The modern viewer is no longer surprised by a movie based on a comic strip. Comic book adaptations are one of the most popular genres in the film industry. Almost every month one or two films are released based on storytelling with pictures.
What is a comic
Before proceeding to consider the film adaptations, you need to determine what is hidden behind the concept of "comic". There are various interpretations of the genre, but most boil down to the fact that a comic strip is a graphic story or a story in pictures, consisting of contiguous or sequential images. The first comics appeared in the XVI-XVII centuries, their plots were stories about the lives of saints, later - in the XIX century - the stories became less religious, they began to be printed on printing presses and the popularity of graphic stories increased. Over time, the genre became more and more popular, reached the USA, Japan and other countries, winning universal love.
Adaptations of comics
In recent years, a huge number of comics have been filmed, and it is very difficult to mention all of them. One of the first comics to hit the screen was the story of the Wizard Mandrake, the television series was released in 1939. In the 1940s, a television series about Batman was shown, and short films about Superman were shown in theaters. Over the years, the theme of superheroes became more and more popular, and as part of the series, the adventures of Wonder Woman and the Hulk were shown. Separately, it is worth mentioning the Batman series, which aired on television from 1966 to 1968, by today's standards, the series looks like a parody, but in the United States it is cult in nature and is considered a classic.
In 1978, the cult film about Superman was released, where the main character is played by Christopher Reeve, the film received three sequels and the boundless love of the audience. And in 1980, a movie about Flash Gordon was released, which became one of the best science fiction films of that year. A new round of film adaptations happened in the late 80s, films about Batman directed by Tim Burton are released, where, unlike the 60s series, the plot became darker and much tougher, the local heroes no longer danced, and the villains caused rejection.
In the early nineties, the film adaptation was received by the heroes of the Marvel publishing house: Captain America and the Punisher - in which the main role was played by Dolph Lundgren. Unfortunately, the films turned out to be unsuccessful, and for a long period of time, Marvel's comic book adaptations were forgotten. The nineties were not successful for DC comics, the television series about Flash was canceled after the first season, and films about Batman, directed by Joel Schumacher, caused a storm of indignation among both critics and viewers. Against the background of high-profile failures with large comic-book films, in 1994 the cult film with Brandon Lee - "The Raven" was released, the film was very warmly received by critics and viewers. After this story, Raven received three sequels and a television series. In 1998, a film about the vampire hunter Blade was released, which was continued in 2002 and 2004.
In general, we can say that the nineties were not good for the screen adaptations of graphic novels. Fundamental changes take place in 2000, when the movie X-Men, Brian Singer, is released, the story of people with superpowers, returned the love of movie comic book fans, and the interest of Hollywood producers. After that, a huge number of successful film adaptations were created: Spider-Man, the Batman Trilogy, the continuation of the X-Men story, The Avengers, two Superman films, etc. Lesser-known comic book characters also receive their film adaptations: Electra, Catwoman, Jonah Hex, etc. …
The 2000s radically changed the attitude towards films based on comics, film comics are not only screen adaptations of the adventures of superheroes, they are extremely deep and thoughtful stories about people. Against the background of epic battles and supernatural events, questions are raised about life, freedom, and a person's place in the world. Even famous directors, for example, David Cronenberg, who shot the film "Justified Cruelty", take on the adaptation of comics. Comic strips receive prestigious film awards, such as the 2013 film Adele's Life based on the French comic strip.
