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Comic
Book: The Movie
It's only
appropriate that some copies of Comic Book: The Movie
have an accidental variant cover. The official back should
have a photo of the main cast, but somehow an undetermined
number got out with a picture of Mark
Hamill and fans dressed as Batman and Robin. Even better,
the picture has been printed in reverse. How do you know this
misprint didn't happen on purpose? In the comic book world,
it would have been misprinted in gold foil.
Fans
eat this sort of thing up, and for all its occasional flaws,
they should eat up Hamill's directorial debut, too. Not just
for the film, which
I reviewed earlier, but for the comprehensive DVD package.
At first it may seem odd to load up a direct-to-video release
with enough stuff to fill a second disk, but remember that
the film's very existence is a love letter to fandom - one
attached to a big present.
Because
of its unique nature as a mockumentary actually filmed in
the midst of its subject, Comic Book: The Movie's extras
become a strange blend of fun and respect. Even the commentary
is a fan's dream, as the producers are also the stars. (Well,
plus Scott
Zakarin and Eric
Mittleman, both content to let folks like Jess Harnell,
Billy West and Roger Rose riff all they like.) It's not just
informative; this disk has one of the rare commentaries that
is actually entertaining.
As is
the documentary featurette, "Four Color Frenzy." Featuring
interviews with all the producers, it covers the project from
inception to completion, with some funny candor about the
problems involved. Oh, and gentle mockery of Mittleman. A
word of warning to Joe Public: if you have a distinctive voice,
don't co-produce a movie with voice-over actors that have
particular skills in mimickry. Some of the stories that they
tell, however, may be familiar to those who have managed to
attend any of the Creative Light convention panels.
For those
who have not attended, one panel shows up disguised as "Behind
The Voices," a Q & A with the cream of animation voice-over
talent. Essentially taken directly out of the marathon shooting
session that provides the climax of the film, it's a chance
to really see who's who, and may in itself make this DVD worth
buying. I don't say this out of general kow-towing; I say
it because I know people that would really, really want to
own this segment - mostly, perhaps, Animaniacs fans
that might otherwise not realize what a treasure this package
holds.
As a
further bone to offer them, in the deleted scenes Billy West
and Jess Harnell sing their composition "Four Color World,"
a very cool song that, yes, really didn't fit in the film.
It just doesn't make sense that their two characters would
bond that far and improvise such a spot-on love song for comic
book fans. But as a short video, it will please a lot of fans.
The rest
of the deleted scenes are interesting and more often than
not amusing. Watch for Fanboy Planet contributor Daniel
DeFabio as an absinthe-fueled vision; I can't decide whether
DC or Kylie Minogue should be offended by his portrayal.
One deleted
segment worth expansion (and the Creative Light team notes
this) is an interview with self-publisher Devin T. Quin. Anything
written here will just be a poor echo of his rant, but maybe
somebody should follow up on Quin's fortunes. He calls himself
an embodiment of the American Dream, and he's not wrong, even
with a book called Robots R Cool, Zombies R Jerks.
(You can order the book by contacting him directly,
and no, we don't get a cut.)
The second
disk also includes full interviews with actors and artists
who ended up making little more than cameo appearances, improvising
about their parts in Commander Courage history. Bill Mumy's
is particularly fun, though most people will likely gravitate
to the Bruce Campbell, Kevin Smith, and Hugh Hefner pieces.
Though
the packaging doesn't ever say "collector's edition," it's
pretty clear that this is one set for collectors. Those of
you who have the bug, you understand. And those who don't
just might if they sit down with this.
To
buy a copy, go here.
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