{"id":22925,"date":"2012-11-02T06:43:19","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T10:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=22925"},"modified":"2012-10-25T17:44:55","modified_gmt":"2012-10-25T21:44:55","slug":"history-of-the-comic-book-film-the-failed-british-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/02\/history-of-the-comic-book-film-the-failed-british-invasion\/","title":{"rendered":"HISTORY OF THE COMIC BOOK FILM: The Failed British Invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a multi-part series, Comic Book Film Editor William Gatevackes will be tracing the history of comic book movies from the earliest days of the film serials to today\u2019s big blockbusters and beyond. Along with the history lesson, Bill will be covering some of the most prominent comic book films over the years and why they were so special. This time, we\u2019ll talk about a different kind of British invasion as some British comic book icons come over to the States in film form. <\/em><\/p>\n

If there is a reoccurring theme of this history, it\u2019s that Hollywood often screws up the American comics they adapt. Whether it be hubris, a lack of understanding, or plain old incompetence, more comic book movies are changed for the worse by Hollywood because the powers that be just \u201cdidn\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Hollywood has a hard time making movies out of comics published in its own country, how would it fare adapting Britain\u2019s favorite comic book characters? Judging by two examples from the 1990s, it would not fare well at all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Judge Dredd is perhaps the most famous British comic book character of all time. I believe that only Miracle\/Marvelman would give him a run for his money. Created by Pat Mills, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and first appearing in the second issue of the seminal British comic book magazine 2000 A.D.<\/strong>, Dredd was a combined cop, judge, and executioner in a post-apocalyptic United States. He is the best cop in Mega-City One, the future version of New York City, if New York City took up most of the Eastern Seaboard. His jurisdiction ran from busting petty vandals to stopping another nuclear Armageddon. He would face off against mutants, cyborgs and gangs in the process of doing his job.<\/p>\n

The character appeared in every issue of 2000 A.D. <\/strong>since his first appearance in 1977 and was one of the few British comic book characters to get his own magazine. British creators that went on to have some success in the States worked on the character, including Brian Bolland, Ian Gibson, Brendan McCarthy, Alan Grant, Steve Dillon, Barry Kitson, John Higgins, Garry Leach, Kevin O\u2019Neill, Liam Sharp, Glenn Fabry, Alan Davis, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison and many, many more.<\/p>\n

Judge Dredd has quite a following in the United States, with many fans becoming exposed to the character through reprints, through DC licensing the characters, or imports of British mags. This stateside popularity caught the attention of Hollywood producers, who decided, in 1995, to give the character his own movie called Judge Dredd<\/strong>.<\/p>\n