And My Problem With The Oscars Is....

Me. Or rather, the fact that I don't go to movies very much and so there is little going on at the Oscars to draw me in. So I don't watch. In fact, the only way I know what happened is to read about it or hear about it the next day.

In the past, I'd gotten a little upset about "slights" at the Oscars. I think of Annie Hall/Star Wars and Forest Gump/Shawshank Redemption/Pulp Fiction right off the bat. These are rare cases where I had actually seen all of the films involved.

Then in more recent years, it would be a good year if I'd seen two of the films up for best picture. Then I was down to one. And more often than not now, it's down to zero.

Which brings me to Dark Knight and Iron Man. Neither of which were nominated for any truly significant awards. Of course, Heath Ledger won best supporting actor, but I feel that this award was won more for Ledger's sake and the tragic situation of his dying, than his appearance in Dark Knight. Nay, I'd put forth that he won this award despite having been in Dark Knight.

I'd heard before I'd seen the film that Ledger was brilliant. And I agree. It was a masterful performance. And it's true that the film made tons of money worldwide. That doesn't necessarily translate to Oscar consideration.

If it did, Spider-Man would have won in 2002. And every Harry Potter film would also have won. I think that the Academy would rather not have the Oscars than turn their Dog Show over to these vile ruffian action/costumed adventurer films.

Expect the same thing to apply to Watchmen, no matter how good it is or how much money it makes. It will not be nominated for best film, best screenplay, best actor or any award worthy of note.

And that's fine. Comic books no longer need validation from outside sources. Just because Hollywood is making good movies out of comics, doesn't mean that comics are any more or less valid as an art form.

As a matter of fact, the overall horrendous and forgettable output of comic book films prior to Spider-Man tells me that Hollywood knew (or should have known) that they had some great potential material and a built-in audience. All they had to do was not screw it up.

They got it right with Superman, Superman II, The Rocketeer and The Crow. And I am sure there are few others I am forgetting, but for the most part...the years from 1978 to 2002 are pretty freakin' grim when it comes to comic book movies.

But that wasn't what they did. Comic books were for kids, so we're going to take the basic ideas and make movies that adults would want to see. This is the impression that I got, anyway. And the result was "movies that suck ass." And I am being kind.

Batman Returns was so bad, it tainted my opinion of Batman and made me ignore the next two Batman films. All through the 90s, anytime I heard a rumor that they were going to make a comic-book based movie, I hoped that it would never come to fruition. It almost seemed like they were only making (or trying to make) the movies to thumb their nose at comic books. They didn't take them seriously, so they could not have made good movies.

Now they can. There are fans making movies, and the studios are on board because of the money that flows in. People go to these movies and really enjoy them. They get big names for the comic book movies. And still, there is very little hint at the Oscars that they even exist.

And that's fine with me. If Star Wars and Shawshank didn't get an award, maybe it's proper that Spider-Man, Dark Knight and Iron Man didn't as well. I'll be happy as long as they make good movies.

I'd like for the films based on comics to be as memorable (or at least as respectful) as possible of the comics I have read and enjoyed. That's not asking for too much, is it?

"Essential" Comic Books

I am a big fan of the Essentials books that Marvel has been putting out. I mean, what's not to like? All the classic Marvel comics, in 25-or-so issue bunches, for less than $20. It's not even the cost that is the most appealing thing. It's having all of the issues, in order, with none missing...all in one place.

Marvel Masterworks were cool beyond compare - hardback, full color, nice paper. But the two main drawbacks, in my mind, were the cost ($39.99 and then $49.99) and the fact that they only contained 10 issues at a clip. It wasn't a deal-breaker by any stretch. I have owned more than my share. They looked good on the bookshelf. And despite the kinda-high price point, it is still cheaper than buying the original issues.

Of course, the things that I really liked about the Masterworks are drawbacks in the Essentials series. They're black-and-white, softcover and use normal, newsprint-y type paper. But these are drawbacks that I can easily accept. The material contained therein more than makes up for any issues I could possibly have.

And the best part, for me, about both Masterworks and Essentials is that I don't have to worry about getting tape caught on the brittle original issues. It's great to have the originals, but it got to a point where I obsessed over the condition so much, it wasn't enjoyable to read the comics anymore. I'd rather not be faced with the prospect of opening a bag and taking a piece of a cover off with an errant piece of tape.

DC has also released their old comics in the Showcase books (I think that's what they're called). but I am not as enamored of these books as I am of the Essentials books. This is really only due to the fact that I am not really a big fan of the overall DC comic book universe prior to the 70s.

My ideal would be to have DC reprint the late 60s/early 70s Batman and Detective comics, the Neal Adams Strange Adventures issues along with his Deadman issues and the Superman run by Martin Pasko that covered issues 300-330. There are other things I'd like to see DC reprint, but these would all be at the top of my list.

My only complaint with Marvel is that they are not making them fast enough. The latest Spider-Man volume that I know of, volume 8, only takes us up to issue 185. Where's volume 9? I want to see the issues up to 210....any beyond!

And if Marvel is interested, I'll tell them what comics they should reprint next. Anybody other than me want to see the 19 issues of Human Fly reprinted?