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ComicMix Six: The Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books

It should come as no surprise that Hollywood studios often turn to the pages of comic books and graphic novels for source material — especially for action-packed summer releases like Iron Man.

Some of these films, such as Iron Man, Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2 or X-Men 2, achieve a great deal of commerical and critical success. In addition, they’re also embraced by comic book fans as great examples of what comic book movies should be.

Unfortunately, there are also those other comics-to-film adaptations that disappoint critics, mainstream audiences and comic book fans alike. These films, whether due to bad writing, inept direction, gross miscasting, or a combination of factors, are often not only bad comic book adaptations, but bad movies in general.

Yet, even with Iron Man‘s phenomenal success, it’s important to remember these bad films. These particular movies occupy a special place in the hierarchy of bad filmmaking and deserve to be highlighted — especially so you can avoid seeing them if you haven’t already.

Here then, in no particular order, is the ComicMix Six list of the Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books.

 

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Video: The ‘Iron Man’ Nick Fury Ending

Did you happen to, like me, not stay through the credits of Iron Man to see that top-secret meeting between Tony Stark and Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Well, now you can catch it on YouTube, or by clicking the video player below.

It’s some bootleg, Blair Witch-style footage, so we’ll see how long it stays up.

 


 

Wrath, by Dennis O’Neil

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one…

Harry is homeless. Once, he was a successful venture capitalist with three lavish homes, a beautiful wife and a charming daughter, but then he lost his money in a bad real estate deal, his wife ran away with a televangelist, and his daughter started living with a crack dealer and not answering her phone. While panhandling near his old office, Harry met an friend who knew of a deal that would restore Harry’s fortune – hundred percent, guaranteed – and with his bank account restored, Harry was sure he could reclaim his family and his lifestyle. The problem was, Harry needed a thousand dollars to get in on the deal and he had no way to get it; his credit was maxed out and no one he knew would lend him another cent. He’s now passing a church, his head bowed in misery, when he sees a thousand dollar bill laying in the gutter. He can’t believe it! He is saved! He bends over to pick up the bill and…he’s hit by a truck. Laying there alone in the filth, Harry knows he’s breathing his last. He looks up at the sky and cries, “Why?” And a voice booms from beyond the clouds, “Because you piss me off.”

One of my favorite jokes and one I’ve been thinking of this weekend because, somehow, I’ve run afoul, again, of my old foe Crankus, the spiteful god of technology. Ol’ Mr. Macintosh in front of me has been acting up and the gentleman, polite but not terribly helpful, at the Mac store wasn’t exactly sure why. Larry and his friend Perri graciously offered to reinstall the Microsoft Word program, because I don’t trust myself with even elementary technological tasks, and so far, so good.

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R.I.P.: Ted Key

Cartoonist Ted Key, creator of the popular newspaper comic panel Hazel and the classic cartoon characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman, died today at 95.

Born Theodore Keyser in 1912, Key created Hazel for the Saturday Evening Post in 1943. The panel shifted over to King Features Syndicate in 1969 after its creator acquired the rights when the Post ceased publication. In the interim, Hazel evolved into a hit television show that ran between 1961 and 1966, and in syndication thereafter.

In 1959 Key developed the surreal "Peabody’s Improbable History" cartoon series for producer Jay Ward and his program Rocky And His Friends.

Key retired from Hazel in 1993 but the panel has continued in newspapers in reprints ever since.

Review: ‘Sex and Sensibility’ edited by Liza Donelly

sex1-3981535What do women want? Sigmund Freud thought he knew, but we all know about him. After a few decades of feminism, it’s become clearer that the best way to find out what women want is… to ask them.

Sex and Sensibility
Edited By Liza Donelly
Hachette/Twelve, April 2008, $22.99

Donelly is a noted single-panel cartoonist and the author of Funny Ladies, a history of female cartoonists for The New Yorker. (She also teaches at my alma mater, Vassar College, which instantly inclines me to consider her a world-class expert on whatever she wants to be – we Vassarites have to stick together.)

Donelly collected nine of her colleagues – mostly single-panel magazine cartoonists, with a couple of editorial cartoonists for spice – and asked them to contribute cartoons on women, men, sex, relationships – that whole area. Two hundred cartoons later, [[[Sex and Sensibility]]] emerged. It’s divided into several thematic sections — Sex, Sensibility, Women, Lunacy, and Modern Love — and each cartoonist provided an essay about herself and her work, which are sprinkled throughout.

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Demons of Sherwood: One Arrow

Robin has to make a big decision in today’s brand-new episode of Demons of Sherwood, by Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell. Will he take the keg? Or will he go faster? And what’s with the arrow?

Credits: Bo Hampton (Artist), Bo Hampton (Colorist), Bo Hampton (Letterer), Bo Hampton (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)

More: Demons of Sherwood

 

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Wizard Entertainment HQ For Sale: Comics Not Included

To be filed under "Talk Amongst Yourselves," we were recently sent a link to a Century 21 ad for a property located in Congers, NY, that piqued our interest. Apparently, the office of Wizard Entertainment, publisher of Wizard Magazine, is being shopped around for potential buyers.

According to the ad, the owners of the property (Wizard Entertainment) are looking for $4 million in exchange for the 35,000 square-foot property. Although we’re not sure what to infer about this aspect of the posting:

Owner would prefer to deliver building vacant but would be agreeable to a lease back 60-100% of office/warehous [sic] space.

When asked for comment on the posting, a representative of Wizard identified only as "Ed" said that the publisher was simply "checking our business options."

Additionally, when asked about the company’s plans should the building find a new owner, the Wizard representative responded, "We may not go anywhere. We may sell the building and stay as a tenant. We may sell the building and move across the street."

Neither Century 21 nor representatives at Wizard would offer any further comment on the sale or its implications for the publisher.

What we really want to know, though, is whether the pricetag includes that warehouse full of comics seen in the ad. Maybe there are a few good issues of Captain America hidden in there.

Happy Birthday: Chemical King

Most members of the Legion of Super-Heroes have the same powers as the rest of their people, but some are unique. Condo Arlik was one of the latter. The people on Phlon had no innate powers, but Condo was born with the ability to alter the speed of chemical reactions, causing them to happen as quickly or as slowly as he wants.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t control his power, and so from birth Condo was isolated to protect others. He was also taught chemistry right away, in an attempt to help him gain control. Even so, it was not until Lyle Norg (Invisible Kid) stepped in that Condo, by then a teenager, was able to interact normally with others.

With Lyle’s help Condo learned to finally control his powers, and he immediately applied to and was accepted into the Legion Academy.

Condo, known now as Chemical King, was an excellent student and while still there, was asked to infiltrate the Legion of Super-Villains, since as a trainee he was unknown to them. He and his classmate Timber Wolf were successful in their mission and afterward graduated to full Legionnaire status. Sadly, Chemical King became depressed after Lyle died, and a short while later Condo sacrificed himself to prevent World War VII. A commemorative statue of him stands in the Legion’s Hall of Dead Legionnaires.

Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #2 – Hot Prophecies

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we’re all big fans here at ComicMix, we’ve decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, we’ll have our best Who-philes go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the "sonic screwdriver" equivalent might be) and call out all of the continuity checks, names dropped and storyline hints we can find to keep in mind for future episodes. We’ll post our analysis each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before reading our review.

Missed a week? Readers can view past "Doctor Who in Review" features via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, we’re going to assume readers have already watched the episode when we put fingers to keyboard and come up with our roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #2: "The Fires of Pompeii" (more…)

Update: ‘Iron Man 2’ Likely Thanks to Box Office Reports

Following up on the previous story that Iron Man placed 14th in the "highest grossing opening day," reports are now coming in that Marvel Studios’ first production brought in an estimated $104 million since Thursday here in the states and an estimated $96 million overseas.

This ranks Iron Man as the 10th highest grossing film on opening weekend, and easily the highest-grossing film for 2008 thus far. The film also produced the fourth highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a superhero movie.

This will no doubt provide the go-ahead for the proposed sequel, getting Robert Downey Jr. back into the suit in around five months for an expected May 2010 release.

We’ll be tracking the box office numbers for all of the big comics-related films this summer, so check back here at ComicMix for more to come!

 

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