Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics

As a self-serving look at the history of just one of the two major publishers in the comic industry, it shouldn't come as much surprise to hear that a few small liberties are taken with this short history lesson. The broader picture rings true, though, and the producers of this documentary clearly took great pains to ask the right questions of the right people. Long-term fans will be pleased to see appropriate representatives from every significant moment in the company's history in living color, though some of the more embattled personalities such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller only appear via ancient promotional videos. Fresh geeks who don't already know the story will see their horizons broadened by some of the pains and issues DC has confronted and endured over the years, while more seasoned readers will enjoy the refresher course and possibly even learn a thing or two themselves. Worth watching once, at least.

Like most comic readers, I am surrounded by people who simply just don't get it. Even in 2010 with superhero movies charting the box office, many people still view comics as simple childish escapism.

Now I can show them this documentary as an explanation of how important the comics industry is to the world. It's our modern mythology. DC comics has been around for 75 years and in that time A lot has happened, not just in the comics but in the real world as well. So naturally there's only so much you can fit into an hour-and-a-half documentary.

But it talks about all the most notable and important moments and people, it shows the evolution of these character and their stories and how they adapted to the times. Comics aren't removed from reality, they make a statement about it.

A common complaint I've heard about this film is that it skips Infinite Crisis completely, not even a single mention made. While I agree it was a significant series historically, I believe it's too complex of a plot to accurately summarize and justify within the time limit. I think it would have completely disrupted the pacing. As it is, this documentary is light easy viewing filled with all sorts of interesting trivia. The kind of thing to bring new people into comics.

Any one of the many things they covered in this documentary could have had their own films. Like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman or any single member of the Justice League could easily fill movie on their own. So I appreciate that they managed to successfully compress a titanic amount of information while still doing it justice.

I also love that it focuses on the personal and emotional connection people make to these superheroes. It definitely sells the idea that there's more gravity to the genre than the reputation would have you believe. And at no point does it seem like the people who are passionate about comics are pathetic losers. It encompasses a wide variety of people, some of them very talented who went on to working in the industry themselves.

If only I could have shown this to my parents when I still had dreams of being a comic artist. Oh well, costume designer is close enough.

The documentary should be mandatory viewing for those interested in the art of super heroes. The story of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and many others are examined here with plenty of commentary by experts, artists, writers and historians. The art of cartooning illustration is truly under-appreciated. This documentary addresses it as a serious subject. They include rare footage and stills of the pioneers and interviews with those who made it all possible.

I am a big fan of DC comics. I love their characters. I love Superman, Batman,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern, etc. Now as a comic book fan, I am pleased with this and I can show this to people who are not comic book fans. I'm surrounded by people who are not comic book fans, who think Marvel is better than DC. Which pisses me off to no end. I'm not dissing Marvel, I just hate how the general public thinks of it.

With this we get the history of DC comics. Where it started with one title to franchises. We get to see how Superman and Batman became part of the pop culture. We see how comics evolved. We get to see how comic books came into other media such as movies and cartoons. I know a lot people have this complaint, but they skip over major events such Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour and the New Teen Titans comics were also a big part of DC comics history since it was one of the most popular comics of the 1980s.

Overall some things are not mentioned, but then again most comic book documentaries are like that. I could show this to people who aren't comic book fans or Marvel fanboys, is that without DC comics, we wouldn't have the first Superman movie, we wouldn't have Christopher Nolan's Batman films and without DC we wouldn't have companies such as Marvel,Image,Darkhorse and many more.

I was a comic book kid, from Marvel to DC to obscure companies I can't remember the name of, I was one of those kids who grew up with these superhero tales and have watched them evolve over the years.

Secret Origin is a feature length documentary that looks back on DC's storied past from humble beginnings to the monster it has become today.

It looks at the fluctuations in comic book popularity, the trends that molded it and the every increasing popularity of it's most popular characters such as Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman.

This is a fantastic little documentary that I would say is a must for comic book fans and one of those films that may well prove enlightening even to those who aren't.

Personally I think it was a bit short, it was as if it were taking you on a tour of a wondrous place but repeatedly shooeing you into the next room before you were done. Another 30-60 minutes would have done wonders to really tell the story properly.

Well constructed full of great interviews and background nuggets that I found very entertaining, good job.

The Good:

Ryan Reynolds narration

Very insightful stuff

The Bad:

Too short

Things I Learnt From This Documentary:

Watchmen was inspired by Tory Thatcher Britain