Is "Comic Book Movie" a Genre?

Comic book movies straddle a lot of genres. Just about any existing genre can include a comic book movie in it.

 

I'd call Superhero a subgenre of action, and/or "speculative fiction," the catch-all for fantasy, sci-fi and horror.

"CBM" is a fairly useless term. Technically, Richie Rich is a CBM, as is The Road to Perdition, as is Man of Steel, as is Tintin, as is The Avengers. Other than the medium from which they derived, there is nothing at all that makes them belong to a shared genre.

 

It should be. Well, I talk about it as a genre anyways.

 

If Comic Book Movie is a genre then book adaptation is one as well. Superhero movie is a genre, comic book movie however is not, comic books are just another source to be adapted.

 

edit

 

no. I dont think Comic Book Movies is a genre. But "Superhero movie" is one

 

This.

 

That depends on the comic book, not all of them are about superheroes. Adaptation of superhero comics are in the superhero genre, while Red for exemple is an action-comedy. Tintin isn't a superhero either, nor is Asterix, or Rurouni Kenshin, or the surrogates, and the list goes on.

 

You are right sir. I meant to say "superhero movies." My bad.

 

Comic Book is a medium not a genre. Superhero films are a genre.

 

Comic book movie is not a genre. Superhero movie is a genre, but a broad one.

 

Comic book movies are not a genre any more than movies based on novels or tv shows are a genre. Until we start lumping in Twilight and Das Boot as the same genre, and X-Files: Fight The Future and Dukes of Hazard as the same genre, then we shouldn't be lumping in all comic book based movies as one genre.

Superheroes may be a blanket genre...but typically they cross over into a wide range of other genres . Also, not all superheroes are based on comic characters.

 

And not all of them are actually heroes either. Some are anti-heroes or just vigilantes who do the job like a superhero without the actual intention of being a "good guy."

 

It probably is in these forums.

Its odd because I rank CBMs and other movies separately. For instance, The Avengers is a 10/10 as a comic book movie. But probably only like an 8/10 or 7/10 as a movie overall.

 

Obviously not.

Its a category. Categories are different from genres.

 

""Spider-Man 2" is the best superhero movie since the modern genre was launched with "Superman" (1978)". --Roger Ebert.

If Ebert said "genre", then it's a genre.

 

He said superhero movie, not comicbook movie

 

Superhero movies are definately a genre.
The second a superhero turns up it's a superhero movie.
If there was nothing but detective work in a Batman movie it would be a superhero movie rather than a crime thriller.
If Spider-Man cracked jokes the entire movie it would be a superhero movie rather than a comedy.

 

Case closed.

 

Not sure what you're trying to say

 

When a superhero is in a movie it becomes a superhero genre movie regardless of the content, therefore 'superhero movie' is genre onto it self.

 

Super heroes and comic book movies are not the same thing.

A super hero can exist as any medium from a (comic) book to a cartoon to a movie or a video game. Just about anything. Even an oral story. Beowulf or Odysseus could be considered a super hero in the abstract of terms and they far predate the comic book format.

A comic book movie can only exist from taking a comic book and adapting it into a movie. Even if no super hero is present, it's still a comic book movie.

If it isn't from a comic book but has a super hero in it, that's not a comic book movie. If it has a character (say something like Scott Pilgrim or Bone) who are not super heroes, it's still a comic book movie.

There's a difference but it is often lost in translation.

 

Superhero movies are absolutely their own genre. I can't agree with CBM's however, because you'd have to lump A History of Violence with Scott Pilgrim, which have absolutely zero commonality besides being comic book adaptations.

 

I often debate this myself, and I personally think that the more CBM's that get made, the more it does become a genre. I mean we get between 3-6 a year now and the GA who I have talked to refer to them as CBM's or Super-hero movies.