Those who know me well probably already know that I’m a big fan of comics and cartoons and comic books and animations and cartoon or comic strips and all that stuff which most adults would likely relegate to the annals of their childhood. So, for what it’s worth, if anything, I thought I’d give you a brief list of some of my faves. None are earth shattering revelations or anything, not by any stretch of the imagination. My faves are pretty mainstream fare that most people already know and can probably appreciate. And, BTW, I’m just doing this for fun. And because TOOT is just a blog. And because sometimes (if not most times) blogs are just for fun. And because, hey, I’m just a kid at heart, and gotta do silly things every now and again!
Fave animated films
- The Iron Giant. Brad Bird before Pixar fame. Originally from a story by Poet Laureate (and ex-husband of Sylvia Plath), Ted Hughes.
- Beauty and the Beast. Beautiful songs, and, at least for the period, drawings as well. Just a tidbit: I wanted to be a comic strip writer and artist when I was a kid (although to be an astronaut was my first dream — which is so funny to me!). But, despite winning my 6th grade class’ yearbook competition and having both my drawing as the yearbook’s front cover and my short story among its leading publications (thank you, Mrs. Maxwell!), my dreams were to be dashed a few years down the road. This would occur when I learned that zany looking cartoon characters and silly satirical stories, and in fact artistic and literary aspirations in general, don’t exactly endear one to the high school football team — or at least not the one I joined!
- A Charlie Brown Christmas. The first and the best of the Charlie Brown specials, I do declare! As an immigrant from Europe, I didn’t speak a lick of English, but I still understood that Christmas was somehow important because a certain “babe” had been born.
Fave anime
- Princess Mononoke. My first and fave of grandmaster Hayao Miyazaki’s various films.
- Robotech. Yeah, I know about Macross but it was the sanitized Robotech that I first saw and enjoyed.
- Ghost in the Shell. Definitely not for kids though. Watch with severe caution. Genndy Tartakovsky’s work probably deserves a mention somewhere here, too.
Fave cartoons
- Looney Tunes. Never was much of a Disney fan. Although there are a lot of good ones, my faves were mainly with Chuck Jones.
- Duck Tales. Okay, this is probably the only exception to the above. I used to love watching Duck Tales.
- The Smurfs. Or Les Schtroumpfs. Or I Puffi.
Fave comic books
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. IMHO, the best comic book ever written, featuring the best comic book character ever conceived! For one thing, witness Batman totally pummel Superman. The Dark Knight Strikes Back sequel was a let-down though, at least for me. But Batman: Year One was great, although it was more about Jim Gordon than Batman.
- Marvels. Kingdom Come might’ve had more of an epic scope and overall better story. But Marvels first introduced me to the artwork of Alex Ross. Plus, I need to have Spidey in the top three somehow!
- Rising Stars. J. Michael Straczynski is probably my fave comic book writer. Surprisingly, however, I’ve never seen Bablyon 5! Others include Chris Claremont, Jeph Loeb, Frank Miller, and Alan Moore.
Fave comic book or superhero movies
- Batman Begins. I did see Batman: The Dark Knight, but I’m not totally sure what to think about it yet. Dark Knight was definitely better from a critical standpoint. But Batman Begins changed the tenor of how comic book movies have been filmed, which was uber cool in my opinion, without losing any of the comic book essence and just plain fun of a comic book movie.
- Spider-Man and X-Men. A tie, mainly because I first saw them both more or less at the same time and so tend to think of them together. Wolverine and Rogue’s father-daughter like relationship, particularly with Wolverine protecting Rogue and Rogue opening up to and trusting Wolverine, resonated with me.
- Sky High. Say what you will, but I really had a good time watching this flick. There are other “comedy” comic book movies like Mystery Men and the current Hancock. However, Sky High is not only funny, but also has a relatively good message for the entire family. (Hm, Unbreakable might be somewhere on this list, too, but I can’t decide. So I’ll just make this parenthetical remark about putting Unbreakable somewhere on this list.)
Fave comic strips
- Calvin and Hobbes. By turns humourous and reflective, was there any doubt this would be at the top of my list?
- The Far Side. Wacky and bizarre, just like mom used to make!
- Peanuts. Snoopy’s “dogfights” with the WWI ace the Red Baron were great fun for me.
Fave computer animation (Pixar)
- The Incredibles. Hands-down my fave of all their feature films.
- Finding Nemo. I love the ocean, I love the song “Beyond the Sea,” I love the father-searching-for-his-son plot, I love the Great Barrier Reef and Australia, and I love a good clown . . . fish!
- WALL-E. I could probably have done without the main message, but, well, even still it wasn’t entirely without merit. Plus, the romance between WALL-E and EVE was pure magic, and more than made up for any shortcomings. And I just dig stuff in space and references to scifi flicks from the past.
Fave serial inspired movies
- Raiders of the Lost Ark. Yeah, creating this category might just be a way for me to plug one of my all-time fave films.
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. No one I know likes this film except for me. Oh well.
- Um, I can’t think of a third one. Plus, maybe I truly am a kid at heart, or at least an undisciplined one, because I’m already growing impatient already and already want to stop blogging already! I’d rather go outside and build a tree house or fort. Or dig up dinosaur bones. Or chart a cryptic map leading to my hidden, buried treasure while laying booby traps all along the way. Or race my friends on dirt bikes down the mountain trail. Or have a dip in the lake, and later cannonball right into the middle of where my friends are in the water so that they get doused with even more water. Or have an evening bonfire at the beach with family and friends, roasting marshmellows and telling one another fun and funny stories. Or sit up late at night with her my best friend gazing at the beautiful stars in the skies, basking in the soft, tender moonlight as it shines down upon our faces — and humbly giving thanks and adoring the One who created the heavens and the earth, who flung the stars across the canvas of the universe, who bound the chains of the Pleiades and loosed the cords of Orion! So, with that end in mind, happy trails, friends! I’m outta here!
14 Comments
Hey, I thought Sky Captain was teh aw3som3.
Seriously, I got a huge kick out of it.
I really liked the MTV animated version of “The Maxx.” Really messed with your head.
Patrick,
Nice column, but now I feel a need to weigh-in on these subjects!
FAVE ANIMATED FILMS:
1. Beauty and the Beast. Yeah, I loved that one, too. It was absolutely magical, and besides my crush on Beauty/Belle, there’s something to be said about a film in which Angela Landsbury sings.
2. The Secret of Nimh. Wow; environmentalism that came WAY AHEAD of the curve. So powerful a film, that it actually got my young little brain workin’ on social responsibilities…
3. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Yes, I also think ACBC is notable, but nothing comes close to the orignal Grinch for me. I was mesmerized.
FAVE ANIME
1. Grave of the Fireflys. Goodness gracious, I’ve never cried so much in a film, except maybe _Mask_ in the ’80’s, but let’s not go there…
2. Princess Mononoke. Yep, that was pretty good.
3. Ghost In the Shell. Wowie. A sci-fi flavor sensation! Well ahead of its time, and awesome to watch at any time.
FAVE CARTOONS
1. Voltron -the 5 Lions Series. Awesomeness. Absolute and total awesomeness that helped inspire me for the school day (I would get up early just to watch it). Of course, what I did on the playground after such “inspiration…” Ah, youth.
2. Duck Tales. Yes, I agree with Patrick on this, it was a blast to watch.
3. Animaniacs. I almost feel they don’t belong here, as this show was so subversive (at times) and sarcastic of cartoons in general -but it is a cartoon. It’s that contradiction that made me love it so.
FAVE COMIC BOOKS
1. The Dark Knight Returns. No question here, this is the best comic I ever read. I put it ahead even of Watchmen. Because of this book alone, I get goose-bumps whenever I see Frank Miller’s name attached to anything…
2. Batman: Year One. Powerful and thoughtful. Again, I prefer a more mature approach to my pulp.
3. Aliens vs. Predator. A brilliant concept; the movies are a paltry, and failed, adaptation.
Fave Comic Book or Superhero Movies
1. Batman Begins. I agree with Patrick’s comments, though I suspect Dark Knight will share this space with Begins in due time.
2. Batman (Tim Burton). Thank you for reviving the genre, and re-imagining its potential. Oh, and Michael Keaton was frickin’ AMAZING. I still prefer him to Bale.
3. Spiderman II. This one was tough, as I can think of others (X-Men; Superman; etc…). However, this is the only one that features some screenshots of the Marshman!
Fave Comic Strips
1. The Far Side. Mooo.
2. Calvin and Hobbes. I concur here with the esteemed Mr. Patrick.
3. Political Cartoons… Not a title, but a fantastic catagory.
Fave Computer Animation
1. Toy Story. The first, and the best, of the Pixar masterpieces.
2. The Incredibles. ‘Nuff said. *(oops, shouldn’t that comment be in another catagory?…)
3. A Bug’s Life. I think this was the first film I bought on DVD. It really made the format look great!
And, I think I’ll take a flying-pass on that last catagory…
Cheers, Patrick, and all!
Charlie said:
Wow, that’s really cool to hear, Charlie! I had no idea you liked it, too. If only we could have a Doctor Who or even LOTR marathon someday, and watch Sky Captain during our “break.” Alas.
Jason said:
That’s right! I’d almost forgotten you were a special guest at Mary Jane’s wedding — right behind J. Jonah Jameson as I remember. And you were in other fine productions such as Starsky and Hutch and The West Wing, yeah?
BTW, I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Vampire Lestat comics!
It’d be appropriate to note here that Comic-Con started today (although there was a “preview night” last night).
Guests I’d see if I could include Jim Lee (one of my fave artists), J. Michael Straczynski, and Connie Willis.
And why did Russell T. Davies and John Barrowman decide to attend, and not the Doctor and one of his companions, too?!
Anyway.
Um, the Manga Bible for anime fans? Yikes!
Not going to be able to give this near the attention it really deserves, but here goes:
I liked Sky Captain, too. Didn’t love it, but I thought it was cool, especially all in sepia.
Comic strips:
Dilbert - dude, it was like the guy had visited our workplace. Scary.
Garfield - one of my all time faves.
Calvin & Hobbes - hard to beat a boy and his tiger.
Far Side - Midvale School for the Gifted. ‘Nuff said.
Comix: too many series to name them all. Here’s a couple. I’ll get back to you on the rest.
Dynamo Joe: cool Japanese Robot stuff.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: still one of the coolest, most original series. The first 12 or so issues can be read at their website, BTW. Spinoffs like Miami Mice, and Adolescent Radioactive Blackbelt Hamsters are worth a look as well.
Teen Titans: back when they were fighting Deathstroke. That marked my entrance into the DC Universe.
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos: This was one my dad read, and he let me read his collection. Typically Marvel, and yet a great character (what it is about guys with no powers?).
I’m also a huge fan of limited series. Here are some of my faves.
Wolverine (the original by Frank Miller)
Longshot is there any cooler idea in all of comics than a guy who has good luck, only to find out he’s causing other people bad luck to get it? Well, prolly so, but I still like this one.
Batman: Year One I liked this one slightly better than The Dark Knight. I’m probably in the minority here.
Crisis on Infinite Earths epic. Stinks that Flash died, though.
Secret Wars how Spidey really got his black costume.
Spanner’s Galaxy a guy who can travel by exchanging places with someone else in another part of the galaxy (castling), and who carries an ancient edged weapon instead of a blaster.
Favorite comic book character:
Booster Gold - why? I can’t say for certain.
I guess a guy who wants to be a hero so bad that he does all the wrong thing to become one, then has to learn what it really means…I guess that resonates with me. If the twelve disciples were superheroes, they’d be a lot more like him than Batman or Superman.
P.S. Count me in for the marathon thing. Any and all.
Chan: I heard David Tennant might not be back as the Doctor. There was some speculation about whether there would be a regeneration at the end of this series. I guess there wasn’t, but that doesn’t necessarily close the door on it, either. Dunno if that has anything to do with the appearances.
Last I heard he’ll be back; Beeb offered him three million pounds for the 2010 season.
Charlie: are you on IM during the day?
I’m on both MSN and Gtalk during the day. You have my email address, they’re both keyed to that.
Whoa, that’s a nice list Matt! You got some good ones in there! Did you ever read, ah, shoot, I forget what it’s called, but it a Wolverine story where he goes to Japan and fights the Yakuza (or something like that), and wins the love of a girl. If I remember right, it was written by Chris Claremont but (oddly enough) drawn by Frank Miller! It was very cool.
That’s the one I’m talking about. I guess I didn’t realize Claremont had written it. Looks like there’s even a fansite for it.
Charlie: Not sure how to add you on MSN. Is your screen name the same as your gMail address?
Yes (although I think we’ve already worked through this).