On November 9 Warner Brothers will release Secret Origin, a DVD documentary about the history of DC Comics, the comic book publishing giant that introduced the world to Superman, Batman, The Flash, Aquaman, and countless other costumed heroes.
When I was a kid I was obsessed with Superman and comic books played a huge role in my early development as an artist. I wouldn’t just read them, I would study them and try to copy the drawings. For some reason I always gravitated towards DC Comics as opposed to Marvel so I’m excited about this documentary. Here’s the official trailer:
I gotta say I’m a little disappointed in the trailer, though. It feels very fluffy and without much substance. I hope that’s not indicative of the film. I’d really like to learn the gritty behind-the-scenes details about the various challenges, struggles, bright ideas, and difficult decisions that the DC Comics editors and creators have grappled with over the years. I’m not an expert on DC Comics but I know that as the comics biz has evolved over the decades DC has faced their fair share of creative challenges and controversies. Walking us through them would be both entertaining and instructive.
Of course you can cut a trailer a thousand different ways to give almost any impression you desire (YouTube mashup trailers, like the one that presents “The Shining” as a romantic comedy, are great examples of this). So here’s hoping the DVD has some real meat and isn’t just a giant smiling commercial from the Warner Brothers PR department (Warner Bros. owns DC Comics).
You can pre-order Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics