Comic Book Movies Without Capes

When I started the Superhero marathon I focused on the capes, the crime fighters and the action adventurers and whatnot. Other comic book based outings were a mixed bag. I liked Road to Perdition, but didn’t care for 300 and loathed V For Vendetta and didn’t feel like reviewing them. So I zeroed in on the supers, the heroes. Because of that I missed out on adding notes on comic criminals like Diabolik or Kriminal, superb gritty violent drama’s such as Eastern Promises and a few that were just about average people and their average lives. So here’s my look at 3 of my favorite comic book movies without capes.

Ghost World
I saw this in a near empty theater in 2001. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and based on a graphic novel and screenplay by Daniel Clowes. Ghost World was about the misfits and outsiders that pepper the Earth, mainly 3 folks. Enid (Thora Birch) her friend Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) and the lonely, record loving Seymour (Steve Buscemi) that Enid grows attached to. Seymour was not in the original comic, which was okay with me. Books are books, movies are movies. Sometimes changes fail, sometimes they improve (ala Jaws) and the relationship between the 3 works so well. The acting is a wonder across the board. Even Johansson, who has descended into awkward, wooden territory as an actress, shows promise here.

American Splendor
This was an odd one but so very good. Based on the life and works of comic book writer Harvey Pekar. The film is directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who are known for documentaries, and this movie has that feel to it. The two also share writing credit with Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner. As with Ghost World, the acting is top notch, Paul Giamatti is perfectly cranky and eccentric as Pekar and Hope Davis is very good as Joyce.

Persepolis
This was another in a long list of great films released in the U.S. in 2007. The work is 100% Marjane Satrapi. She wrote it, directed it (with Vincent Paronnaud) and the animation looks very much like the autobiographical graphic novel it’s based on. The movie tells the story of a young girl who lives during the Iranian Revolution. Satrapi’s kind of irritating in real life (she has an overwhelming personality as seen in the extras) but she has lived a colorful life and is quite talented in telling her tale.

If you are a fan of the medium, and enjoy the movie adaptations as much as I do (I don’t know why specifically, but I love seeing comic books come to life on the big screen) I’d recommend these 3 highly. Thora briefly wears a Batmask in Ghost World but other than that there’s not a costumed hero in the bunch. The only thing super about them are their stories, the acting and filmmaking.