NIKKI says:Did you know comic books cause children to want to beat their friends to death with hefty concrete rocks? There's a PSA-type video excerpt in this movie that will tell you all about it.
That was the most interesting part of this documentary -- reaction to comic books by parents and teachers and even the courts back in the 1950s. Apparently, back then, anything remotely fantastical was an affront to the American way of life. If only they knew what was to come, right?
This movie gave me a great insight into the evolution of an art form, while introducing me to the creators of that art, those instrumental in bringing the art to the masses, and then subverting it. That's really this film's very simple point -- here is the art, and here are the artists.
Each of the artists is interesting in his or her own way. I'm always fascinated by Robert Crumb, who I found more jovial here than I remember seeing him in his film. I also found myself really liking William Gaines, who created Mad magazine and a slew of horror comics that rattled hell out the censors way back when.
Informative, funny, eye-opening. The only thing I didn't need was the uninformative, near-pointless "introduction" by Kevin Smith. As proprietor of a comic shop and modern-day know-it-all about superheroes, I expected something more insightful from Smith than "this film is still relevant, enjoy". Thanks, Kevin. Well done.
3/5
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