INTRODUCTIONKENNETH JOHNSONpage 6

OVERVIEWGARY GERANIpage 7

THE TOP 100page 8

AFTERVIEWpage 194

INDEXpage 203

LEFT: The sailor (Robin Williams) and his lady (Shelley Duvall) in Popeye. ABOVE, TOP: Durand-Durand’s ultimate weapon from Barbarella. ABOVE, RIGHT: Danger: Diabolik (John Phillip Law).

“Kenny, we’ve acquired the right to several Marvel Comics. I’m giving you the first choiceof which you’d like to do.” The person speaking was Frank Price, head of Universal TV, where I’d just had lovelysuccess creating The Bionic Woman and spinning it off into a series apart from its parent The Six Million Dollar Man.I told Frank I was flattered, but not interested in doing any comic book series with spandex and primary colors. Heimplored me to think on it.

That night I was pondering how to politely say no. But I was in the midst of reading Les Miserables that my uber-literate wife Susie had given me. I had been deeply into the world of the fugitive Jean Valjean and his obsessedpursuer, Inspector Javert. And the idea occurred to take that cue from Victor Hugo, add a bit of Robert LouisStevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and blend them into this ludicrous comic called The Incredible Hulk to create aseries rooted in the classic Greek tragic tone of a hero undone by his own hubris. Frank loved the concept – and inreturn he agreed to let me make a four-hour miniseries I was eager to do based upon Sir Walter Scott’s great romanticnovel Ivanhoe set in the days of Robin Hood and King Richard.

We shook hands on the deal and in less than two weeks I had written the screenplay forThe Hulk (initially I purposely omitted Incredible) which I’d produce and direct. It was vital tome from the beginning that it be a dark and seriously adult drama about a tortured man who’dbrought down this horrible curse upon himself: he had liberated his enemy within. The serieswould be his search for a way “to control the raging spirit that dwells within him.”

For the concept to work for me it had to take place in the real world, not some comic bookuniverse. I wanted no alliterative names like Clark Kent, Lois Lane, etc. The great Stan Lee(who became my dear friend and compatriot), whose numerous creations have captured theimagination of millions over the years, was extremely generous in allowing me to changeBruce Banner to David Bruce Banner. I also pressed to change the color of Creature (whom I

never called The Hulk – only tabloid journalist Jack McGee did that. And kudos to the late Jack Colvin for makinghis character work so well). I argued that the color of rage was not green. When flushed with anger people turn red.I lost that battle.

But I held my ground when Stan suggested that when the Creature had a fight with a bear it should be a robot bear.I convinced Stan that we were asking the audience to buy that Bill Bixby metamorphosed into Lou Ferrigno and thatwas a very big buy. This wasn’t like the bionic shows, which lived in that alternate universe. Bless Stan’s heart, heunderstood. And that real-world approach – brought to life by an exceptional crew, underscored by the sensitive andstirring music of Joe Harnell – made the pilot and resulting series a success.

The contributions of Bix and Jack were of course immeasurable, as were the performances of Susan Sullivan in themovie-pilot and, down the line, Mariette Hartley in our two-hour Married movie. Mariette was so good she woundup winning the Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and the film was released as a theatrical feature in Europe,as the pilot had been.

Looking back, it was a grand, amazing and humbling experience for me personally to have created a show thatbecame so iconic, and that immortalized my line, “Don’t make me angry…You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

As for Ivanhoe, by the time I’d written the script and was ready to go Frank Price had left the studio. Universal saidsorry, but the hand that had shaken mine on the deal was no longer around to write the check.

Ah, Hollywood.

Kenneth Johnson, 2017

Comics and the movies have a lot in common. Both employ sequentialimages to tell a story or drive home a message, often doing so with distinctive, memorable charactersand quotable dialogue. Anything but subtle, comic books/strips were considered the perfect mediumfor exaggerated comedy, fantasy, and action melodrama… inexpensive fodder for kids who didn’t havethe patience or the attention span to read pulp novels. When these guilty pleasures were adapted intomovies, the productions generally reflected this second-class status. For every Skippy or Flash Gordon,there were dozens of cheapjack adventure serials and low-budget “B” programs. Later, campy self-parody seemed the only way for this fanciful material to play as mainstream entertainment.

That all changed with the coming of the Baby Boomers, who fully embraced fantasy adventure in allentertainment media. The thrilling and imaginative movies of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas soonled to an acceptance of actual comic book properties as major motion pictures. Finally, in the 21stCentury, the genre exploded beyond anyone’s expectations. A fortuitous combination of savvyfilmmakers and advanced special effects technology resulted in some of the most successful moviesever made, inspiring nothing less than a global phenomenon.

The comic book movie says a lot about who we are and the kind of world we’re living in, all wrappedup in an exciting package of unapologetic imagination. After a shaky start, this oddest of all genreshas more than earned its place in cinema history. And who knows? The best may be next to come...

Gary Gerani 2017

Gary Gerani is ascreenwriter (Pumpkinhead), graphic novelist (Bram Stoker’sDeath Ship), children’s product developer at Topps, film and TVhistorian (Fantastic Television), award-winning art director,photo editor, designer and publisher (the Fantastic Press tradepaperback book series).

The 100 movies you’reabout to read about represent my choices for the cinema’s mostsignificant live-action comic book adaptations. Ranking is asubjective party game, of course. But all of the films showcasedhere are worth experiencing, from the popular classics to way-below-the-radar obscurities.

KEY TO UNDERSTANDING

Clock: Running time Full headphone: Stereo soundtrackMonitor: Aspect ratio Half headphone: Mono soundtrack

100

Devil-worshipping high priest(your humble author) imperilscomic book heroine Vampirellain a photo intended for but neverused in a 1990’s Topps tradingcard series.

Unfunny sci-fi adventure is no feather in producer George Lucas’ cap…

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WHO MADE IT:Universal Pictures/Lucasfilm (U.S.). Director: Willard Huyck. Producers:Ian Bryce, Gloria Katz, Robert Latham Brown, George Lucas. Writers:Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, based on the comic book by Steve Gerberand Val Mayerik (Marvel). Cinematography (color): Richard H. Kline.Music: John Barry, Thomas Dolby. Starring Lea Thompson (BeverlySwitzler), Tim Robbins (Phil Blumburtt), Jeffrey Jones (Dr. WalterJenning), Chip Zien (Howard Duckowitz, voice), David Paymer (Larry),Paul Guilfoyle (Lt. Welker), Holly Robinson (K.C.).

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:Hapless Howard from Duckworld is accidentally plucked from hisuniverse and beamed to earth by a pair of well-meaning, eccentricphysicists. After rescuing and befriending a pretty young rock starnamed Beverly, Howard connects with these scientists and is on theverge of being returned to his own planet when one of them issuddenly possessed by a malevolent life form. The plucky duckuses a neutron disintegrator to obliterate the beast, and, in theprocess, destroys the machine that brought both alien beings intoour world to begin with. His hopes of returning home now dashed,a pragmatic Howard adjusts to life on Earth with his new friends.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:Howard the Duck had been on producer George Lucas’ radarsince the late 1970s. As a comic book, Steve Gerber’s oddballcreation stood out among the more conventional mainstreamsuperheroes of the day. Glib and irreverent, it offered a welcome,far-reaching sense of social satire, the character functioning inmany ways like Marvel’s web-footed equivalent of Fritz the Cat.

As a movie, Howard the Duck hedges its edgy bets and insteadindulges in an explosive, special effects-laden comedyadventure. No longer a wry and pissed-off observer of society’smoronic behavior, Howard is presented as a lovable nebbishjust trying to get home after his accidental dimensionalabduction. His relationship with sympathetic rock and rollerBeverly Switzler (played fearlessly by Lea Thompson, whowould fare much better in Back to the Future a few years later)is chaste enough for a family-friendly rating, althoughHoward’s more personal needs are occasionally addressed

(our hero’s little condom usually gets a laugh).

Ultimately, everything comes down to an apocalyptic battle with a gross alien monster, alsobrought to Earth by the same infernal machine that grabbed Howard. With possessed scientists and super weapons par t

of the mix, this noisy climax plays like a nowhere-as-funny variation of the Ghostbusters’ final stand against impossible odds.

Also key to the film’s failure is the unsatisfying realization of Mr. Duckowitz himself. Although Lucas was the master of state-of-the-artspecial effects during this period, the combination of a stiff duck suit and Chip Zien’s zany “in over his head” voice produced a Howardfew viewers wanted to spend time with.

Howard famously makes a cameo appearance at the end of Marvel’s 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy, suggesting that a future incarnationof the unstuck duck may yet transpire. This time more sophisticated CGI wizardry would obviously be employed under the guidance ofa new generation of filmmakers who “get” Gerber’s original vision and the Marvel tone in general. Unlike 1985’s haplessly cute hero,Howard may yet emerge as a cynical observer of our troubled times, even while dealing with the inevitable cosmic threats audienceshave come to demand from their comic book extravaganzas. And that would be just “ducky.”

Poster/photos: © 1986 Universal Studios/Marvel characters™

Beverly Switzler (Lea Thompson) adds a fine featheredguitarist to her rock and roll band Cherry Bomb.

UnsuspectingDr. Jenning(Jeffrey Jones)finds himselfpossessed byan evil alienwith world-d o m i n a t i o nplans.

It’s plucky duck vs. alienmonstrosity!

Howard (suit inhabited by Ed Gale and others), a self-fancied ladies’ man, prepares for a night on the town.BELOW: The heroic duck takes flight with a most reluc-tant passenger (Tim Robbins as Phil).

Weapon-wielding Howard is eventually pressed into service as an ex-traterrestrial monster-buster.

Famed stop-motion animator Phil Tippet puts some finishing touches onHoward’s third-act antagonist.

9

Solidly produced mixed genre misfire wastes a first-tier cast…

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WHO MADE IT:Universal Pictures/DreamWorks SKG (U.S.). Director: Jon Favreau.Producers: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Oci, ScottMitchell Rosenberg. Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, DamonLidelof, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, based on the comic book by ScottMitchell Rosenberg. Cinematography (color): Matthew Libatique.Music: Harry Gregson-Williams. Starring Daniel Craig (Jake Lonergan),Harrison Ford (Colonel Dolarhyde), Olivia Wilde (Ella Swenson), SamRockwell (Doc), Paul Dano (Percy Dolarhyde), Clancy Brown(Meacham), Keith Carradine (Sheriff John Taggart).

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:In 1873 Arizona, a stranger with no memory, but with a mysteriousshackle encircling one wrist, stumbles into the desert community ofAbsolution. There, he and no-nonsense town boss ColonelDolarhyde form an uneasy alliance against a mutual enemy – alienmarauders from the sky, who take many of the locals prisoner andthreaten everyone in the territory with annihilation.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:Cowboys & Aliens is more of a high concept packaged forHollywood than an adaptation of a legitimate comic book,since the 2006 Platinum Studios graphic novel it’s based onwas created only after the originalmovie project went intoturnaround. Regardless, whatcaught everyone’s attention wasthe unusual mix of wild westheroics and outer space invasion,this combination more-or-less inkeeping with audacious comicbook sensibilities.

Not a dreadful movie, Cowboys& Aliens just isn’t good enough to rise above its gimmickpremise. Both male leads have star power and acquitthemselves nicely, and director Favreau clearly knows how to

stage effective action scenes. But while the mystery structure isserviceable (Craig’s slowly lifting amnesia reveals how he received that weird gizmo

on his arm, and what manner of enemy our unlikely heroes are up against), the emotional concerns of thecharacters are stretched pretty thin over 119 long minutes. Dark photography meant to evoke the period often seems gratuitous andunnecessarily dour. When they do arrive, the titular aliens are ambitious enough but repulsively familiar… although the notion thatthey’re here to prospect for gold and lasso some two-footed livestock has ironic merit. Somewhat more interesting than the galloping

“demons” themselves is their half-submerged space vessel, a mountainous tower thatneatly blends in with the natural canyon formations around it.

Conside red a significant critical and boxoffice failure given the talent involved(this was director Favreau’s first project after Iron Man), Cowboys & Aliens has yet todevelop a discernable cult following, although its odd flavors and watchable stars mayeventually earn it one. After all, how many times have we seen both James Bond andIndiana Jones take on alien monsters?

Poster/photos: © 2011 Universal Studios