechanics, and emotions that create the environment that breaks up a family or keeps it together, and forgive me for the part I played in it.  I’ve said previously that if I could live my life over, I wouldn’t change anything, because I like the way my life has turned out.  I couldn’t imagine not having any of my children in my life.

Here again I digress, back to Comics and Comicon.  In my effort to quell my pain from my parent’s divorce I turned to comic books and the escape that the fictional characters and stories provided me with.  The youth of my time didn’t have computers, IMAX Theater, or many of the digital tools common today.  I, however, prefer to think of it as our advantage back then.  Before you consider making the argument to the contrary, two things to contemplate are; 1) we were able to develop our powers of imagination due to lack of technology, and the strongest argument, 2) two of the best known and most influential visionaries of our time were born in mid-1950 (Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs).  While people of my age group didn’t have the computers to work with, they were directly involved in the development if not invention of the technology of the recent past, present and future. 

So you see at least indirectly the comic books played a role in the development of our minds (mine anyway).  I’ve given comic books credit for my ability to read, write, and imagine what could be.  In case you thought about it, yes I use to wear the black thick plastic rimmed glasses, and until extraordinary skills in sports made me popular (I lettered in football, wrestling, and track), I use to run around with a slide ruler in my shirt pocket.  For those of you that don’t remember, the slide ruler, use to be the electronic calculator (non-electronic) of our time, and some of us used it more like a laptop.  Yes, I could also use the Abacus for performing arithmetic processes.    

One of my sons inherited the addiction to everything comic books and comic book characters.  Together he and I spent many dollars buying comic books when he was in high school and since then.  My wonderful son is quite the successful visionary himself.  I would be the last person to consider his involvement in comic books a waste of his time.  Matter of fact I know that his collection has been more of an investment.  You won’t hear of a comic book conference anywhere in the country where my son won’t be in attendance.  Presently you can find him at the Emerald City Comicon front and center. Isn’t life wonderful?  The best is yet to come….  

Comic Books

Comic Books

I never thought of myself as a geek, but then again we didn’t have that word in our vocabulary when I was growing up. In 1956 my parents had just separated and were going through a divorce.  My sister and I stayed with our mother and we moved from California to Texas.  All my thoughts were of my parents working out their differences and coming together as a family again.  As I’ve said many times before, this is a subject for another posting.

I needed something to take my mind away from my everyday problems, and it was then that I discovered Comic Books.  Comic books at that time were the equivalent to the game systems of today without the interaction.  However, to be most effective the reader had to have a very active mind.  You see, the comic book storyline was merely the spark that made the mind take over and go beyond the images that were on the pages you were reading. 

I remember vividly that while I looked forward to getting my hands on the next issue, I dreaded finishing the comic because I knew that I would have to wait a whole week before the next issue arrived at the store.  The cost of a comic book in 1956 was 6 cents, I didn’t understand finances back then but I am glad my mother loved me enough to give me a 50 cent allowance per week.  My mother kept busy with two jobs in order to maintain a home in a nice neighborhood where we could be safe while she earned a living.  

Our house was close to school, and about 7 blocks away from a community park where my sister and I regularly went swimming especially during summer vacation from school.   Looking back I can’t get over how much society has changed.  My sister and I could walk anywhere we wanted to without fear of predators, or bullies, but then again neighbors looked after each other.  Our local store where I purchased my comics was a block away from my house, and I would walk there by myself to get my weekly fix.  I had three or four comics that I followed, some were weekly issues and other like Batman was bi-monthly, amongst my favorites; Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and the Flash. I remember that at times I arrived so early at the store that all the publications were bundled, and I was often told that I was the stores best customer.

It’s funny that so many years had to pass by before realizing that I was at the front end of something big.  One of my sons became a fan of comics at an early age and he now attends annual conventions.  I used to take my comics with me when I visited my grandmother and would read them to her; we spent many afternoons together sharing comics. 

Today’s cost of a comic book is prohibitive, for many of the young people that need the distraction the most.  I was lucky that I found an outlet for my challenging times that not only was entertaining and often took me to fantasy land, but it also was instrumental in making me an excellent reader.  I don’t know that everyone would agree, but I feel that reading ability is the key to great performance in the classroom.  There is so much more that I can share about the comic books and my early life.  You can expect a future post on Comic Books part 2.  Just a reminder the best is yet to come….