Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked

The documentary traces comic book history from Superman in the 1930s to the 21st century movie craze. It covers well-known mainstream figures like Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, and the X-Men, but also characters and series known only amongst fans, such as the Watchmen and the Sandman. This is not some expose of each hero's powers and whether they could beat the Death Star in a fight, either; it's a presentation of comic books as a literary form and an industry, of its impact on culture, and culture's impact on it. In other words, it's surprisingly good stuff.

It looks good, too. I loved the graphics applied to the pages of the comics, the way the camera would sway and tilt over the static images the way a reader's eyes might. Meanwhile, Keith David has this voice and tone that sets the sharp and super-cool feel of the show perfectly.

Before this documentary I was unable to enjoy the comics. After seeing it I still can't enjoy comics. Too much paper wasted for generally bad stories. Maybe I was exposed to them too late in life. Maybe it is something else. But these guys know their business. Or at least they convinced me of this. I haven't thought of comics or their readers as stupid. Still, they are the folklore. At least one part of it.

Also the documentary is quite well done. I was ready to watch it while doing other things. Yet more than once I returned to the screen to see what next. I even backed a bit to see something. Finally, it makes more sense why the feature films are so idiotic, yet these comic books still have a wide readership.

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Hey! If you are someone who really enjoys reading comic books, and graphic novels, too - This fast-paced and equally informative documentary from the folks at the "History Channel" should definitely be of some significant interest to you.

From Superman, to the Flash, to Batman, to the Fantastic 4, and beyond - This 100-minute presentation (of stills, archival footage, and guest interviews) offers the inquisitive viewer a thorough and well-rounded look at the history of comic book superheroes.

Anyway - When it comes to the importance of comic book superheroes - I think that they have clearly played a big part in the overall development of the American/Canadian pop culture scene (as it so proudly stands today). And this, to me, is something that is not to be taken lightly.

As a documentary, this feature is not unique, in terms of direction or the issues explored. Its fairly linear and standard stuff by all measures. However, it manages to get together a large variety of legends and popular figures from the comic book world including Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Will Eisner, Joe Quesada and many others for some interesting insights into the industry itself.

Its also nicely narrated by Keith David (the voice of Spawn from the TV series), and presented (during the bookends) by Peta Wilson, so all of that gives it a nice insider feel. As expected, it starts from the 30's, exploring the so called, Golden Age of comics, through their heightened popularity during World War 2, their decline in the post war period, their renewal during the Silver Age, with the launch of Marvel, all the way to present day creation of Image comics.

I guess most major milestones were neatly looked into, including the creation of DC Comics, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, the revolution that Watchmen and Dark Knight returns brought in the 80's and how comic book as a medium has struggled and coped with the changing attitudes of its readers. A little more could have been done to sustain interest for non comic fans interested in watching this, since watching comic panes buzz by for 90 minutes does little to captivate, but for any fan of superhero comics, this is a must watch. Highly recommended.

This is a feature delving into comics, telling the history of them(spanning seven decades, from the 1930's to present day) and offering marvelous(pun intended) insights. It consists of interviews, clips of footage that fits(almost none from the movies, whilst that is also a subject one could explore, this stays on the aforementioned topic, and is better for it) and a number of covers, frames and panels, several of which are famous, with the whole thing narrated by the booming, powerful voice of Keith David(the order of those two names make a tremendous difference). It is rather informational, as well as entertaining, interesting and, believe it or not, engaging. Those who get a chance to talk have things to say, if one could have wished a greater amount of time was spent on some of these magnificently talented men, but I suppose they didn't want to lose focus, and this doesn't ever become the story of one specific hero(whether or not favoring is entirely avoided here is up for debate). The tone is respectful and you never feel talked down to or judged, it is presented in a neutral way and the viewer gets to make up their own mind, with a few exceptions. The editing is nicely done, and while containing a little flash, similar to what the media often does, it does not get to be obnoxious or campy. While she is listed as a host, I did not see Peta Wilson in this, I don't know if I watched an alternate version or such. There is a tad of sexuality, violence and other controversial material in this, as seen in various releases(and anyone bothered by the... appearance of Dr. Manhattan may want to avert their eyes at one particular point in this), and an occurrence or three of mild language. I recommend this warmly to any graphic novel fan, and/or anyone who wants to learn more about comic books... honestly, it's so open, anybody could watch it. 8/10