Understanding Superhero Comic Books by Alex Grand

Narrated by “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” alum Liev Schreiber, the doc is broken into three hour-long segments: The genre’s origins and Golden Age from 1938 to 1958 in “Truth, Justice and the American Way ” “Great Power, Great Responsibility” covering the dawn of the Silver Age and beyond from 1959 to 1977 and “A Hero Can Be Anyone,” looking in part at the impact of movies and TV on the genre from the release of the first “Superman” film in 1978 to the present.ĬBR News spoke with Kantor and Maslon - who also co-authored a companion book, “Superheroes!: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture,” on sale now - about their project, their own history as comic book fans, and the five-year process of putting the documentary together.ĬBR News: Michael, Lawrence, what can you share about the origins of the “Superheroes” documentary? At what point did you first realize that was the right type of material in the genre to produce a documentary - and also a book? Directed by Michael Kantor and co-written by Kantor and Lawrence Maslon (they previously teamed on “Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America” and “Broadway: The American Musical”), the series looks at superheroes from the early origins of the genre to the present day, both tracing its history and its close relationship to American culture, through interviews with marquee industry names including Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Joe Quesada, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Grant Morrison and more. 15, is the latest effort to start changing those attitudes. The “Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle” documentary airing on PBS Tuesday, Oct. (There are still articles out there being written with “BAM! POW!” in their headlines or intro paragraphs, after all.) (CBR) Despite the seemingly exponential popularity of superheroes in pop culture - “Iron Man 3” and “The Avengers” both grossed more than a billion dollars each the previous two summers - there are still many out there who don’t necessarily take the genre very seriously.

Understanding Superhero Comic Books by Alex Grand