It's Just Movies

— by CAM SMITH —

Despite having spent the last decade struggling to establish itself as a mainstream-friendly cinematic brand-name in line with its rival Marvel, DC Comics looks to be finally on track towards correcting past mistakes and striking while the superhero movie craze is still Firestorm-hot. While Batman and Superman haven’t been want for attention, the company has been agonizingly slow to realize the potential of both their equally promising back-catalogue of lesser known characters. In a world where Hellboy, Ghost Rider and The Spirit have their own star vehicles, how is it that Green Arrow, Wonder Woman and Aquaman do not?

Fortunately for fans, however, “Green Lantern” is just around the corner and buzz has begun to swirl around other hot properties like The Flash and Lobo, guaranteeing that the House of Ideas won’t be the only comic-book juggernaut delivering big-budget entertainment in the future. With that said, DC will still have to offer some affordable means of brand education to their prospective audience if they want to play in the same arena.

There was a time when comic-books would have attracted and satiated the curious, but those days somewhat died out when the issues disappeared off supermarket shelves and took up permanent residence within speciality shops – a location which can often seem intimidating to those standing on the outside of fandom.

Instead, in a bid to grab some much-needed eyeballs, the company that Kal-El built will be releasing a snazzy new interactive DVD documentary entitled “Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics” which aims to both entertain the die-hards as well as bring newbies up to speed on the company’s rich history. Trailer Addict has a preview of the release, which is filled with interviews from some of the medium’s brightest and biggest talents, including Bob Kane, Geoff Johns, Neil Gaiman, Neal Adams and Grant Morrison.

Although I’ll admit that I would have rather seen a more critical outsider’s examination of the company’s legacy and impact on pop-culture over a chest-thumping corporate promo piece, I must also confess that I’m feeling strangely tempted to pick this up to help combat my general ignorance towards the company’s multitude of heroes not wearing bat-costumes and red ‘n blue tights. Doubtlessly, DC Comics is hoping that I’m not alone.