When Watchmen was announced as the next big motion picture event a few years ago, I looked forward to seeing how producers could make mainstream a storyline cherished by comic fans, but known only to a select few outside the medium. Then as I scrolled through iTunes, I came across the Watchmen ‘motion comic.’ Essentially, a reprinting of an original comic book or story, motion comics are cinematic versions of the printed media. By moving elements of the scene, overlaying foreground/background elements, adding voices for the characters and a musical score, the comic is brought to life. In essence, it’s like experiencing a 3-D version of the comic on your computer screen without the glasses and with added sound effects.
Several projects predated the release of the Watchmen motion comic including a series of videos used to promote Stephen King’s 2008 collection of short stories, “Just After Sunset” and a prequel to “I Am Legend.” The medium, therefore, appeared to be a novel form of advertisement, particularly aimed at younger internet users. As with comics, the big sell is always the caliber of the writing and art. With each of these stories, I was thrilled about the visual ‘feel’ for the motion comics, but I was underwhelmed by voice-over actors used in the stories.
Now, Marvel and iTunes are teaming up to bring us Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev You can not ask for two better collaborators to produce a quality tale than Bendis and Maleev, whose work on Daredevil rank among the best for that title. Better yet, Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is an original work, never before seen in print, produced specifically for this genre. And the story is in time with the goings-on of the Spider-Woman character in the Marvel Universe.
Here we find Jessica Drew, lonely, angry, and confused, trying to find a place in the world she has been apart from, thanks to the happenings of Secret Invasion. Historically, a super-powered double-agent for HYDRA, SHIELD, and the Avengers, Drew is approached to join yet another covert agency, S.W.O.R.D. Spider-Woman appears to be joining the business of alien hunting! I enjoyed the storyline and the artwork was classic Maleev, who brought the realistic, ‘noir’-style of art to popularity. My only gripe is the voices of these characters, particularly that of Drew. I mean, she’s supposed to be a spy, right? I was expecting a fairly youthful but accent-less voice, not some affected, 50-year old lady from the Northeast!
In any case, the motion comic Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. has considerable promise and is slated for at least four more episodes, and to be followed promptly by Astonishing X-Men, helmed by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. And with that, I leave you with this week’s question, which creative team would you like teaming up on a new motion comic and for which title? And you can’t say Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on ‘Batman and Robin” ’cause I already called it!
I started following the Dexter motion comic. Very good. I dare say, excellent.
have you seen the God Killer illustrated film with danielle harris from Halloween 2 and lance henrickson and bill moseley? i saw a clip at fangoria and it looked great. there’s an interesting article comparing God Killer and Watchmen here http://hollywood-2point0.com/blog/by-matt-pizzolo/illustrated-films-vs-motion-comics
Good Article. I actually downloaded the Watchmen joint. I like it, thought it was pretty cool format. Like a Hybrid between a comic and a cartoon, the limited animation still lets your imagination fill in some blanks but I think it gives the writer/artist much more control over how they want to tell the story.