The best comic book-to-screen adaptation of 2019 was not the serviceable Avengers Endgame. It certainly wasn’t the overrated, self-congratulatory, uncredited King of Comedy remake about some Joker, nor was it the surprisingly enjoyable Spider-Man: Far From Home. It wasn’t even on the big screen at all. It was clearly HBO’s Watchmen. I had many a good reason to despise it (see crooked history of publisher's treatment of the authorial rights, and long list of horrible adaptations of Alan Moore and his stance on them), but it was great - especially the first half or so. Much has been written about that show.
Second best was another small screen DC property, Doom Patrol. No live action show or even movie has been as willing and able to be as insanely creative and off the wall, yet deeply character driven, wild, and zany as the best of mainstream meta / super / action comics can be. Doom Patrol likely had this opportunity by virtue of being created for a streaming service aimed directly at fans of the source medium. Guardians certainly pulled this all off too, to an extent, but the one hour weekly installment format of this TV franchise is much more analogous to a comic book run than a feature length film is. Also, when after ten years as THE box office behemoth Marvel / Disney was still just teasing whether Carol Danvers and/or Valkyrie maybe like the ladies (or, guess at a guy or two) this show has been unabashedly queer.
Catch up on season one, if you’re interested. Looks like season two has commenced.
No comments:
Post a Comment