Friday, March 03, 2006
V-day is coming!
No folks, I am not talking about Valentine's day. I know its come and gone, and even if its not, I would not be too thrilled about that day. I am not very excited about having "specific" days where we acknowledge our loved ones (like fathers day, mothers day, etc.). I think they are all gimmicks, but perhaps that rant is a topic for another post.
The thing I am excited about is the movie V for Vendetta, which is due to be released this month (day of the 17th I think). This movie is an adaptation of the comic book by the same name by one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) comic-book writers of all time, Alan Moore. Its fascinating to see how the flavor of comics (or "graphic novels" as they are called now), has changed to be more adult-oriented, thereby competing with serious fiction. In fact, from what I have read, a lot of comic-book stories are equally compelling and give us fodder for thought. Plus they have pictures :)
I re-discovered my love of comics after a long hiatus. I used to be a voracious reader of superhero comics during my teens (superman, batman, spiderman) and somehow that habit fell by the wayside. But a few months back, I read some discussions on the internet about how the new "Batman Begins" movie depicts a new Batman, more in tune with the modern Batman comics than the earlier ones. This further led to discussion on whether there would be a movie of what many comic book enthusiasts agreed to be the greatest batman novel ever - The Dark Knight Returns. If you are a batman fan and if you haven't read the book, stop reading this immediately and go get it. Its a phenomenal piece of work by Frank Miller (writer of the "sin city" novels) who wrote the storyline and also did the artwork. From then on, I started my journey into the comic-book world yet again, and am uncovering absolutely brilliant works that have been published in the last 10-20 years. The reason for the brilliance is to a large part attributed to Alan Moore.
So, if this post has sparked an interest in you, make sure to read the comic "V for Vendetta" before you see the movie. This is because, almost always, any movie adapted from a comic book is either worse than or only as good as the book. I haven't heard of a case where the movie was better. And to quote an example, the "league of extraordinary gentlemen" movie adapted from the comic book (yet another classic by Alan Moore), was nowhere as brilliant. V for Vendetta, from the trailer however, seems to be promising.
The thing I am excited about is the movie V for Vendetta, which is due to be released this month (day of the 17th I think). This movie is an adaptation of the comic book by the same name by one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) comic-book writers of all time, Alan Moore. Its fascinating to see how the flavor of comics (or "graphic novels" as they are called now), has changed to be more adult-oriented, thereby competing with serious fiction. In fact, from what I have read, a lot of comic-book stories are equally compelling and give us fodder for thought. Plus they have pictures :)
I re-discovered my love of comics after a long hiatus. I used to be a voracious reader of superhero comics during my teens (superman, batman, spiderman) and somehow that habit fell by the wayside. But a few months back, I read some discussions on the internet about how the new "Batman Begins" movie depicts a new Batman, more in tune with the modern Batman comics than the earlier ones. This further led to discussion on whether there would be a movie of what many comic book enthusiasts agreed to be the greatest batman novel ever - The Dark Knight Returns. If you are a batman fan and if you haven't read the book, stop reading this immediately and go get it. Its a phenomenal piece of work by Frank Miller (writer of the "sin city" novels) who wrote the storyline and also did the artwork. From then on, I started my journey into the comic-book world yet again, and am uncovering absolutely brilliant works that have been published in the last 10-20 years. The reason for the brilliance is to a large part attributed to Alan Moore.
So, if this post has sparked an interest in you, make sure to read the comic "V for Vendetta" before you see the movie. This is because, almost always, any movie adapted from a comic book is either worse than or only as good as the book. I haven't heard of a case where the movie was better. And to quote an example, the "league of extraordinary gentlemen" movie adapted from the comic book (yet another classic by Alan Moore), was nowhere as brilliant. V for Vendetta, from the trailer however, seems to be promising.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]