Archive for June, 2006
23 items.
A more in-depth post to come later this morning. But for now, I’m keepin’ it short and sweet.
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So, as previously stated, today is the big day. The release of Superman Returns. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited. The more and more the hype builds around the movie, the more I’m ready to see it.
Yes, I’ve seen the reviews that say it’s bloated at 2+ hours and that there’s too much Clark Kent and not enough Superman, but I don’t care. Even if it lets me down, just as I suggest in the comic, it’s a good time to be alive.
For years and years, comic book fans got the shaft when it came to reinterpretation of their favorite characters. Looking at yesterday’s confluence of events – where Superman Returns would be in theaters and the trailer for Spider-Man 3 appeared online – I recognized the amazing jump in quality we’ve experienced with these franchises in less than 10 years. If you’re a geek, it’s incredibly validating because you feel like other mediums are finally taking you seriously. Comics aren’t just kids stuff anymore. Their modern fables for all of us.
And that’s an important excuse for me to pull out of my hat whenever Cami asks me how much I spent on comics this week!
I don’t want to get too much into discussing Spider-Man 3. Otherwise I think I’m going to be all over the map with my commentary. So, for the next few days, I’m all about Superman Returns. Expect Friday’s comic to carry the narrative thread.
I probably won’t see the movie until Saturday – which sucks. Life just gets in the way sometimes, you know? But I’m not stressing. I’m sure I’ll see it two or three more times before the end of the blockbuster season.
I’m just… I’m just happy right now. Does that make sense?
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I’m trying to decide if this is the most controversial comic I’ve ever done or not. Some people really got up in arms about the Fahrenheit 9/11 comic from a while back, but I think this one may have trumped it. People tend to take religion pretty seriously.
Well, hopefully you all know how to take a joke and realize that I’m not implying Jesus was gay or anything like that. I’m just having fun with all of the ridiculous comparisons the media has been making to Superman now that Superman Returns is in theaters.
By in large, you hear more about the gay thing and the Christ thing more than the immigrant thing – but it all applies. Intrinsically, that’s the appeal of Superman. He’s the EVERYman. As a superhero, since he can DO anything, so he can BE everything to everyone. The fact that only certain facets of what Superman can potentially represent are being talked up in the media in order to stir up controversy I think is really lame.
After all, for every gay man living in the closet who identifies with Clark Kent and the dual life he leads, there is a 5 year-old kid out there who is just as enamored with The Man of Steel for the amazing feats of strength he performs – wishing someday he could grow up to be like him. I know that was certainly the case for me when I was growing up.
But no one talks about the aspirational qualities of Superman. It’s far more interesting to point out the gay thing or the religion thing or the immigrant thing because those are all hot-button topics in the “real world.” Was anyone talking about this kind of stuff when the original Superman movie came out back in 1978? Or even when he came back to television in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman? Of course not.
You don’t need to associate the latest controversy de-jour to make Superman relevant. He’s always been relevant and always will be all on his own.
I know a lot of you have already seen Superman Returns. I haven’t be able to make it out to the theaters since it arrived on Wednesday and it’s killing me. But Cami and I are going to see it in IMAX on Saturday afternoon and it’s going to be great. I’m chomping at the bit to see the “bulletproof eyeball” sequence on a 70 foot tall screen. I’ll tell you if the Big Blue Boy Scout flinches!
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