Comic book movie eras

[The Overlord]

Lest discuss the eras of comic book movies, I think there are 3, 1978 to 1989, 1989 to 2000 and 2000 to Now.

I'm not counting anything before 1978, because Superman was the first big budget comic movies.

Now the first era, 1978 to 1989, there were no real comic book movies besides the Superman related movies to my knowledge, so I want to focus on those. Those movies were very silly and a little more willing to be off the wall then modern comic movies, but the first two did off the wall well, while the other Superman related movies, the off the wall stuff just became annoying. This era closed with Superman IV, the movie that ended the Superman franchise for almost 20 years.

Now the second era from 1989 to 2000 began with Batman and you had way more comic movies in this era. There were some good ones, like Batman and the Crow and comic book movies (the good ones anyway) were more understated then the ones from the previous era, with some exceptions, however there were a lot of failed experiments like Judge dread and Tank girl movies. Special effects technology still hasn't progressed to show off characters like Spider-Man and Marvel's efforts were pretty bad direct to video junk. However this era came to close with some really bad comic book movies in the late 90s, most notable among them batman and Robin. Blade was the first sign of a recovery but it wasn't there yet, because that was billed more as a vampire action movie then a comic book movie.

The third era, 2000 to now, started with the first X-Men movie, which marked the first major Marvel franchise to get a big budget movie and opened the flood gets to a bunch of new comic book movies we are seeing today. I don't have a lot to say about this era, because we discuss it all the time, except to say it has produced the best comic book movies ever, the special effects tech has caught to up to the point where you can show Spider-Man on the silver screen and do it well. There some crap movies though, like the fantastic four movies, but overall the movies are moving in the right direction, especially with Marvel making their own movies now.

So does anyone have anything to say about these eras?

 

[Doc Ock]

I liked Judge Dredd....all I have to say is the "third" era or the 2000s is that in my opinion it is definitely the best for comic book movies. The comic book genre exploded with X-men(some may say Blade), and since then comic book movies have almost become a requirement in today's film industry.

 

[DawnWarrior]

I notice that most of the comic-book movies between '89 and '99 are centered on 3rd string Indie characters like Judge Dredd, The Mask, The Crow, and Blade, and that all four of those movies were made as vehicles for their lead actors (Stallone, Carrey, Lee, and Snipes), and except maybe for Crow, departed pretty heavily from the source material.

 

[Evil Twin]

I'd posit that there's a serial/atomic age comic book movie era from the early 40s through the 50s, crossing over into television with The Adventures of Superman. Big budget, no, but at least a presence.

There's possibly also a camp/mod phase from the mid 60s to early 70s with stuff like Batman and Barbarella.

I'd agree that 78 to 89 was an era. With people still not willing to commit to comics as big franchises. Even Superman got stripped down after the first two movies. But you had Swamp Thing, Popeye, Heavy Metal, Howard the Duck, and the Dolph Lundgren Punisher. And Conan was perhaps jump started by the success of the comics as well as the sales of the collections.

 

[Breogan]

I'd start right here, just for to it's impact on the rest.

And just watch his moves in this clip, if you think that didn't inspire the modern Superhero. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBud6ii5Wk

 

[The Overlord]

I'd posit that there's a serial/atomic age comic book movie era from the early 40s through the 50s, crossing over into television with The Adventures of Superman. Big budget, no, but at least a presence.

There's possibly also a camp/mod phase from the mid 60s to early 70s with stuff like Batman and Barbarella.

I'd agree that 78 to 89 was an era. With people still not willing to commit to comics as big franchises. Even Superman got stripped down after the first two movies. But you had Swamp Thing, Popeye, Heavy Metal, Howard the Duck, and the Dolph Lundgren Punisher. And Conan was perhaps jump started by the success of the comics as well as the sales of the collections.

Except most people agree that the first Superman movie was the first example of a big budget comic book blockbuster movie, which is why I don't count stuff before that.

 

[Heretic]

I dont care if everyone in the world thinks that comic movies started with Superman, theyd still be wrong. We as fans need to respect where we came from, and the serials are where we came from. It is an era that should not be swept aside because of viewer laziness.

Also, while Superman dominated the 80's era of comic book movies, Heavy Metal should not be overlooked as a landmark moment in time.

 

[Heretic]

I dont care if everyone in the world thinks that comic movies started with Superman, theyd still be wrong. We as fans need to respect where we came from, and the serials are where we came from. It is an era that should not be swept aside because of viewer laziness.

Also, while Superman dominated the 80's era of comic book movies, Heavy Metal should not be overlooked as a landmark moment in time.