Of Comic Books, Cartoons, and Fanboys...

  The people who read this blog have a connection to me and who I am.  We are kindred spirits.  Our passions for technology are apparent not just in products we own but the things we read about.  For those of you, I say thanks.  Now you can stop reading right here, because this next little bit won't be about technology, but another passion of mine: Comic books.  WAIT!!  No!!!  Come back!

  Man, those guys ran pretty fast!  For those of you still here, I want to thank you.  You read my rambling thoughts, and this pleases me.  So some comic book news has come out in the past day or so, and I don't know how to feel about it.  They just released the first picture of Spider-Man from the new movie, and I am torn on how to feel about it.  "What new movie?  Another Tobey Maguire film?"  No, because apparently they felt that nobody could buy 35 year old actor playing a teenager.  Who knew?!  The new actor is a guy by the name of Andrew Garfield, who you might know from such roles as "Random passerby #3", or "Guy with odd hair in background".  I don't know anything about him, haven't seen him in any films, and this is a good thing.
  In 1978 a little movie featuring a virtually unknown actor came out, and in 143 minutes it managed to change the landscape of cinema forever.  The actor was named Christopher Reeve, and the role and title of the film was Superman.  The beauty of casting Christopher Reeve in the role was that he had the right look, the right ability, and was unknown, so you couldn't compare his work as Superman to his work in any other films.  Sure, there were other actors considered, from Warren Beatty to Robert Redford, but something about Christopher Reeve managed to keep the producers coming back to him.  The movie went on to create the modern superhero film, and in doing that it set the bar high.
  Few films have been able to do as well in tone and visuals as Superman did.  Superman II (Kneel Before Zod!), Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, X-Men and X-Men 2.  Did you notice an odd pattern there? That's right, I skipped straight from 1980 to 2000 because there was little, if anything, worth noticing in that gap.  Then Hollywood found a new love of comic books, which in turn fueled their love of money, and it was a marriage that we haven't looked back from.
  The problem is that for every Punisher, we get a Punisher: War Zone.  Reboots are incredibly popular, because innovation comes often in the form of retreading old ideas into new products.  Christopher Reeve passed away?  Let's cast Brandon Routh!  Couldn't make any more money from Bill Bixby/Lou Ferigno Hulk?  How about casting Eric Bana/Edward Norton/Mark Ruffalo! (Yes, that means in a span of a few years they will most likely recast the Banner actor with another incredibly talented actor!) So here we are, with a full reboot of Spider-Man, because that's what studios do!  And with that reboot, we go from a Spider-Man costume that was absolutely faithful to the comic books, to one that is...different?  You decide.

   It feels like they let Peter Parker run loose on the set of Project Runway, and this is the result.  Is this something that a high school kid could conceive?  Possibly?  Is it something that he would make?  Hardly, but reality and Comic books don't meet that often, and that's not a bad thing, until it is.  I've seen a few other pictures of the suit, and each time I just feel betrayal.  This may be their Spider-Man, but it isn't mine.  I just hope that the movie does a good enough job of moving me to want to invest in the character and lets me overlook this suit.  Who know, perhaps this is all an incredibly elaborate prank, and 2 minutes into the opening credits the hidden cameras will pop out simultaneously in theaters worldwide and yell "GOTCHA!"
   The other interesting news this week is that one of my favorite cartoons from childhood is being brought back.  Thunder.  Thunder!  Thunder!!  THUNDERCATS!! HO!!! Man, am I jazzed about this!  My son will have a chance to invest a little bit of time into a cartoon about anthromorphic cats who use swords and whips to fight ancient mummies and mutant frogs and jackals!  Okay, at first glance this may not sound like the ideal cartoon for anyone to watch, but people who grew up with the cartoon will be greatly appreciative of the opportunity for thier kids to watch the new version, which will be on Cartoon Network.  These are the new Thundercats Toys!
  It has always been hard for me to explain to people why I am such a fan of comic books, but my family has a story that they love to tell that I think explains it a little better.  When I was a kid, probably 3 or 4, I watched Superman so many times that I actually broke the VHS.  I watched it 4 or 5 times in one day, and it just gave up and died!  That is insane, but at the same time, as soon as I had a chance to buy Superman on DVD it was a part of my collection.  My wife rolls her eyes when it comes to that movie, because it can still capture my imagination in ways that most other movies could only hope to do it.  My son is the same way.  You can put some things on and they don't exist, but when the first strains of the John Williams scores hit the screen he is all business.  The movie has managed to captivate the next generation of my family, as it has done the world over ever since its release. 
  The loss of Christopher Reeve rocked an entire community of comic book fans, but reached further, and America, who had followed his story and struggle to overcome his paralysis, felt it as well.  There will never be another Christopher Reeve, but his image, his Clark Kent, his Superman, live on through the wonder of modern technology.  Why am I a fanboy?  Why do I love comic books?  Because in 1978, a film was made that made me believe that a man could fly.  Lets hope that a new generation of films, comic books, cartoons can enable someone, somewhere to feel that same wide-eyed wonderment as I did.