As Christopher Nolan’s Batman films and releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have regularly topped the box office charts, fans and critics alike might assume that the “comic book movie” is a distinctly twenty-first-century form. Yet adaptations of comics have been an integral part of American cinema from its very inception, with comics characters regularly leaping from the page to the screen and cinematic icons spawning comics of their own. Movie Comics is the first book to study the long history of both comics-to-film and film-to-comics adaptations, covering everything from silent films starring Happy Hooligan to sound films and serials featuring Dick Tracy and Superman to comic books starring John Wayne, Gene Autry, Bob Hope, Abbott & Costello, Alan Ladd, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. With a special focus on the Classical Hollywood era, Blair Davis investigates the factors that spurred this media convergence, as the film and comics industries joined forces to expand the reach of their various brands. While analyzing this production history, he also tracks the artistic coevolution of films and comics, considering the many formal elements that each medium adopted and adapted from the other. As it explores our abiding desire to experience the same characters and stories in multiple forms, Movie Comics gives readers a new appreciation for the unique qualities of the illustrated page and the cinematic moving image.

Marvel Studios' approach to its Cinematic Universe--beginning with the release of Iron Man (2008)--has become the template for successful management of blockbuster film properties. Yet films featuring Marvel characters can be traced back to the 1940s, when the Captain America serial first appeared on the screen. This collection of new essays is the first to explore the historical, textual and cultural context of the larger cinematic Marvel universe, including serials, animated films, television movies, non-U.S. versions of Marvel characters, films that feature characters licensed by Marvel, and the contemporary Cinematic Universe as conceived by Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios. Films analyzed include Transformers (1986), Howard the Duck (1986), Blade (1998), Planet Hulk (2010), Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (2013), Elektra (2005), the Conan the Barbarian franchise (1982-1990), Ultimate Avengers (2006) and Ghost Rider (2007).

Comic Book Movies explores how this genre serves as a source for modern-day myths, sometimes even incorporating ancient mythic figures like Thor and Wonder Woman’s Amazons, while engaging with the questions that haunt a post-9/11 world: How do we define heroism and morality today? How far are we willing to go when fighting terror? How can we resist a dystopian state? Film scholar Blair Davis also considers how the genre’s visual style is equally important as its weighty themes, and he details how advances in digital effects have allowed filmmakers to incorporate elements of comic book art in innovative ways. As he reveals, comic book movies have inspired just as many innovations to Hollywood’s business model, with film franchises and transmedia storytelling helping to ensure that the genre will continue its reign over popular culture for years to come.

Welcome to Halloween Town, where vampires, witches, and goblins rule the never-ending night! One Halloween, something befalls the almighty Pumpkin King. Beyond the tricks and scares, an emptiness begins to grow within Jack Skellington. He finds himself far from home, in a land where people smile, laugh, and sing with glee, and he feels that this Christmas Town could be the answer to his melancholy. Everyone is in for a surprise as Jack tries to unlock the secret of Christmas, take over the holiday, and kidnaps Santa Claus! Meanwhile, Sally, a compassionate rag doll, has a vision--a horrible end is near if Jack succeeds in ruling Christmas. Torn between her love for Jack and saving both towns, she must prevent her vision from coming true. As Jack assumes his role as "Sandy Claws," he discovers where he truly belongs . . . But is it too late?

Young Hercules finds out his father is the god Zeus, and goes on a quest to be a hero and become immortal.

Contributions by Timothy P. Barnard, Michael Cohen, Rayna Denison, Martin Flanagan, Sophie Geoffroy-Menoux, Mel Gibson, Kerry Gough, Jonathan Gray, Craig Hight, Derek Johnson, Pascal Lefevre, Paul M. Malone, Neil Rae, Aldo J. Regalado, Jan van der Putten, and David Wilt In Film and Comic Books contributors analyze the problems of adapting one medium to another; the translation of comics aesthetics into film; audience expectations, reception, and reaction to comic book-based films; and the adaptation of films into comics. A wide range of comic/film adaptations are explored, including superheroes (Spider-Man), comic strips (Dick Tracy), realist and autobiographical comics (American Splendor; Ghost World), and photo-montage comics (Mexico's El Santo). Essayists discuss films beginning with the 1978 Superman. That success led filmmakers to adapt a multitude of comic books for the screen including Marvel's Uncanny X-Men, the Amazing Spider-Man, Blade, and the Incredible Hulk as well as alternative graphic novels such as From Hell, V for Vendetta, and Road to Perdition. Essayists also discuss recent works from Mexico, France, Germany, and Malaysia.

Sail the Pacific Islands in search of destiny and the demigod Maui in this retelling of Disney Moana. Moana is a spirited teenager who loves the ocean, yet she is forbidden to travel beyond the reef that surrounds her island home of Motunui. But she feels called to something more, and wants to discover who she was meant to be. When darkness begins to consume the island, and nature is out of balance, Moana knows the solution lies beyond the safety of the reef. Following the messages of her ancestors, and with encouragement from the ocean itself, Moana sails into the open sea to find the demigod Maui and right a wrong from his past. Together they face rough waters, monstrous creatures, and the unknown, in a mission to stop the darkness from spreading, and restore life to the islands! Become a master wayfinder in this action-packed story as Moana's love for the sea turns her into a hero among her people, the gods, and the ocean.