No, not the book--the animated film that everyone pissed on when it was due to come out because it couldn't possibly be the book, because comics fans are nothing if not open-minded when it comes to adaptations of works much beloved and admired.
For my own part, given that the Blu-Ray was cheap, I decided to buy it and give it a watch. Wonder of wonders, it's not bad--the 75 minute running time means rather a lot has to get chopped out (and no, it really doesn't look like Quitely's art, but then there's no way in hell you were going to get dozens of underpaid Korean animators to draw like him) but the essence of the story's there, and it works well enough. It's no substitute for the book, but it's diverting enough for an hour and change, and it's one of the first time's we've seen someone try to adapt Morrison's work outside of its native medium, so it's instructive on many levels, I'd say.
On an unrelated yet not, tip--what does everyone think makes a better "final" Superman story--All-Star or "Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?" They both have their charms, but I give All-Star a bit more of an edge--I'd like to think Superman would go out on a bit more of a high-note in terms of positivity than Moore's story left him in. Understandably, y'all's mileage may vary on that, but I'd be interested to hear why.
In any event, bottom line: It's not bad, and holds together rather durably. If you can find it cheap, it's worth picking up.
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2 comments:
I adore "Whatever Happened...?", but I agree that I think "All-Star" makes a better conclusion, pretty much for the reasons you cited. Plus, the ending of "All-Star" is a lot more mythic than that of "Whatever...?", and as such feels far more appropriate.
I like "Whatever" myself, but for a Superman story it feels very . . .it doesn't exactly feel like a Superman story, somehow. There are Superman tropes, Superman villains, etc. but in terms of tone and structure it doesn't quite right true.
Whereas with All-Star you really get a sense that this is the breadth of Superman as a concept and as a fictional entity--Morrison does a good job of touching on nearly every point of Superman's fictional history (not the "electric blue" period, of course, but who wants to dwell on that?) and the overall tone of the story is a very positive one--yes, Superman is "dying" but look: he inspires us to be better, and his final journey holds the promise for his return in some fashion.
It's sort of like the difference between an ending and a a grand finale.
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