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Poll Wednesday: Comics and Movies

Posted by admin on 11.19.2008 at 12:29 pm

In honor of the upcoming movie release of the (awesome) graphic novel: Watchmen, our poll today is, can the movie ever stand up to the comic?

Some quotes from a story about Watchmen writer Alan Moore to help you think about it: “Moore said he has never watched any of the film adaptations of his comics creations (which have included “V for Vendetta,” “From Hell,” “Constantine” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen“) and that he believes “Watchmen” is “inherently unfilmable.” He also rues the effect of Hollywood’s siren call on the contemporary comics scene.

“There are three or four companies now that exist for the sole purpose of creating not comics, but storyboards for films. It may be true that the only reason the comic book industry now exists is for this purpose, to create characters for movies, board games and other types of merchandise. Comics are just a sort of pumpkin patch growing franchises that might be profitable for the ailing movie industry.”

Granted, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was a positively awful film, but V for Vendetta was pretty sweet, and I have a soft spot for the original Spiderman as well.  So, can it work?

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Antiquarian Ramblings: The Obsession

Posted by Rudy on 11.19.2008 at 12:03 pm

This is how it all starts. The obsession.

Someone e-mails customer service. It’s an ARC book, featuring a Picasso lithograph. The email is forwarded to me, as I respond to ARC emails. Because I’m nosy, I look up the person making the enquiry. He is an art dealer in Beverly Hills. This is a very expensive book. That means a phone call.

I’m an infant in the rare book world, still happily grabbing at my toes and making delighted gurgly sounds when I find something cool. When I call the dealer about the book, I expect to learn more about the book than I will be able to tell him. I answered his questions; he suffered through my painful French as I read through the publishing information. I sent him a photograph. He bought the book. He also took the time to teach me why this book was important, what to look for in this kind of art book, and what resources would be helpful for the future.

So. . .
Being an infant, I’m insatiably curious. Read more…

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