Search - Comic Book Confidential on DVD

This is the source!

T. Davis | Seattle, WA | 02/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We're not talking about the Sunday funnies here -- no Peanuts or Garfield or Doonesbury. A lovingly-made historical review of the greatest American comic book art and artists, this film covers a roughly 50-year period from the late 1930s to the late 1980s. There are interviews and readings with 22 masters of the form, from early heroes like Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, William Gaines, Stan Lee, and Robert Crumb to modern geniuses like Lynda Barry, Frank Miller, Bill Griffith, Harvey Pekar, and Art Spiegelman. You couldn't ask for a better introduction, as the director allows these mainstream and underground comic artists to speak for themselves. Extras include an interview with the director, a full story from each artist that is viewable onscreen, and an illustrated 16-page booklet with profiles of each artist. Presented in a standard 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio."

Comics 101

Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 01/16/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Though not without its flaws, "Comic Book Confidential" (1989) emerges as an insightful look at the history and evolution of the comic-book medium. Canadian writer-director Ron Mann has the right feel for such an ambitious project - chronicling the 1930s origins that led to the superheroes of DC and Marvel Comics, through the EC and Mad heyday of the 1950s, and culminating in the underground style of the 1980s. Mann covers a lot of ground, featuring interviews with Will Eisner, Mad's William Gaines and Marvel's Stan Lee. The visual techniques are engagingly imaginative as the artists bring the comic-book world to life by narrating their own works. During the final third, Mann places too much emphasis on the underground genre - thus knocking the documentary structure off balance until a strong rebound at the finish."