07-06-2004, 06:36 PM
Thanks Chanty 
by the by, I found this great little article over on Newsday.com which sums up my feeling towards a well made comic book movie perfectly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
âSpider-Man 2â recalls comic book nirvana
Posted July 6, 2004
By Raymond J. Keating
Why has "Spider-Man 2" been such a wild box office success, with many critics calling it the best comic-book movie ever made? As I left the movie theater after midnight Thursday night, the answer struck me. I felt, just a bit, like a kid again.
Some of my most powerful memories of growing up on Long Island revolve around superhero comic books. I can still remember the fantastic anticipation while peddling my bicycle with friends to 7-Eleven to buy the latest issues of "Captain America," "The Avengers," "Spider-Man" and others. The excitement was just too much to ride back home without first reading at least a few pages while sitting on the curb. Turning the pages with the color and action almost jumping out remains vivid.
Just as gratifying was unearthing back issues at the nearby flea market. It was like we were young archaeologists, catching up on what had happened earlier in the universes of Marvel and DC comics.
As will be the case with kids, it sometimes became an all-consuming passion. I've thought often over the years about that unique time when true innocence combined with utter joy.
For good measure, those comic book tales were not written down to children. They certainly, and fortunately, did not have inappropriate adult themes, but they weren't simplistic either. Marvel Comics particularly specialized in heroes who were less than perfect, along with some villains whose origins perhaps generated small sympathy. But the line between good and evil was unmistakable. Virtues like responsibility, honor, courage, self-sacrifice, friendship, loyalty and love were celebrated. At that time in the 1970s, my parents did not need to worry about the comic books I was reading. (Unfortunately, the same cannot be said today.)
To this day, I'll just as enthusiastically engage in a debate over which comic books were better, Marvel or DC (it was Marvel, of course), as I will over politics, religion or economics.
Spidey and other heroes also sparked my lifelong love of reading, and probably were big reasons why I enjoy rummaging around bookstores today looking for those special finds. But, even when that just-right book is discovered, it never approaches the euphoria I felt when once spotting that new issue of "The Fantastic Four," for example, on the spin rack at the convenience store those many years ago.
"Spider-Man 2," though, recaptured some of that youthful glee. The film offers the full comic book package, and then takes it to dazzling heights through marvelous special effects. Just like in the "Spider-Man" comics, there is Peter Parker struggling to balance his crime fighting with his job, school, friends and love life. Newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson is still outrageous. And Doctor Octopus, like any good comic book villain, is driven mad by a science experiment gone awry. While Peter struggles over being Spider-Man, this movie doesn't get too brooding and dark. To the contrary, it combines high adventure, solid storytelling and some laugh-out- loud humor.
After all, comic books are supposed to be fun. Above all else, "Spider-Man 2" is a fun film. I left the theater with a spark of the joy I felt growing up with comic books. I was swept away, and loved every minute of it.
And just like the comic books of my childhood, questions from the first "Spider-Man" movie were answered, with new ones left hanging for the next time. But, as a kid, I only had to wait until next month to be satisfied. The next "Spider-Man" movie isn't due until 2007. I have far greater patience today, but three years - ugh!
At one point in "Spider-Man 2," Aunt May said she threw away Peter Parker's comic books, which no doubt generated sympathy in the audience. However, while my baseball cards got away, I was not so foolish with my comic books. They remain tucked away in boxes in a closet. "Spider-Man 2" reminded me why I held on to them for all of these years.
by the by, I found this great little article over on Newsday.com which sums up my feeling towards a well made comic book movie perfectly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
âSpider-Man 2â recalls comic book nirvana
Posted July 6, 2004
By Raymond J. Keating
Why has "Spider-Man 2" been such a wild box office success, with many critics calling it the best comic-book movie ever made? As I left the movie theater after midnight Thursday night, the answer struck me. I felt, just a bit, like a kid again.
Some of my most powerful memories of growing up on Long Island revolve around superhero comic books. I can still remember the fantastic anticipation while peddling my bicycle with friends to 7-Eleven to buy the latest issues of "Captain America," "The Avengers," "Spider-Man" and others. The excitement was just too much to ride back home without first reading at least a few pages while sitting on the curb. Turning the pages with the color and action almost jumping out remains vivid.
Just as gratifying was unearthing back issues at the nearby flea market. It was like we were young archaeologists, catching up on what had happened earlier in the universes of Marvel and DC comics.
As will be the case with kids, it sometimes became an all-consuming passion. I've thought often over the years about that unique time when true innocence combined with utter joy.
For good measure, those comic book tales were not written down to children. They certainly, and fortunately, did not have inappropriate adult themes, but they weren't simplistic either. Marvel Comics particularly specialized in heroes who were less than perfect, along with some villains whose origins perhaps generated small sympathy. But the line between good and evil was unmistakable. Virtues like responsibility, honor, courage, self-sacrifice, friendship, loyalty and love were celebrated. At that time in the 1970s, my parents did not need to worry about the comic books I was reading. (Unfortunately, the same cannot be said today.)
To this day, I'll just as enthusiastically engage in a debate over which comic books were better, Marvel or DC (it was Marvel, of course), as I will over politics, religion or economics.
Spidey and other heroes also sparked my lifelong love of reading, and probably were big reasons why I enjoy rummaging around bookstores today looking for those special finds. But, even when that just-right book is discovered, it never approaches the euphoria I felt when once spotting that new issue of "The Fantastic Four," for example, on the spin rack at the convenience store those many years ago.
"Spider-Man 2," though, recaptured some of that youthful glee. The film offers the full comic book package, and then takes it to dazzling heights through marvelous special effects. Just like in the "Spider-Man" comics, there is Peter Parker struggling to balance his crime fighting with his job, school, friends and love life. Newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson is still outrageous. And Doctor Octopus, like any good comic book villain, is driven mad by a science experiment gone awry. While Peter struggles over being Spider-Man, this movie doesn't get too brooding and dark. To the contrary, it combines high adventure, solid storytelling and some laugh-out- loud humor.
After all, comic books are supposed to be fun. Above all else, "Spider-Man 2" is a fun film. I left the theater with a spark of the joy I felt growing up with comic books. I was swept away, and loved every minute of it.
And just like the comic books of my childhood, questions from the first "Spider-Man" movie were answered, with new ones left hanging for the next time. But, as a kid, I only had to wait until next month to be satisfied. The next "Spider-Man" movie isn't due until 2007. I have far greater patience today, but three years - ugh!
At one point in "Spider-Man 2," Aunt May said she threw away Peter Parker's comic books, which no doubt generated sympathy in the audience. However, while my baseball cards got away, I was not so foolish with my comic books. They remain tucked away in boxes in a closet. "Spider-Man 2" reminded me why I held on to them for all of these years.
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