2014 CBM Year in Review

It's been a damn good year for comic book media. Perhaps the biggest advances have been in the realm of television. Once the black sheep of the entertainment industry, TV is now the go-to for intricately plotted, nuanced and serialized drama. Add to that the continuing dominance of comic book movies and it's no surprise that countless properties continue to be optioned and adapted.

As such, frequent collaborator Brian Baer and I have come together to take a look back at the last year of comic book film and television. We have arranged them into our personal best and worst for each category. Enjoy!

Best Movie


The A-Holes

BAER: Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians is a cleverly designed pastiche of beloved popcorn adventure flicks from the 70s and 80s, updated with breathtaking visuals, a dedicated cast, a visionary director, an incredible soundtrack and a wicked sense of humor.

COLBY: X-Men: Days of Future Past
Those who know me, know of my obsessive love for the X-Men franchise. Who would have thought that the 7th film in the series would turn out to be such an intricately constructed and wonderfully realized way to bridge the branching narrative that had been established in past movies? Plus it provides the added bonus of wiping away past problems with the franchise. It was nuanced and beautifully shot and the love for the characters was obvious. And don't even get me started about that Quicksilver scene...

THE UNADAPTED: Criminal Macabre

**This edition of The Unadapted was written by novelist Andrew Prenger. He's covering my ass for being late with my post on Justice League: Mortal Part 2. Enjoy his look at Criminal Macabre, a comic I literally know nothing about.**

The most surprising thing about this title is that it technically started in 1990. So that means the main character, Cal McDonald, has been around for over 24 years. Yet most comic book readers would be at a loss to know anything about it. Were it on Jeopardy it would be the awkward question everyone quietly stared at their feet for until time ran out and Alex Trebek read the answer off his cue card.

PILOT LITE: Mid-season check-up.

This television season is nearing its mid point (when did mid-season finales become a thing? Seems recent to me) and as such a lot of shows are going on winter hiatus. Thus, it feels like a good time to check in and see how everything's progressing.

The Flash
I think this is the probably been the most consistent show in its first season. It quickly and easily established its tone in the pilot as well as the season-long storyline. There haven't been any major revelations or changes to the status quo as of yet, and that's fine. Arrow built up a pretty impressive world within its first couple of seasons. The Flash has taken that world and (literally) run with it. The introduction of Barry back in Arrow's second season kind of feels like the Nick Fury stinger scene in Iron Man, in retrospect. Now, we get to see how cool this newly expanded universe can be. The show skews a bit on the formulaic side for now, but its episodic nature only enhances the "comic-bookishness" of it for me. It's amazing how much more natural a "villain of the week" story can feel when said villains are culled from DC's long history of characters. Speaking of characters, the actors on this show do a hell of a job. Grant Gustin's Barry is just idealistic enough to be loveable but doesn't come off as naïve. Jesse L. Martin's Det. West has become the soul of the show as his mentorly relationship with Barry has progressed. And then there's Dr. Wells. Speculation has been rampant as to just what is motivating Tom Cavanagh's character. I guess we'll see.

Justice League: Mortal (2007 script) part 1

The League's core, circa 2006.

Back in 2007 DC had absolutely no idea what they were doing with their film properties. Nearly all of their characters were stuck in development hell and they had a serious lack of overall vision for any of their franchises. The sole exception was Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. So, with no idea how to sell any of their singular characters, DC decided to start at the top and work down in creating their cinematic universe. They'd start with the Justice League property and then spin-off individual films based on the heroes from there. All things considered, it's not a terrible approach. They would know what worked and what didn't before hundreds of millions were spent on a character that no one cared about (just think, they could have avoided Green Lantern had they taken this path). So, in 2007 they commissioned a script, hired George Miller as a director and assembled a cast for Justice League: Mortal, the film that almost was. This will be an in-depth, two-part look at the plot, cast, characters and circumstances around this film's inception and destruction. Also, I feel I need to add a spoiler warning...I guess. I dunno? Do you need spoiler warnings for unproduced screenplays?

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (1997 television series)

The recent theatrical adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got a fair amount of criticism from fans. Some justified, some not. Sure, it wasn't what most intelligent people would consider "good" but after reading some initial drafts, I can honestly say that it could have been much worse. Speaking of worse:

BEHOLD!

PILOT LITE: Constantine (2014 television pilot)

I am easily the biggest Hellblazer fan that I know. This isn't intended to sound like a boast, but I own John Constantine's first appearance in Swamp Thing, all 300 issues of the ongoing title and every single crossover, special, miniseries, guest-spot and novel that the Vertigo character has been featured in. Again, I'm not trying to brag (well, maybe a little), I just want you to understand the respect and reverence I have for this character.

CBM PROFILE: Thor

Marvel's God of Thunder doesn't have a whole lot in common with the original Asgardian hammer-wielder. Sure, the name and basics are the same but many of the specifics have been changed to create something almost entirely different that stands on its own. It's a testament to the talent of the people involved with his creation (and marketing!) that saying the name "Thor" conjures images of the comic character rather than his mythical basis to just about everyone (experts in Norse culture notwithstanding). And yet, it seems that it's only been recently that he's been given a whole lot of attention outside of the page. Sure, he's had many a guest-appearance but he rarely starred in anything.

Thor's most enduring look.

Much like the Norse myth, Marvel's Thor is the son of Odin and hails from Asgard. His brother, Loki is often his antagonist and the two have fought (and made up) multiple times throughout the decades. His adventures have featured a strong supporting cast such as The Warriors Three, Lady Sif, Baldur and Heimdall (many of which are also based upon Norse gods). It didn't take him long to join the ranks of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes (he debuted in Journey into Mystery in 1962 and was present with the Avengers for their first adventure in 1963), ever since he's been closely associated with them. He has gone through various re-designs, re-interpretations and even a death or two. But what's always been at the core of the character is the fact that he's a hero in the most classical sense. He may not always be polite or humble, but he uses his godly strength to defend humanity from otherworldly threats. Since most people are at least passingly familiar with his role in the Marvel Universe (and since his history is so extensive), I'll leave it at that. This ain't Wikipedia.