beyond the cape and cowl

here is the link to msn's top ten best alternative comic book heroes...

here

would like to know how you feel about them..

#10 The Mask - Not a big fan of this one. Too over the top for me....

#9 Heavy Metal - Classic stuff, It hhas that whole 70s campyness to it, but I like it just the same, especially the creepy airplane story.

#8 Men in Black - I can do this one. Has some great moments, and some good writing.

#7 Barbarella - Certainly tounge in cheek, and the nostalgia plays into this one as well...

#6 The Rocketeer - Haven't seen this one.

#5 From Hell - I really like this one, for some reason. It seems not many folk like it. Love the production design. Heather Graham is somewhat miscast here as well, and come across as an anachronism (a destitute prostitute with perfect teeth?) Regardless, I own this, and watch it from time to time.

#4 Hellboy - Another one I am a big fan of. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and I think Perlman is great. Ya, so the villians are kind of old hat, who cares.

#3 Road to Perdition - Another I need to see.

#2 Ghost World - And yet another I need to see....

#1 American Splendor - And yet ANOTHER I have yet to see....


Cool thread Sue! Hopefully some others pipe in on this one!

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Until Sin City was released, yes, American Splendor was the best movie adpted from a non-super hero comic book. Ghost World is good too, but the movie and Dan Clowes books for that matter are simply not in the same class as Harvey Pekar.

Road to Perdition is not a great movie (in fact, I think it's pretty weak), and it's a damn sad butchering of the graphic novel. Because so few non-super hero projects have been made into movies I guess it'd have to be on the list, but I'd slot it way down in the bottom couple.

Hellboy is a super hero, so I'm not sure what they were smoking when they put it on the list.

From Hell wasn't quite as horrible a travesty as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but it's not anywhere near good either. Very disappointing effort. Hopefully V for Vendetta will fare better, but after From Hell, LXG and Constantine, it don't kook good for Alan Moore being translated properly to the big screen.

The Rocketeer is underrated and a fun ride. Though I'm not sure why they think he isn't a super hero either?

Barbarella is great campy Sci-Fi fun if helplessly dated, and Men in Black is a terrific flick that should have been much, much higher on their list.

Heavy Metal is OK, but this one could have been more than it is, even back in 1981. That they included this instead of Akira just shows their ignorance.

The Mask is pretty good, but it was a pretty thin idea as a comic book, and transferring it to the big screen showed that. But they certainly captured the over-the-top Tex Avery spirit of the thing. Too bad it couldn't have been a little darker and had a stronger final act.

Dick Tracy should have been way up on that list and not just an honorable mention. It's damn good, and the concept of bringing it to life two dimensionally with the same color pallate was genius. For my money I like Dick Tracy a heck of a lot more than either of Raimi's Spider-Man flicks or Singer's X-Mens.

Besides Akira, the big one missing is John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982) - the first movie, not that piece of ***** sequel. Obviously Sin City will now and forever be at the very top of all such lists, and I'm also curious to see what David Cronenberg does with A History of Violence, which will be released this Fall. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt and Ed Harris, and is adapted from the Vertigo graphic novel of the same name by John Wagner.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Did we see the same movie? Road to Perdition, as a film, is near flawless. The writing and directing were top-notch, the acting was superb (as well should be expected from Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, and Jude Law), and the sheer design, editing, and cinematography of the film is gorgeous. I haven't read the graphic novel, so I can't judge accuracy; but this film is more than solid.

That's not entirely true, at least in the comics. Mignola's Hellboy is more of an investigator in print (not that he still doesn't fight 5-story monsters from time to time). The film made him out to be more of a superhero, for whatever reason. But I see what you mean.

Disagreed. Not that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen wasn't awful, but From Hell did more than a decent job of delivering a creepy film about Jack the Ripper. While it wasn't completely accurate with regard to the Alan Moore graphic novel (considering that the novel is over 570 pages long), it still retained what it needed to, displayed some decent acting and design, and was a fun watch.

Agreed, and you can say the same thing about Watchmen.

I wouldn't say that for sure. I'm curious to see how the film will be treated. While it's near perfect in the accuracy department, I think that might hinder its staying power with general audiences, and even most film critics. Suffice it to say, Sin City feels like a graphic novel, but does not feel like a film. Frank Miller's pacing does not translate well as a conventional film, admittedly. Being the huge fan of Miller's "Sin City" titles that I am (as well as Robert Rodriguez' complete works), even I found Sin City somewhat difficult to watch. I'm fairly open to cutting edge films, but this one hits way out in left field. Not that that's a bad thing, but I think - for more conventional audiences and critics - Sin City is going to need a little more consideration before it will really be appreciated for what it is.

In a sense, it's much like an Andy Warhol being released in the time of the Renaissance.

#10 The Mask - my husband loves this film...i love milo the dog

#9 Heavy Metal - i did like this one...

#8 Men in Black - i liked this one as well..much better than the 2nd

#7 Barbarella - never actually saw all of it...

#6 The Rocketeer - cute overlooked disney film...

#5 From Hell - saw bits and pieces...i did try tho...one day...

#4 Hellboy - i loved this film....ron perlman has the best lines...

#3 Road to Perdition - good adaptation of graphic novel to film...paul newman a standout

#2 Ghost World - haven't seen this one yet

#1 American Splendor - and another i haven't seen yet

Just got back from seeing the magnificent Sin City, and am now calling about to see who else I can con into seeing it with me. Although my girlfriend loiked it a great deal, she is not ready to go out and see it again...right now

I do think it deserves the top slot on my comic film list....

Cheers

Oh, and I agree Conan the Barbarian should be on this list instead of Hellboy, and up much higher


"Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you! "