Comic book, graphic novel and movie news that impacts nerd culture

One of the dominant trends in movies from 2000-09 was the rise of the superhero movie. While 1997′s “Batman and Robin” left the form dormant for a few years, the success of films such as Bryan Singer’s “X-Men” and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” made the exploits of costumed characters all the rage at cineplexes. The best of the lot was the decade’s best movie: “The Dark Knight.” But that’s not all the decade was about: There were revamps, thrillers, pregnancies and love stories. Animation underwent a revolution; fantasy epics were redefined.

The following is a list of the best films of the past decade.

1. “The Dark Knight” (2008) — Director Christopher Nolan made a crime epic disguised as a comic-book caper. Heath Ledger’s death drew more attention to the film, but his performance as the Joker was one for the ages. While the Joker ostensibly is working for Gotham City’s criminal powers, his real goal is chaos. The Joker’s greasy hair and painted-on smile covering scars make for an interpretation that’s fresh and original. Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), yearns for a normal life in a city that doesn’t need his alter-ego as a protector. The Joker doesn’t want a return to normalcy; he wants a city mad enough to need Batman for a defender. Chaos and order and the meaning of rules in society are all explored beneath the surface of Nolan’s greatest filmmaking achievement.

2. “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) — You could argue for any or all of Peter Jackson’s sprawling epics re-creating the fantasy stories of J.R.R. Tolkien. But Jackson here provided something that’s rare with trilogies: a satisfying ending. This is the fantasy epic to which all future fantasy epics must aspire.

3. “Almost Famous” (2000) — Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, “Almost Famous” is a semi-autobiographical tale of journalism and rock ‘n’ roll. Teenage aspiring rock journalist William Miller (Patrick Fugit) follows the band Stillwater on the road as he discovers the rock landscape of the 1970s. Crowe, who directed a near-perfect teen movie in “Say Anything …” has done so again here, making a film that feels completely earnest and completely authentic.

4. “Memento” (2001) — A psychological thriller with a great gimmick, “Memento” marked Nolan in his sophomore effort as a director with a lot of promise. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) searches for his wife’s killer but is hampered by his short-term memory loss, which keeps him from remembering anything after his accident for more than 15 minutes at a time.

5. “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) — Director Danny Boyle shows us the life of a young “slumdog” in Mumbai who becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Alternately terrifying and uplifting, “Slumdog Millionaire” is something of an Indian “It’s a Wonderful Life” as Jamal Malik attempts to explain his game-show success to police who suspect fraud.

6. “Juno” (2007) — Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking”) directed Diablo Cody’s screenplay about a wisecracking teenager who becomes pregnant. Juno (Ellen Page) has a quirky sensibility about the entire ordeal, which takes a typical high school film and turns it inside out. Michael Cera (“Arrested Development”) plays Bleeker, the geeky teen with a good heart who fathers the child in his one sexual encounter with Juno. The cast is great throughout: Jennifer Garner is the prospective adoptive mother who longs for a child; Jason Bateman is the prospective adoptive father who longs for his youth. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney are excellent in supporting roles as Juno’s father and stepmother.

7. “Wall-E” (2008) — Pixar deserves recognition for the company’s redefinition of animated fare in the past decade. Any of the Pixar films would be suitable for inclusion in a “best of the decade” list, but I’ve chosen “Wall-E,” which features a robotic, anthropomorphic trash compactor on an abandoned Earth. When a probe from the surviving humans arrives, Wall-E finds love. “Wall-E” is a classic love story disguised as a science-fiction tale.

8. “Mulholland Dr.” (2001) — This neo-noir thriller is among David Lynch’s best. The nonlinear story that reflects at least two realities will provoke discussion long after the credits roll. Naomi Watts stars as an actress who discovers Hollywood is not all it seems. Neither is this film, which provokes lots of questions about identity and desire but answers few.

9. “Spider-Man 2” (2004) — The best of the Marvel Comics movies of the 2000s, and until “Dark Knight” a reasonable candidate for best superhero film ever. Peter Parker’s conflict between his duty and his heart gives viewers plenty to ponder between the action-packed battles of Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus.

10. “Casino Royale” (2006) — Daniel Craig proved a bulldog of a special agent in “Casino Royale,” an adaptation of the first 007 novel by Ian Fleming. Craig’s James Bond brings the series closer in line with Fleming’s original character yet updates it for a post-Cold War society.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Batman, Captain America, President Barack Obama — each was among the top-selling comic-book characters of 2009.

“Amazing Spider-Man” No. 583, in which Obama appeared, was the top-selling comic book of 2009, according to a release from Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comic books.

In fact, Obama might have been the biggest comic-book salesman of the decade. Obama, himself a comic-book fan, helped move an estimated 530,500 copies of “Amazing” No. 583, according to the Web site www.comichron.com. (Obama didn’t officially endorse his comic-book appearance.)

“Blackest Night,” written by Geoff Johns, was 2009′s best-selling series, with five issues among 2009′s top 10. “Captain America Reborn” No. 1, featuring the return of Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, landed at No. 3, and “Captain America” No. 600 placed at No. 9.

“Batman and Robin” No. 1, featuring former Robin Dick Grayson as Batman, came in at No. 4.

“Dark Avengers” No. 1, featuring villainous versions of popular “Avengers” characters, landed at No. 10.

The top-selling graphic novel in specialty shops was “Watchmen,” driven by hype for the Zack Snyder-directed film based on the book.

“Comic book and graphic novel sales through comic-book specialty shops were extremely resilient in 2009, despite a down economy,” Diamond Chief Executive Steve Geppi said in a release. Comichron estimated sales in the direct-sales market for comic books and graphic novels were down about 2 percent for the year.

Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from more than 3,500 comic book specialty shops in North America and around the world.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Five twentysomething first-year lawyers try to keep up in the shark-infested waters of one of Los Angeles’ top law firms in “The Deep End,” premiering Thursday on ABC.

Leah Pipes plays Beth Bancroft, one of the first-year associates.

“It’s a legal dramedy,” Pipes said while in Los Angeles last fall promoting the horror film “Sorority Row.” “It’s kind of (like) ‘Ally McBeal,’ very quirky.”

The show was created by former “How I Met Your Mother” co-executive producer David Hemingson and features Clancy Brown and Billy Zane as partners in the law firm.

“Billy Zane, he plays the mean partner, and then the nice partner is played by Clancy Brown,” Pipes said.

While she’s a rich girl in “The Deep End” and played an ice queen sorority sister in “Sorority Row,” Pipes said she is less intense personally.

“I wear sweat pants; I look terrible all the time. I’m so vulnerable,” she said. “If I’m around a boy I have a crush on, I can’t even talk most of the time.”

Pipes, 21, said she hasn’t made a long-term plan for her career; she just wants to play roles that challenge her.

“I never really sat down and decided and now this is what I’m going to do. I just do it,” she said. “Whatever comes my way, I appreciate and do my best at, and if it were to fade someday, I guess I would find something else. But I just don’t plan the future, I guess.”

Still, signing on for “The Deep End” requires signing what’s potentially a seven-year contract.

“You sign a seven-year contract, but it could be a week,” she said. “It could be one episode, it could be seven years. See, this is why I don’t plan.”

As far as what she prefers to watch herself, Pipes enjoys epics.

“I love really epic films. I really like ‘The Princess Bride.’ ‘Lord of the Rings.’ I really like ‘Star Wars.’ I love ‘Harry Potter,’ I’m obsessed with ‘Harry Potter.’”

Being a “Star Wars” fanatic paid off for Pipes, who worked with Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher, in “Sorority Row,” which comes to DVD on Feb. 23.

“It was really cool, since my name is Leah, and everyone calls me Leia, since I was young,” Pipes said. “I actually worked with her sister (Joely Fisher) on a pilot years ago, and I never thought I would ever work with her!”

- By Matthew Price
From Tuesday’s The Oklahoman

Vol. 1 contains the first eight episodes of the 16-episode season. After these 16 episodes, the show was canceled and retooled for the 1977 “All-New Superfriends Hour.” “Super Friends” ran in one form or another until 1986. But these earlier cartoons lack any sense of menace or even action. Way too much attention is focused on the teen characters and their dog, which aren’t particularly clever or funny. Viewers won’t be sure why exactly Superman and Batman are putting up with these kids, and won’t want to do so for long themselves.

Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog lumber along in plotlines that were probably rejected as “Scooby-Doo” episodes. The lack of any classic DC Comics villains is glaring, though guest-starring heroes Flash, Green Arrow and Plastic Man do appear.

The animation is bad, especially by modern standards, with mistakes and off-model characters. Batman’s logo will disappear for minutes at a time, and colors don’t always match from scene to scene. The DVD transfer isn’t particularly crisp, either. The discs’ only bonus feature is a Super Friends Trivia Challenge.

Ultimately, “Super Friends: Season One, Vol. 1” is for completists only. For those who want a nostalgic thrill, the previously released “Challenge of the Super Friends” is the way to go.

— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman