so...

Let's give credit where credits are rolling.

Comic book movies are no longer an oddity. They are now a firm part of the cinematic firmament. Some of the best known and popular films of the past quarter century are based on comic icons. From Superman to Batman to X-Men to Spider-Man, comics have left their mark on the silver screen. And I'm all for this. I love comics, and seeing them brought to the big screen was a dream of mine from the early days.

So, given that the films themselves are a reality--and a successful one at that--I think that I'm going to focus my attention on the source material. Well, more specifically, the source company. The publishers that are responsible for the initial act of putting these characters on bookshelves.

Dark Horse has done an admirable job with their product. Most people remember The Mask and Hellboy, and Sin City and the upcoming 300 look great, so they get a passing grade. Image has done Spawn...and that's all I can think of at the moment. Not a great film, but not enough to get a failing grade.

But they aren't who I really want to talk about. I want to talk about the big boys.

Marvel. They have done an exceptional job at getting their product on the big screen--from a particular point of view. They have put out such a plethora of product--with Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man 3 on the horizon--that you've got plenty to choose from. Spider-Man has been on twice, Daredevil once with an Elektra spin-off, X-Men three times, Fantastic Four once, Blade three times, Howard the Duck, and even Man-Thing got a movie that never made it to the big screen, despite intentions. Oh, and let's not forget Men In Black (even though it didn't start there, they own it now). Next year, they've got Iron Man ready to be a big-budget film. And there are tons of options out there that have a decent shot of getting made, ranging from Power Man to Captain America to Nick Fury.

Now let's look at DC. As much as I like DC comics and characters, I have loved their movies. Three of the five Superman films were great. Two of the Batman films were fabulous. Constantine is severely underrated, and very entertaining. I'm looking forward to Stardust this summer. Catwoman was...well, let's ignore that one. And...that's it, as far as I recall. My problem with DC is that they haven't really had a good showing in the quantity department. They have such a rich history of characters that to have such a small number of them make it to the movie theatre is truly disappointing? Oh sure, they have ANOTHER Batman film coming out next year. And ANOTHER Superman film in the works, but what else? Wonder Woman might get off the ground, but it's taking forever to come together (though I feel that Joss Whedon would do the character justice), but there is little beyond that. And let us not forget that DC is the subsidiary of a company that makes movies, Time/Warner. Marvel has had to go out of house to get it done. Who knows? Maybe that has been their strength. Maybe because DC has been doing everything in-house, they haven't had the time or budget to get it done. But what a shame. Green Lantern, The Flash, Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Hawkman...all of these are just waiting for a chance at a movie. And what's sad is that they probably aren't going to make it.

Sadly, that puts Marvel ahead of DC in my mind. They have been willing--not always succesfully--to take the risk on characters and put them on the screen. Who would have thought that there was going to be a Ghost Rider movie? Was there really a demand for that? No, but that didn't stop them from making it. And it might be good. The trailer looks decent, and I know that my wife and I will be there to check it out. And then we'll see Spider-Man. And then Fantastic Four. And that's just this year. The only offering we can expect from DC this year is Stardust, and let's be honest, that's a Neil Gaiman product, not a DC product.

So I put DC on the report. They have something to answer for in my mind, because they have kept things from me that I want to see. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one...

Next time, though, we'll talk about the small screen, and who's done the good job there.