If you love movies, comic books, and lists, then get ready for the Top 100 Comic Book Movies from IDW Publishing and Fantastic Press. Writer Gary Gerani presents his view on the wonderful world of comic books by listing his rankings “for the cinema’s most significant live-action comic book adaptations.”
The amazingly detailed book highlights each of the 100 movies with three descriptive categories: “Who Made It,” “What It’s About,” and “Why It’s Important.” This structure provides continuity as each story gets its own in-depth look, allowing the reader to understand what to expect moving forward from one film to the next. With the amount of information delivered by Gerani, the format prevents any sort of scattered feeling, as he deftly points out the strengths and weaknesses of each film, while also acknowledging the production team and actors, storyline cohesiveness (or lack thereof), and relevant behind-the-scenes snippets that help define where the story came from or how sequels did or did not make it into production.
The Top 100 also showcases a catalogue of photos from all of the films ranked. It’s a great part of this book. Not only are you getting a thorough understanding of each film, you’re also seeing still shots, behind-the-scene photos, and movie posters, which allows fans to explore how films have changed over the past 90 years. It easily captures your attention by either identifying favorite characters or scenes, or possibly introducing you to black and white films that make the list, with one notably cracking the top five.
Gerani clearly states that the Top 100 Comic Book Movies are “my choices,” since “ranking is a subjective party game;” however, it is clear he exhausted an enormous amount of time into this production, which aids in receiving it as a comprehensive guide, whether you agree with the rankings or would place different movies onto the list or remove others altogether. In addition, there are 78 “other notable adaptations” Gerani lists as part of this book’s conclusion – each with its own description to help identify who created it and when, director and actors, and basic premise. The extras do not stop there either, as there are “Top Ten” lists for movie makers, performances, and music composers.
Perhaps this book will inspire you to make a list of your own. Or maybe you already have a list and get to see where your rankings match up. Either way, you’ll discover this to be a great read as you learn more about each story and why they’ve made the list.
Top 100 Comic Book Movies is listed as coming soon for the month of June 2017.
