For those scared of books without pictures, we'll start with what else is available this week. Boom! Studios launches a new series based on Pixar's The Incredibles and a new series called Kill Audio that really has to be seen to be believed; it's a horror/sci-fi comic about a little indestructible man trying to destroy music? Maybe? You'll know what I mean when you take a look at this:

DC gets into the spirit of the season by putting out the first issue of a bi-weekly horror-centric Batman series, Batman: The Unseen, for Hallowe'en, and World War Z's Max Brooks keeps everything horrific with his new graphic novel The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks.

Marvel, meanwhile, goes entirely in the other direction, with the first issue of X-Babies. Or if you'd rather read more mature mutants, there's also the first collection of the 1990s retro guilty pleasure X-Men Forever and the first issue of the sure-to-be-fun X-Men Vs. Agents Of Atlas.

Non-X-Book launches from the publisher also include the collections of Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (Reed Richards comes to terms with the newly-grim outlook of the Marvel Universe) and Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter (Horse-headed alien version of Thor against planet-eater Galactus), as well as first issues of Doctor Voodoo: Avenger Of The Supernatural and Spider-Man 1602, which really does offer a 17th century version of Peter Parker.

Book of the week, though, is a real, honest-to-goodness book: Peter & Max: A Fables Novel is, as the title suggests, the first prose novel to spin out of the Vertigo series Fables. Written by that series' creator and writer, Bill Willingham, it's everything a fan of the series could want - and everything a non-fan could need to get initiated. We'll have a review later this week, but for now, know that it's something you should be adding to your shopping list.

That list, as usual, can be built by visiting this list of everything being released to comic stores by Diamond Distributors tomorrow, and as ever, you can find your nearest comic store by visiting the Comic Shop Locator Service. As for my recommending a non-comic book in a comic book column...? I promise I'll try to do better next week... but you should take a look at Peter & Max nonetheless.

Syndrome (The Incredibles)

You, sir, truly are Mr. Incredible! You know, I was right to idolize you. I always knew you were tough, but tricking the probe by hiding under the bones of another super?! Oh, man! I'm still geeking out about it!

Fannish Traits: Fashioning himself as Mr. Incredible's sidekick Incredi-Boy for one, but even the business of making the ultimate superhero-killing machine and luring Mr. Incredible to his island lair to fight it was fannish in its own warped way.
What Drove Him to Evil: A demoralizing rejection at the hands of Mr. Incredible left him with a inferiority complex and bitter grudge against the superpowered community.

Henchman #21 (The Venture Bros.)

Dude I can't believe we didn't get blown up. We're like those guys on TV who never get shot. Yeah we're like main characters.

Fannish Traits: He keeps a closet full of collectible weapons, has a side job with the Atomic Comic Collection Connection, and debates whether the Smurfs are mammals. Fortunately, #21 lives in a comic book world, and his genre savvy is one of the things that keeps him alive.
What Drove Him to Evil: #21 was actually kidnapped and pressed into the Monarch's service at age 15, but he keeps up his henching because he finds it kind of awesome.

The Trio (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Warren: What the hell is that?
Andrew: Death Star, dude! Wicked, huh?
Jonathan: Uh, thermal exhaust port's above the main port, numbnuts.
Andrew: For your information, I'm using the Empire's revised design from Return of the Jedi.
Jonathan: That's a flawed design!

Fannish Traits: In addition the van with the Death Star mural, dialogue amongst the Trio (Andrew and Jonathan in particular) is a constant stream of science fiction and comic book references (notably, Jonathan claims fluency in Klingon). And their attempts at bank robbery and Slayer killing are pretty much straight out of the supervillain handbook.
What Drove Them to Evil: Repeated social, scientific, and mystical missteps, which required the Scooby Gang's constant meddling. That, and they hoped it would get them girls.

Superboy-Prime (DC Comics)

On my Earth, I read all about you, Polar Boy. You were a substitute Legionnaire who was let into the clubhouse because people felt sorry for you. Y'know, I almost feel sorry for you. Almost.

Fannish Traits: Raised in our universe reading comic books (and named after Clark Kent), Superboy-Prime is so distraught with the current direction of the DC Universe, that he tries to retcon the universe so it resembles the DC comics of his childhood.
What Drove Him to Evil: Pretty much the entire DC writing staff.

Control Freak (Teen Titans)

All these would've worked on the real Titans. It's just, your powers are... stupid! I don't wanna fight you anymore.

Fannish Traits: It's no surprise that, with his obsession with science fiction and television, Control Freak becomes an accidental fan of the Titans themselves. He's genuinely miffed when he has to face off against the Titans East instead of the main Teen Titans, and he's pissed when he realizes he's not on the list of their most notorious villains — after all, he's a recurring character.
What Drives Him to Evil: Mostly, because villains look cool.

Joe Jackson Stevens (Powers)

Every time they report about her, they ruin her. Every time they say her name, they chip away at her soul. The Indians say that a photograph steals your soul. Imagine if they are right. The world has no rights to her soul. If only I could get her attention.

Fannish Traits: Despite an avowed hatred of capes, Stevens has a profound obsession with Retro Girl, as evidenced by his diary entries and some rather sticky photos found in his apartment.
What Drove Him to Evil: Stevens is just plain unbalanced. He goes Mark David Chapman on Retro Girl because he wants to preserve her unblemished memory for the masses.

Red Mist (Kick-Ass)

Seriously. This whole superhero thing's been bubbling away for years, but you were the first to get out there and have the balls to do it, man. I'm your biggest fan. This is like meeting Elvis or something.

Fannish Traits: Mist claims to be such a huge fan of Kick-Ass (and superhero comics), that he follows Kick-Ass's lead and dons a ridiculous red suit to fight crime.
What Drove Him to Evil: It's not clear that Red Mist was ever on Kick-Ass's side, but whatever the case, he was probably getting paid good money to turn on his fellow vigilante.

Tim the Fanboy (Fans!)

These guys are the president and vice-president of a very cool club! They've fought a vampire, a mind-control conspiracy, and an ancient god! Share in the coolness! Join now!

Fannish Traits: Whereas most members of Bilberg University's Science Fiction Club are fans of science fiction, Tim is a devotee of the Club itself, turning down a spot at Harvard so he could worship at their feet. That, and he dresses like Harry Potter.
What Drove Him to Evil: Tim tends to become utterly devoted to a cause, only to turn on it completely when it lets him down in the slightest. When the Science Fiction Club is overwhelmed by the time traveling warlord General Maximillianna, Tim decides that she must be the superior moral force, and quickly joins her forces.

Ray Thompson (Justice League "Legends")

"Holy hijacking, Catman!"

Fannish Traits: Ray is so nostalgic for the superheroes of his childhood, that after they perished in a nuclear holocaust, he psychically resurrects them so they can continue their adventures.
What Drove Him to Evil: The sole survivor of the nuclear holocaust, Ray just wants to recreate the world of his idealized childhood. But when his illusion is shattered, he goes on a rampage that threatens to destroy reality.

The Mad Hatter (Batman)

As the great Lewis Carroll said: "One, two, one, two, and through and through the vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head, he went galumphing back!"

Fannish Traits: Jarvis Tetch is so obsessed with Lewis Carroll's Alice books that he dresses as the Mad Hatter, only eats hat-themed food, and constantly quotes Carroll.
What Drove Him to Evil: Psychosis. The Hatter has trouble distinguishing between Wonderland and reality, and has developed a frightening obsession with girls named Alice.

Mock Turtle (Astro City)

There was Narnia, with Caer Paravel. And Alice's Wonderland. And more. And children could find them, children like me. If I could find the right wardrobe, go through the right looking glass —

Fannish Traits: Like the Batman villain above, Martin Chefwick was obsessed with fantasy realms, including Wonderland, Narnia, and Oz. And, while he didn't mistake the real world for Wonderland, as a child he often went off in search of a gateway to a fantastical realm all his own.
What Drove Him to Evil: He wanted to impress a girl.

Stewie Griffin (Family Guy "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven")

No way, I'm getting Patrick Stewart to sign it. Picard has it all over Kirk. He's poised and measured and doesn't wear a cheap rug. Rather, he accepts even baldness with a quiet cool that says, "I am in command. You are safe with me. I will cradle you in my arms through any crisis in any galaxy."

Fannish Traits: From our list of convention disasters, Stewie built a working transporter for the sole purpose of kidnapping the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
What Drove Him to Evil: Stewie has always been evil, but in this case, he was simply annoyed he didn't get to ask his question at the convention.

Melllvar (Futurama "Where No Fan Has Gone Before")

Fry: Melllvar's got a spaceship.
Melllvar: Yes, in mint condition... and you made me take it out of the package!

Fannish Traits: Another from our convention disasters list, Melllvar creates a paradise for the cast of the original Star Trek so he can hold his own private convention. Then he makes them battle the Planet Express crew to the death for his fanboy affection.
What Drove Him to Evil: Non-corporeal beings only seem evil until you learn that they're harmless 34 year-olds still living in their parents' basements.

Ben Meyers (Smallville "Action")

I'm sorry, Lana. But there's a hero living among us, and there's only one way he'll accept his calling. You need to die.

Fannish Traits: A fan of the Warrior Angel comic books, Meyers is upset when he learns that the hero's love interest won't die in the film adaptation like she does in the book. To maintain the purity of the movie, Meyers decides to simply kill off the actress playing the love interest himself. And, when he discovers Clark's unusual abilities, he believes Lana must endure the same fate.
What Drove Him to Evil: Hollywood's obsession with happy endings.

Mysterious Fan Boy (X-Statix)

If we're really being honest here, and I hope we are, I'd started to love the new X-Force, even though their high mortality rate did unsettle my bowels. And now they go and change the whole thing. If that was all they'd done I might be able to forgive them. But they have done the unforgivable. They've killed the best of them. I mean, how do those people expect us fans to react?

Fannish Traits: Arnie Lundberg wears his fandom proudly. He is such a huge fan of X-Force in general and U-Go Girl in particular that when his favorite team member gets killed off, he takes an entire town hostage, controlling and disfiguring its citizens, a la the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life."
What Drove Him to Evil: A combination of childhood taunting, relative omnipotence, and U-Go Girl's death. But it all works out for him since he joins the newly renamed X-Statix team so they can keep an eye on him.

Comic Book Guy (The Simpsons)

Lucite...hardening. Must end life...in classic...Lorne Greene pose...from...Battlestar Galactica. Best...death...ever!

Fannish Traits: There's very little in the Comic Book Guy's life that doesn't center around fandom. And, in the Treehouse of Horror episode "Desperately Xeeking Xena," he becomes a villain known as "The Collector," who steals his favorite celebrities and places them in PET bags for safe keeping.
What Drove Him to Evil: The desire to preserve his favorite actors in mint condition.

The Catgirl Menace (Something Positive)

I'm tired of you comic creators thinking just because you make something you own it! You don't! It's ours the minute we read it! And the fans know better than you do what's right, otherwise we'd be making comics, not reading them!

Fannish Traits: Not precisely scifi, but too powerful to be ignored, the Catgirls walk around in adorable cat ears and will read anything with the word "Neko" in the title.
What Drove Them to Evil: Someone dissed their obsession du jour, Neko Neko Holy-Chan. Fortunately, they lost interest when they realized the comic creators were changing the comic in a way that disagreed with their fan fiction and shattered their little yaoi fantasies. Some creators just like their straw fans to smack you in the face.

The Big Money notes that Paramount's YouTube version of the trailer received 237,000 viewings and nearly 2,300 text comments in its first four days, but wonders if teasing a movie so far in advance of its release is a sign of desperation that could lead to backlash:

Hollywood is a firm believer in the axiom [that it's] never too early to start building buzz. It doesn't even matter if the crew is still in post-production, evidently... But at some point you'd wonder if teaser trailers posted online a full 13 months before the movie hits theaters is a good strategy? How do you keep interest high then over the long autumn, winter, and spring? By producing trailer after trailer? Hollywood will watch this strategy closely to see at what point trailer fatigue sets in or whether it needs to build interest even earlier in its expensive summer blockbusters.

Of course, Airbender's 13 months in advance isn't anything approaching a record; the first teaser trailer for this summer's Star Trek ended up being released 16 months in advance of the movie's release - admittedly, the movie's release was pushed back during that time - and The Incredibles had a teaser released 18 months before the movie itself. But the question is a good one nonetheless; Watchmen's first teaser came out eight months before the movie, but by the time the movie was released, it already felt outdated (As much as, if not moreso, Trek) - is there a statute of limitations on when we should first see footage from a movie? Or should moviemakers just hold back the amount of footage they allow in trailers no matter when they're released? How much teasing is too much?

Paramount's Premature Promo? [The Big Money]

One reason why some people may dread the coming flood of capes-and-fights movies is the fact that so many of them are the same. Almost every superhero movie follows a drab formula, walking us through the good guy's origin story and introducing his (usually his) entire universe. Clueless loser. Gets superpowers. Shirks his destiny. Faces his destiny. Meets super-baddy. Loses. Faces his darkest hour. Fights super-baddy again. Wins. The end. Yay! Or else they're sequels, in which there's less "journey of discovery," and multiple bad guys.

But for superhero films to be a worthy genre, and not just the same movie over and over again with minor variations, they have to start breaking out of the rut. Audiences are familiar enough with superhero lore that they can enjoy a movie that departs from the usual pattern. (And yes, it's all been done in the comics, several times in most cases.) Here are a few great superhero movies (and a couple clunkers) that point the way forward:

Watchmen

Why it broke the mold: Because it honors Alan Moore's cliché-busting graphic novel, Watchmen honors few of the standard superhero tropes. There's no heroic origin story, and the heroes don't get superpowers through some accident. Like Batman, their powers mostly come from the exercise of pure will. Even Dr. Manhattan seems to be held together by willpower. And instead of showing us how a hero comes into his power, Watchmen shows us how Nite Owl regains his power after a long period of impotence (literal and figurative) and Rorschach survives being stripped of his totemic mask and put in prison, and Dr. Manhattan gets through a crisis of confidence. And then all three heroes confront a supervillain who's – if anything – too great a departure from the usual villainous tropes, and they totally fail to overcome him. (Sadly, Silk Spectre's arc is a lot less compelling in the film.) The main way Watchmen is different from Brand X superhero tales, though, is in its moral ambiguity and the way it forces us to admire the Comedian, a psychopathic rapist with almost no lovable qualities. (Except, in the movie, he loves Nat "King" Cole. That's something, I guess.)
Why other films should pay attention: Watchmen didn't detonate the box office, but it could still be influential for decades to come. Five years from now, there'll probably be another movie that borrows Watchmen's savage moral ambiguity and pop-culture profligacy, and it'll score big, and everyone will marvel that such a new spin on the superhero genre could have come out of nowhere.

The Incredibles

Why it broke the mold: The Incredibles dispenses with all the secret-origin stuff right away, and then springboards into a story about a superpowered family that is trying to live a normal life. I'm not the first person to point out the similarities between the Incredibles and Watchmen: they both take place in a world that has made superheroism illegal, and they both feature an aging, sagging former superhero trying to get his game back. But deeper still, they both explore the relationship between superheroes and society – Mr. Incredible has an unwanted would-be sidekick, who has the powers but doesn't have anything else, and that question – of what else, besides superpowers, you need to be a superhero – winds up being a crucial issue in the movie. Plus, the costume-maker woman, Edna Mode, is one of the greatest characters in animated movie history, and deals, once and for all, with the question of how heroes get such cool outfits.
Why other films should pay attention: The Incredibles has real, breathing characters who love each other and mess up and keep going. The character development in the movie feels real, instead of the color-by-numbers "Pass Go, collect $200" personal growth of most superhero flicks.

Mystery Men and The Specials

Why they broke the mold: I have to admit it, I always blend these two movies from 1999 and 2000 in my mind. They're both about misfit, third-string superheroes who can't, or don't, have the fancy corporate sponsorship that the bigger, more powerful heroes have. The main difference is that Mystery Men features our heroes finally saving the day, whereas The Specials shows them becoming reconciled to being nobodies who still have to rescue people from nightmares.
Why other films should pay attention: Like Hancock (see below), these films show that superheroes have a ton of potential for comedy, but also that you can show superheroes who aren't actually super-competent or the greatest ever. These two films also show that the public is familiar enough with superhero stuff now, that you don't have to have your hero (or heroes) be the only superhero(es) in the world. Unlike virtually every big mainstream superhero film, these take place in a world where there are lots of superheroes around, and the public is used to seeing them. Given that in real life, we're all used to seeing tons of superheroes, that seems like a good step.

Unbreakable

Why it broke the mold: Thanks to everyone who suggested this film, from back when M. Night Shyamalan was still unstoppable. I'm one of the few people who didn't love this Bruce Willis-Samuel L. Jackson joint, but I have to admit it does bust out of all superhero norms. For one thing, it's very self-aware about superhero conventions, having Jackson's character comment on them constantly. And it takes the usual "hero creates his own arch-nemesis" trope and turns it on its head, having the villain create the hero instead. And the dynamic between Jackson's messed-up psycho and Bruce Willis' reluctant hero is pretty fascinating.
Why other films should pay attention: Given how much of the superhero story is a cliche nowadays, it's worthwhile to show characters who are aware of that, and even play into it consciously. And since The Dark Knight made $100 squillion dollars, there will be a push towards "dark" movies that play with the codependent relationships between heroes and their arch-villains in a thoughtful way — Unbreakable is a pretty good source for that idea.

The Incredible Hulk

Why it broke the mold: It's technically not a sequel, but it's also not an origin story. The Hulk himself is a very mold-breaking superhero, who's more like a classic monster in many ways except that he fights bad guys and has a kind of "secret identity." Most of all, Edward Norton's Hulk movie comes at the idea of a "hero discovering his powers" in an unusual way — it shows Bruce Banner struggling to avoid embracing his green, powerhouse alter ego, until he finally realizes that the Hulk can do some good in the world.
Why other films should pay attention: If we're going to get lots of movies about good-looking people who keep denying their own power and rejecting their abilities, this film shows us a more interesting way to do it. Little innovations like Bruce Banner learning martial arts so he can defend himself without Hulking out, or using a heart-rate monitor to stay un-Hulky keep the conceit fresh and interesting, and keep him from being just a passive cliche.

DarkMan

Why it broke the mold: You think The Dark Knight was dark and twisted? How about a superhero movie where Harvey Dent is the main hero? Peyton Westlake's skin gets destroyed, but an experimental treatment gives him increased strength and resistance to pain. And then he discovers a method of using artificial skin to disguise himself as other people, and uses it to destroy the people who hurt him — and fight crime! Sam Raimi's first superhero movie still holds up amazingly well today.
Why other films should pay attention: Somebody, eventually, is going to get the rights to do a movie of The Shadow, and they're going to need another role model for the dark, tormented creature of the night. And the idea of melding the angsty superhero with the Phantom Of The Opera shows that you can take two very different archetypes and mash them up, with tremendous success.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Why it broke the mold: I would never hold up this Ivan Reitman comedy as a good movie — far from it — but it does feature a different spin on the usual superhero themes. Uma Thurman's character, Jenny aka G-Girl, is a superheroine who's neurotic and insecure and uses her powers to get back at Luke Wilson's Matt after he breaks up with her. Eventually it turns out that G-Girl and her nemesis, Professor Bedlam, are really in love with each other. Superheroic struggles are subjugated to a set of romantic-comedy themes, such as the jealous "wrong" girlfriend, and the couple who secretly dig each other but express it through hatred.
Why other films should pay attention: You could take the ideas of My Super Ex-Girlfriend — including the way Wilson's character gets drawn into helping Professor Bedlam steal away G-Girl's powers, and the idea of a superhero who uses her powers for petty personal revenge — in a terrific movie, if you only had better writing, directing, and everything else.

Hancock:

Why it broke the mold: Hancock was not exactly my favorite movie of 2008, but I still hope it spawns a legion of imitators. (Free advice to Marvel: please make a Hancock-esque movie about Wonder Man, the L.A. stuntman and third-string hero.) As meh as Hancock was, it could spawn a whole new flotilla of non-traditional super-films. Where do we begin? The fact that Hancock's not an origin story is just the tip of the iceberg. There's also the basic fact that he's not a white guy, or young for that matter. And then you have the fact that he's an alcoholic fuck-up, who causes more problems than he solves and inspires more loathing than admiration from the citizenry. Oh, and his main weakness? Is his kinda-sorta girlfriend. (The movie's main problems come from the repetitive jokes that aren't that funny the first time, the lack of a credible antagonist, and the nose-dive it takes in the second half.)
Why other films should pay attention: Hancock proves superheroes can be more than straight arrows, or even typical anti-heroes. They can be barely likable fuck-ups. They can be losers. They can be dipshits. (As long as they're played by a marquee actor.)

During the course of working on this post, we got into a giant debate about which movies even count as superhero movies. Does Tank Girl? Does the original Buffy movie? How much can you break the superhero mold before you're no longer a superhero? To me, what makes something a superhero movie – as opposed to a movie about someone with superpowers – is including some of the hallmarks of superheroism, like the costume or the secret identity, for sure. But more than that – the superhero is someone who has powers that he or she could use to get rich or rule the world. Or in the case of heroes like Batman or most of Watchmen's characters, the superhero simply possesses amazing skills and superhuman willpower. The superhero identity is about domesticating that power, just like any uniform, and turning this potentially scary person into a safe, understandable protector. Just like we trust a cop to carry a gun, baton and handcuffs, becuase the uniform says the cop will play by a set of rules.

So in a sense, any superhero movie that goes beyond the usual tropes is taking the promise of the costumes and superhero identities — that this person will be a "good guy" — to its limit, without leaving the tropes behind completely. If you leave behind the tropes completely, then it's not a superhero movie, just a film about people with paranormal abilities. In any case, here's hoping we get some more superhero flicks that stretch the boundaries of the genre in the way comics writers have been doing for years.

What superhero movies do you think broke the mold, or at least dented it?

There's no getting around it; for almost every publisher this week, it's all about the reprints. DC collect some of the funniest self-referential comics ever in the black and white Showcase Presents Ambush Bug, Marvel showcases the next generation of mean green mothers with the Hulk: Skaar, Son of Hulk hardcover, Wanted creator Mark Millar's stab at religion, Chosen gets a reissue as American Jesus Volume 1: Chosen (worth picking up if only for the insanely terrible ending, and I say that with something approaching love) and a genuine classic gets new life as Ted McKeever Library Volume 3: Metropol.

(Also released, if Diamond's shipping list of this week's releases is to be believed - although I am convinced that it can't be, because this isn't due for another month - is the collection of IDW's Star Trek: Countdown, the prequel to JJ Abrams' big screen reboot of Gene Rodenberry's franchise, and a fun Next Generation story in and of itself. I keep thinking I should do a recap for Trek fans who haven't picked it up, and the same with IDW's Terminator: Salvation prequel - Would you guys be interested in that?)

That said, Boom! Studios have easily taken the win for the week's releases with two new books based on old friends.

Firstly, Pixar's The Incredibles come to their natural home with the first issue of The Incredibles: Family Matters (written by Kingdom Come, The Flash and many other great things writer Mark Waid), which manages to capture the tone of the movie pretty damn well... but even so, still isn't the best thing to hit stores tomorrow.

No, that title belongs to the first issue of Boom!'s new The Muppet Show series, which I will tenuously define as sci-fi for the purposes of inclusion here thanks to the Pigs In Space sketch contained therein. For anyone who loved the old Muppet Show TV series... you have to buy this. You really, really won't be disappointed. Unless you hated the comedy and only tuned in for the musical numbers.

For those who know what it is to laugh, you'll have to use the Comic Shop Locator to find out where to buy the wonder (and pick up The Incredibles, while you're at it). For everyone else...? Well, why not look and see what else is coming out this week to find something to tickle your fancy?

And you can see way more of this awesome imagery over at Romano's blog. [Lou Romano, via Slashfilm]

According to the show's producer Barry Sonnenfeld (Men In Black, Enchanted):

"It is a metaphor of what it is like to be a supermom and overworked dad in modern times."

The show will air on ABC and be a full hour long. This could go one of two ways, let's hope this isn't yet another terrible superhero television show like Exo-Man and more in the vein of Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack. But when you go ahead and compare your show to one of the better Disney movies right out of the gate, you're almost setting yourself up to fail.
[The Hollywood Reporter]

There's been plenty of animated scifi before this summer, of course — Fox and Blue Sky put out the bog-awful Robots a few years ago, and Disney/Pixar did The Incredibles. There's been underground-y weird animated scifi like Heavy Metal since the 70s, and plenty of animated science fiction/comics stuff on TV. And while we've been dragging our feet in the U.S., the Japanese have been putting science fiction anime on the big screen for decades.

But this will be remembered as the summer science fiction animation broke out, mostly thanks to Wall-E and Clone Wars. It's not just that both films will probably end up having been box-office successes. They're also so different from each other, in style and storylines, that you won't be able to think of science fiction animation as being restricted to a kind of space-operatic goofiness or superhero pastiche ever again. Whether you love either of those films, they're both a proof of concept for two different ways of approaching big-screen CG-animated science fiction.

(Despite having the cartoony chubby humans, Wall-E is actually more photorealistic than Clone Wars, thanks to the awesome pseudo-cinematography of Roger Deakins, complete with lens flare and textures. Clone Wars, meanwhile, deliberately sets out to avoid being photorealistic and winds up with a weird puppet style of animation that may grow on me. Or not. )

At first, I thought the science fiction animated boom would be self-limiting, because of a string of wretched films in the pipeline, like Space Chimps, Fly, and (I have a feeling) the forthcoming Planet 51. These films sport a cheesy not-quite-Pixar style and paper-thin plots. Unlike Pixar films, which are aimed at kids but speak to adults on a whole different level, the Chimps/Fly movies are barely cogent enough for a really slow child.

But Pixar comes to the rescue once again, with the animated Newt, about the last two blue-footed newts in the world, who hate each other but must interbreed in order to save their species. I'm also quite optimistic about Monsters Vs. Aliens, which is based on a great comic book and has put out some really cool images and a great trailer so far. It has a 50-foot woman and a mad scientist with the head of a cockroach, plus a sort of Mars Attacks sensibility.

I'm sort of intrigued by Igor, mostly thanks to the incredible cast listing, including Eddie Izzard, John Cleese and John Cusack. It also has a cute premise: the hunch-back who wants to a mad scientist instead of an "Igor." The latest poster looks sort of clunky and awful, but the trailer is cute and funny. A brain in a jar tries to hypnotize Igor, and when that doesn't work, it just hits him with a spatula. Pure win!

We're also in for a big-screen anime explosion, with American studios involved. Studio Imagi is working on animated Astro Boy and Gatchaman movies, among others. There's also a Heavy Metal remake/homage in the pipeline.

I feel as though these sorts of kid-friendly animated movies have been dominated by fantasy and funny animals for as long as the CG variety has been around. (There's no science behind talking toys in Toy Story or talking cars in Cars.) But now the pendulum is swinging toward scifi premises, maybe as more creators who grew up on scifi in the 1950s and 1960s take charge.

I have two happy observations about the rise of CG animated scifi kiddie movies:

1) Science fiction is the new fairy tale, and that's an awesomely good thing. Who could watch Wall-E without starting to think of him as a young commoner who gets swept up into a castle by a princess, only to discover his own nobility? Etc. etc. The Igor trailer even includes the "Once upon a time" caption. I could totally see Clone Wars' Ahsoka turning into a fairy tale heroine (although she's probably destined for a bad end.) It would be great if generations of kids grew up thinking of robots and scientists the way earlier Disney watchers thought about princesses and flying elephants.

2) On the flipside, even as these animated scifi movies become fairy-tale-ish, they're also more serious and thoughtful than most "grown-up" science fiction movies. Of the summer's big blockbuster films, how many were as smart and debate-provoking as Wall-E? Off the top of my head, I'd say Iron Man and Dark Knight, and that's it. Okay, so Clone Wars is not going to be smart or thought-provoking, I'm pretty sure. But movies like Newt, Igor and Monsters Vs. Aliens at least have the potential to throw in some clever concepts and make you think about issues like extinction, the class system, and the rights of monsters. So I'm cautiously excited about the new scifi animated boom — and I think it's going to be around for a while.

Talking to Newsarama, Waid - who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Boom! - explained that the deal between the publisher and Pixar has been in the works for quite some time:

It's been in development for a couple of years. Of course, the writers strike put a spike in everything for everyone for awhile across all media. But everything is back on track and we were able to make this work... The deal we put together with Disney is Pixar and Muppets. The Pixar end of it gives us reign over creating new properties and new material based on the Pixar movies. So I think our six launches are Incredibles, Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Cars, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo.

If you're wondering what Waid will bring to The Incredibles - besides his experience of writing super-powered families in both Fantastic Four and his recent return to The Flash - he's perfectly happy to share:

When the properties came available, that's the one I seized on immediately. I sort of jumped on that like a junkyard dog and made everyone else get away from it... I can't take my toes completely out of the superhero pool. So yeah, this gives me a chance to work out my superhero jones. And also, it's comedy! I love writing comedy. We've got some great ideas that have been approved by the Pixar organization and Disney. Obviously, they're faithful to the Incredibles property, but they're giving us a little bit of latitude as far as storytelling... We're not limited by strictly what's in the movie. We can hopefully introduce a few new characters and a few new villains and play it out from there.

The first sighting of the new comics is, of course, at San Diego Comic-Con, where Boom! are giving away a special preview comic with excerpts from the comic versions of Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc.. The actual series themselves will launch in Spring of 2009.

Mark Waid Talks New BOOM! Studios/ Disney-Pixar Deal [Newsarama]

Meet Dave, you may have heard, was originally called Starship Dave, a much better title that actually gives you some clue what the film is about. Rival marketers say Fox ran away from the movie's premise in its marketing as well. "People who saw the ads had virtually no idea what the movie was about," writes Patrick Goldstein in the L.A. Times. "Whenever I quizzed various potential moviegoers about the film, I got a lot of puzzled shrugs." Because most of the movie takes place in New York City, the studio must have thought they could market it as an "earthly delight." This is a rare failure for the marketing department at Fox, which has had 16 movies in a row before Dave that were critically panned and did well at the box office. (Think Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jumper, The Happening, etc.)

The studio's discomfort with marketing a science fiction comedy stems from Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman's belief that "scifi films and films set in the future are box-office poison," writes Goldstein. Fox had been all set to make Used Guys, a scifi comedy featuring Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey and directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers) — but then Rothman killed it. It was too expensive, but Rothman also thought nobody would go for the premise: men living in a women-ruled world. (Honestly, it does sound pretty hideous, especially with Stiller and Carrey as the men.) Soon after the project was axed, Rothman asked Goldstein to name one scifi comedy that had ever made money. (Goldstein didn't think of Men In Black until it was too late.)

Science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster pops up in the comments on Goldstein's article, somewhat scandalized that the studios don't think scifi comedies make money:

Didn't SPACEBALLS make money? THE INCREDIBLES? WALL-E? The genre is replete with wonderful stories that are both hysterically funny and true SF...many perfectly suitable for film adapation (I have two of mine under option right now). Now if the folks responsible for making such decisions only read books, instead of basing all their references on other films....

Now I'm curious: which two Foster books do you think Hollywood has optioned, and would they make good movies? I haven't read his work since I was a kid.
[LA Times]

Sky High (Disney). Comic books already gave us a high-school for superheroes (P.S. 238), but did it have Kurt Russell as a famous superhero and father to the next generation of heroes? I didn't think so. Plus Lynda Carter is the school's principal. The business about the school separating kids into Heroes and Sidekicks is a bit too comic book-y, in some ways. But it's a cute romp, despite the fact that the main character's superpowers suddenly manifest themselves at the most convenient moment.

Meteor Man (Not Disney). we already assassinated this one recently. I loved Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle, and really wanted this movie to be amazing. It actually had its good moments, but dissolved into incoherence and luke-warm gags. Townsend plays Jefferson Reed, a school teacher who finds a piece of meteorite that gives him superpowers, and uses it to confront gangs in his inner-city neighborhood.

The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar). Yes, I know you're going to say this movie is a rip-off of the Fantastic Four. But it's actually just different enough to have its own identity — nobody would confuse Mr. Incredible's big-lunk persona with Mr. Fantastic's brainy gumby schtick. And this is a textbook case for why superhero movies can be better without a direct comic-book source. The Pixar crew are free to create their own backstory for the Incredibles, including an anti-hero law and a special superhero tailor. it doesn't have to try and shoehorn in Doctor Doom, the Negative Zone, or any of the other trappings of the FF.

Darkman (Not Disney). Supposedly Sam Raimi wanted to do a movie starring Batman or The Shadow, but couldn't get the rights. So instead he created his own hero, a scientist who gets disfigured in an attack by mobsters, then gains the ability to disguise himself as anyone thanks to a new synthetic skin. An incredible cast, including Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, helps elevate this movie above the usual superhero fare, and it's easily as good as Raimi's first two Spider-Man movies. (And much, much better than the third one.)

Unbreakable (Disney's Touchstone Pictures). I harshed on M. Night Shyamalan yesterday, but this one actually isn't bad. It's sort of a meditation on how a comic-book villain (Samuel L. Jackson, with his wackiest hair yet) actually creates his own superhero (Bruce Willis). Given that many movies and comics now revolve around the idea of superheroes like Batman creating villains like the Joker, it's refreshing to see it the other way around.

Underdog (Disney). A movie based on the 1970s cartoon series about a superpowered dog who comes here to save the day. A failed police dog gets experimented on, and develops amazing superpowers. Then he gets adopted and renamed Shoeshine, but secretly sneaks out to fight crime on the side.

Greatest American Hero (Disney). Another movie based on a TV show, this time the live-action show about a schoolteacher (again) who finds a costume that gives him amazing powers — but he doesn't have the instruction manual for how to use them. Luckily, he does have a cranky FBI agent snarking at him. Why is that lucky? Actually, I'm not sure. The movie starts filming in July, and it features a new villain, another schoolteacher who gets his own superpowered costume from aliens who want to exploit the Earth.

The Green Hornet (Not Disney). Originally a radio serial about a Batman-esque rich guy who runs a crusading newspaper and fights crime at night in a mask, with his Korean chauffeur Kato, the Green Hornet became a series of movies in the 1940s. And in the 1960s, it was a short-lived TV series that included Bruce Lee as Kato. And now it's going to be a movie again, supposedly starring Seth (Knocked Up) Rogen. Somehow Rogen beat out George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg for the lead role (or, more likely, they turned it down.) I'm imagining with Rogen in the lead role, it's not going to be a dead serious rendering of the Hornet's story.

Blankman (Not Disney). Another blaxploitation superhero spoof, this time starring Damon Wayans as a genius inventor who learns to make clothes bulletproof and becomes the lowest-budget superhero ever, Blankman. David Allen Grier stars as the friend, who's skeptical but winds up becoming Blankman's sidekick, Other Guy.

Black Scorpion (Not Disney). On the heels of Tim Burton's slightly less campy reinvention of Batman, Roger Corman decided to bring back the camp with Black Scorpion, his story of a policewoman (Joan Severance) who can't find justice. So she straps on a shiny black rubber bustier and a black fetishy mask and prowls the streets in her high-powered car. The original film includes a character named Tender Lovin', which is really all you need to know. (Actually the Corman connection might be all you need to know.) The film earned a sequel, Black Scorpion II: Aftershock, and a short-lived TV series on, wait for it... the Sci Fi Channel. Slogan: Justice has a nasty sting.

The Specials (Not Disney). I actually meant to include this one originally, but couldn't remember the title and had a hard time finding it online. Thanks to Whitworthian for reminding me of its name. The Specials deals with a group of misfit third-string superheroes on their day off, leading their dysfunctional lives and horrifying their newest member, Nightbird. One of the few superhero comedies that doesn't go for the super-broad humor and stereotypes, unlike...

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (Not Disney). I forgot to include this one originally, maybe just because I was repressing it. I did blog about it a while ago. Luke Wilson dumps Uma Thurman's superhero, G-Girl, and she goes on a vengeful rampage. So he sells her out to a supervillain, Professor Bedlam, and nearly destroys the world in the process. Blah.

Orgazmo (Definitely Not Disney). Another classic I somehow overlooked, even though it's one of my favorite movies. (Thanks, tralu!) Orgazmo is a porno superhero whose schtick is that he can cause people to climax with his raygun. But when he decides to fight back against his sleazy producer, he discovers he can wield the power of Orgazmo for real.