Men in Black: Comics vs Films
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2019
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The fourth Men in Black movie just came out so it's a good time to take a look back at the original indie comics that the movies were based on. They were all written by the same guy, the creator of Men in Black, Lowell Cunningham, who sold the rights to Sony. There's a lot of fun to compare and contrast the comics and movies and also talk about some of the history of publishers Aircel and Malibu Comics. - Zábava
I don't know what's weirder, the fact an employee suggested an insulation company switch to publishing comics; or the boss who said, "Sure, sounds like a good idea". Anyway, it gave us Men in Black, so all's well that ends well.
And that employee has a name that screams superhero secret identity: Barry Blair
Kings Advisor Yup, especially a secret identity created by Stan Lee. He loved names that began with the same letter. And I have no problem with that.
The MIB themselves hide their building by that mock name, right? Something like 'bridges and tunnels bureau'...
A lost government contract?
IT WAS NEVER INSULATION
Gustav Gnöttgen Ah ha! This comic isn't fictional, it's autobiographical! They just wanted some acknowledgment and respect for their work. It's all so clear. I'm going to get neutralized aren't I?
@@truefanforum3273 No. Just look here.
Also: they found actual information in either pulp magazines in the first movie and that TV show in the second. Because no outsider would believe those media...
The Artist for the MIB comics was my graphic design/Illustration instructor in college. Good to see him getting a mention on the best youtube comics show.
It makes sense that the MIB comic is darker. It’s based on an urban legend about FBI enforcers
Really? Can you say more about that, please?
Look up 'Men in Black: Cryptid'
Long before the movie or the comic people supposedly saw guys in dark suits asking questions of people who saw UFOs.
I wonder if the x files also adapt some element in men in black comics?
@@rezaqalam482 Oh very much so! The Cigarette Smoking Man is proof of that.
"Urban legend"
So, the *Men In Black* were really an insulation company......from Canada.
Sounds like the perfect cover for...The Men in Black
Probably men in black company....
That's what they want you to think.
beware it's a cover
*what better way to hide what you are actually doing in protecting the planet from the scum of the universe*
I'd love to hear about RIPD, as that was essentially trying to do Men in Black, but failed miserably.
Larry Bundy Jr RIPD was a 2001 comic that was probably just created as a proof of concept for the eventual movie. The writer mostly works in tv and film and the comic definitely strikes me as being similar to the Men in Black movie.
@@ComicTropes Aw, that's a shame, I was hoping there'd be a bit of heritage there. So it really was just a MIB rip-off then?
Nothing that could be proven in court, but it comes across as something very derivative of Men in Black and Ghostbusters.
Larry Bundy Jr but..... L O U
I read your comment with your voice in my mind lol
Funny the animated serious had a darker tone than the live action adaptation's similar to the orginal comics. Its definitely better than sequels while still keeping its comedic feel and setting of the films.
Fun fact: Usagi Yojimbo has been going steadily and had been consistently good since the 80s indy boom, but it's moving to IDW to keep going, in the current comics climate. Pick it up when it arrives this Wednesday, the 19th!
Warren JB it makes since they do IDW they wanna have him cross over woth TMNT again COS THATS ALWAYS MY FAV STORY LINES :D
I thought that character was from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Guess I was wrong.
@@thephantomoftheparadise5666 I've thought the same thing for years and the reason why is because Usagi Yojimbo was a guest character in an episode (maybe two?) of the lovely TMNT cartoon back in the 90's and apparently I wasn't the only one that drew that connection by mistake. That's my earliest memory of the character. I wonder how much that mistake has helped or got in the way of the character's popularity over the years...
I have read Usagi every so often (I read it for while, drop off, then pick it up again, repeat). But if it is moving to IDW I probably will not bother with it again.
@@glenbe4026 Don't buy it for IDW. Buy it for Stan.
I would like to see the comic version adapted as a scary Netflix series
And I would love it if it were themed on UFO’s and alien encounters that they have to fight based off the urban legends in American folklore and it should be a terrifying show based on its comic for sure.
@@SpeedyGaming alright then, let's make the deal! lol
The Crow preceded MIB by 3 years and it too was from a smaller publishe and dealt with non mainstream characters.
Based on this video, I have to say I prefer the movies to the comic. I like how more likable and developed the characters are. The lighter tone of the movies are much more my speed. Plus, I really like how the movies really delve into the organization itself and develop it. Oh, and the flying car. Flying cars are awesome.
If Sony had decided at the last minute against having Men in Black being a lighthearted movie at all and instead insisted that that the Men in Black movie be a deadly serious sci-fi action movie just like the comic, how would that have affected the franchise altogether and would it have been a box office success or a failure?
Jac2Mac Hmm, that is a good question. I guess it depends on how well the movie was made. A quality movie usually fares better than a poorly or lazily made movie. Certainly there are serious, action packed sci-fi franchises (Aliens, Predator, Riddick) that have been very successful over the years. But those movies tend to be rated R and so usually inaccessible to a younger audience. That might affect the box office revenue as the potential audience pool is smaller. I like serious action movies as well, but it is always good to relax and laugh. And the MIB movies, in my opinion are always good for a laugh. As long as it is well made, any movie, serious or lighthearted, will have a good chance of success.
there's no reasons to think a more serious take would not have worked, though. the problem is that we only have the crudely made comic to show for while the Soneinfeld movie has a big budget, special effects and top actors.
Johnny Skinwalker I agree, there is no reason to think a serious take would not have worked. Like I wrote above, as long as it was well made, a serious movie could be a success. I just prefer the lighthearted version. It gives the movies charm and makes them unique. And you are right, the actors are top notch. I just hope the newest movie picks up steam. It seems good.
*but are they as cool as hover bikes*
Interesting to note Mystery Men came out two years later (1999), also loosely based on an obscure indie comic. Was the market at the time particularly fertile for attempting feature films from these properties? By then Ninja Turtles had run its cinematic course so studios might have been willing to risk feature film budgets on the next big thing.
In the MIB comics:
Agent K looked like a late-80s Jerry Orbach and Agent J looked like a late-80s Keifer Sutherland.
They go after a demon released during a role playing game ..... They fired shots at the D&D panic
I really enjoyed the practical effects in the original films. I even modeled a jack-o'lantern on the Arquilian and their cockpit in the jeweler's head.
"Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard!". "For duty and humanity!". Wait, that's the wrong Men In Black film.
MIB made me wanna wear sunglasses all the time
Chandasouk I did that for a while. Word of advice, it's a bad idea in a dark room or at night. I walked in to so much furniture...
Do you wear sun glasses at night
Maximillian Lylat I do but only so I can keep track of visions in my eyes.
That's pretty hilarious when the Alien just leaves after what seems to be such a tense moment. 8:29
I was really glad that the animated series was more in line with the comic.
The animated series is more like the movie
*the animated series was a lot of fun...remember the sort clip staring one where J asks some of the aliens (the grays...or gray like) what technology they brought to earth at which point the alien claps its hands and the lights go out then claps again and the lights come back on...you cannot realize how hard i laughed at that one*
It me.
We are the Men in Black, Men innn BLAAAACK! Galaxy Defenders!
James Patterson We won't let you remember!
"But the comic and the movies are very, very different"
Every adaptation ever
The Mask comics were way better than the movie...
brutallyhonest123
I loved the movie and the cartoon
Except Sin City
I mean they fight Demon and Monster in Comic, not just the Aliens. It's a very big difference
I never even knew there were men in black comics, although its really cool to find out sandy cruthers (spelling?) Worked on them. Im from the same area as him and hes always at the local comic expos
He sells original pages from MIB (not sure how many he has left)
While it is a lot darker I'd still argue that the MIB comics are pretty comedic in tone. The final story in the original run especially. Kay's psychopathic attitude and twisted sense of humor is great fun. It's merely a darker comedy when compared to the films.
Hi Chris! Thanks for that comprehensive and bizarre trip back in time. I really enjoy your series (and your art demos) and this episode was an excellent, well balanced look at the origins of both the MIB comics and the movies. Aircel and Eternity (Malibu Graphics) were my first time into getting published in comics (as it was for many other creators at that time...truly was a great time for breaking in and seeing work published). However - as you can see - I still had quite a bit of a learning curve yet to deal with (like using photo references and spending a bit more time with stuff like perspective and anatomy), but it was the best I could do (at the time). I'm always thankful Malibu was there for young me. I still cringe a bit when I see my old work from 40(!) years ago, but have learned that you have to keep working on trying to get better as you go. Thanks for being kind :)... Shameless plug: you can find my most current stuff here: www.sandstonecomics.com. We're a small publishing house just starting out, but please, check out our previews...we're not at international distribution level yet, because Diamond insists on making small publishers to jump through multiple hoops, but you may order copies directly. The email is provided on the website. Cheers, and...don't get neuralyzed... it'll give you a helluva headache! :)
It said 'cold dead finger's not hands. Also, I remember the creator of Road to Perdition was told not to mention comics when talking at the movie premiere because they didn't want it associated with comics. Maybe MIB was the same way? Or maybe not Idk lol
I feel like they did the same thing with History of Violence.
I bought the two 3 issue series. I was kind of blown away to discover in the 2nd series Jay and Kay were killed and then were brought back as clones who had no memory of dying or the fact that they were clones. The idea was the two had died many times before and never knew it. Pretty ground breaking idea for that time periond.
Sandy Carruthers ( artist ) was my buddys step dad. I was also a huge comic nerd since in learned to read Conan Annual 4 in 1979..so i remember this comic making a wave in the local shop, which was Comic Hunter. Really nice guy , who still does comics and newspapee editorial comics in my home province of Prince Edward Island , Canada.
I miss Samurai so much. That book rocked.
I wish Marvel (or Sony) would reprint the original MIB comics.
The comics were reprinted at some point but there's just no interest in doing that now...
blackphoenix77
No one would love it
You should do a video on Usagi Yojimbo.
That would be great! I love Usagi Yojimbo!
Yes please! 👍🏻😀
Did he ever do a Gru the Wanderer video?
@@pstrap1311 yes he did. But it's Groo the Wanderer. I'd you're searching.
@@mcurran6505 thanks mate!
3:04 (looks at white guy on lower left)
“Rob Liefeld did the art, didn’t he?”
3:07 I _KNEW_ it!
Men in Black is one movie franchise that actually could make a good TV show, especially after finding out that the comics also dealt with demons and other supernatural stuff.
Oh hi, you caught me watching one of the best youtube channel on comics
There are so many indie comics that are very interesting to read which is why I like them a lot.
I love the old original MIB comic because it had a dark gritty feel to it. I want to see someone do a new adaption of the comic that is more faithful.
I remember the MIB animated series watching that as a kid .
I still find it interesting that it was originally a Malibu Comic that outlived thr Ultraverse
13:05 What is that underneath you? Dude, are you _squatting in a litterbox_ ? XD
I mean Nintendo went from playing cards to video games, so why not!
I'm sure playing cards have a lot in common with video games. They only have 2 or 3 degrees of separation. Card games, Traging card games, video game tcgs like Gwent or Hearthstone.
Am I the only that remembers Men in Black the Animated Series.
And the video game
@@adrienmata5693 My brother rented the game, and somebody at my school kept complaining he was stuck on a certain part.
Now the series based on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (albiet with none of the characters carried over), NOBODY has heard of that. Though much later I discovered the feature-length pilot was released on video as a movie in Japan.
No your not.........
That intro song was Awsome!
*really enjoyed the animated series*
I love how you can cover so many different topics and make all of them so interesting, thanks for the info!
Dude, I love your channel. I often have it playing while in draw. Love the material. Keep up the good work!
You know, I'm honestly glad that the comic has so few issues because it's really exhausting trying to collect comics sometimes, especially for very long running serieses.
Found your stuff in the last few months, love your stuff. Fun, light content but very informative. Keep it up.
I thought there were alot of comic book movies based on non-Marvel, non-DC properties in the 1990s - the Crow, Spawn, Timecop, Barb Wire, Tank Girl, Judge Dredd, Richie Rich, the Mask, Mystery Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Rocketeer. If you want to include comic strip characters there were the Phantom, Denis the Menace, Dick Tracy, Addams Family...
Great review! I never knew about the original comic. Your videos are always fun. I love that you left the girls photo bomb in your intro! Hope you feel better soon!
finally someone talk about mib comics that the movies are based on thank you comictropes for this video
I was lucky enough to come across the first three MIB books at my local comic shop back when they first came out, and were among one of my favorite rarish books along with "how to draw the teenage mutant ninja turtles" from back before they hit and it was still a cult book (and spawned books like "adolescent radioactive blackbelt Hamsters") ....... I didn't know about the rest of the books. Thanks for your deep dive research
Glad someone else made the same association when it came to the casting of Rip Torn and his previous work on The Man Who Fell To Earth (which was such a strange adaptation in it's own right).
The animetd tv series was amazing, so much better thank the movie and basically had a darker tone, like the comics I think..
Agree way better than sequels too.
The animated series were a nice crossroad between the movies and comic
A cup of coffee and a new vid by Chris. Great start to a Sunday
I always get a cup o' joe and draw when watching Chris. Coffee and Chris go well together
Great episode, again...! Your show always brings a lot of fun, sometimes surprising, but always interesting info! I'm looking forward especially to the upcoming ones!! And eh..get well soon!!
Must have read something by the same publisher as a kid, I remember seeing text ads for Men in Black in the back of some issues. The ads did not get across the fact that they were a government agency, made them sound more like a ruthless cult or something.
They pretty much were in the comics, when Kay kidnaps Jay, he tells him to either go with him or he will leave him in the middle of the desert and erase all his memory
Hope u feel better bro..I enjoy your videos they are like comic book school thumbs up
I'll be honest at first I was like why the hell did I subscribe to this channel but then I remember you showing me things I haven't seen before ever about comics and you're very entertaining that's why I'm glad I subscribed
Great vid as usual, Chris! Good to know MIB's origins. I always had a feeling it was derivative from some other source material. Always love the fan art section...keep 'em coming, fans! Thanks for posting!
Just found this Channel and loving it. I’ve not read many comics since around 1998. I really got burned out and bummed out by the stuff from the early 1990s onwards.
I'm glad a fellow Lowell out there is getting recognition for his art & creation!
Aircel had so many great comics! Warlock 5, Maelstorm, Stark Future, and Three original The Walking Dead, just to name a few. Of course they are all readily available in bargain bins because they don't have related films.
Really interesting episode Chris! I usually don't comment but I've watched almost every episode you have uploaded.
As a suggestion for future episodes, would you talk about Morrison's X-Men, Byrne's Superman or the craptastic Avengers: The Crossing
I didn't even start the full vid but I knew it was good from that *GOLD* of a segway intro.
Great channel, quality content and pacing. Good luck with the house move too 👍🏼
Hey, man! Love your show!
I was thinking...maybe if you record your offscreen lines in the same place you record your video, your audio could be more equalized
K : " Alpha . "
Alpha : " It's been a long time , Agent J . "
K : " It's K , now . "
I would love an Usagi Yojimbo episode. I've never heard of it till today ond it sounds like a great topic to cover.
Check out For the Love of Comics!
Usagi is a great character and a great book!
I vaguely remember reading 2 or 3 issues, never thought much of them. I felt that they weren't neither bad nor great, just fine. Dont think it was because of the tone, i really dig "the mask" 's comics, for example. Anyway, what i did love was MIBs animated series, i dont think it gets enough recognition, but men, that was one hell of a series. I think i can even remember the intro song, great stuff. As always, cool vid.
Malibu gets bankrupt
Marvel :Buys out Malibu
Later :
Marvel loses rights to MIB ,and other properties from Malibu
Marvel : 🤷♂️
They still own the rights to the Ultraverse stuff, but they won't do anything with them for reasons.
@@blackphoenix77 I know
Reason: they're bullshitting! Lol
They don't want to distribute royalties.
@@gregorblack5557 basically lol . Would they even get something back from it ? Like the whole Icon comics thing ?
Only liked first movie. I think the fact that they never took a more serious take with the premise has always kept me from caring about the movies. MIB could easily be an action-sci-fi or sci-horror genre movie.
But it's not .it's a comedy scifi.
All the what it could be, then folks would complain about that.
@@gregorblack5557 Not saying it would be more accurate to source material, just more interesting. They had a MiB cartoon back in the day that played with these themes more and had some pretty good episodes.
True but they went for the take that would rake in the most $$$.
@@Peremptor Yeah, even the terrible third movie made hundreds of millions.
I really liked the cartoon & Aeon Flux type art
THIS was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid! Wish it was online or Hulu!
Speaking of indie comics adapted to movies, please do Mystery Men too!
I remember buying the original 3 issue run of Men in Black back in the day and really enjoyed it. There is another comic that I really loved back then which ended up bouncing around different publishers and even ending up under Marvel's Epic label called Marshal Law. Man I would love to see that as a movie or even a TV show.
Thanks for sharing Sir!
I've been trying to get the Men in Black comics for years, I like darker stories, so I imagined I'd prefer them, but I'm not too sure now, but I'm still very intrigued.
And the 90's loved adapting obscure comics, The Crow, The Mask, Spawn, The Shadow, The Phantom, and even Blade.
WHOA ITS A NEW VIDEO. that moment when you learn about a new MIB movie that came out 3 days ago from a video you thought was years old. lol
Your forgetting about the adaptation of Howard the Duck into a movie. There were several adaptations of comic book characters into movies before MIB but like MIB, no one knew they were originally comic books.
love what you've been doing with the segways lately, chris.
Great video man!
They should do a dark reboot (after the MiB International disaster), based on the tone of the comic books. Some kind of R-rated X-Files...
As far as I know who owns the property, I'm pretty sure it's owned by writer Lowell Cunningham exclusively. That's what the indicia in Issue #1 indicates. When the Men in Black came out in summer 1997, Marvel published an adaptation, and someone shot comics based it as Lowell wrote the movie adaptation, a reprint of the first issue (with new cover), the Far cry one-shot, the retribution one-shot that Marvel published. He's the consistent presdence across 3 publishers and his sale to Sony could explain why hasn't continued to produce or published more Men in Black comic books.
always good stuff !
That intro lol, Chris is living his best life
A long with Superman and Batman, we also got a comic book adaption of Fritz the Cat.
Cory Moses Um, Fritz the Cat was originally an Underground Comix character created by Robert Crumb, there were a couple of animated movie adaptations of him though by Ralph Bakshi.
The Men in Black of actual paranormal folklore are a lot creepier and more enigmatic than even the original comicbook. They are emotionless, inhuman and threatening. The Agents from the original Matrix movie do a decent job of capturing their look and feel.
Even though I might be a unique case, I turned 17 the summer Men in Black came out and because of the movie, I did track down the original comics as well as read the Marvel MiB series. I thought they were interesting and then the very first roleplaying (tabletop) game I played with my friends was Men in Black. I still love the orginal Men in Black, number 2 and 3 felt like diminishing returns, but I'm still intrigued and will find time to go see International.
They need to reboot MIB and make it more in line with the darker comicbooks
I absolutely loved the first movie, and the cartoon series that no one else but me seems to really like/care about, never knew it was based on a comic til now
Can you talked about MARVEL'S NEW UNIVERSE? I really loved this line-- Codename: Spitfire and PSI-FORCE were my favorites.
Jacemachine Gaming That's a good suggestion! I'm partial to Nightmask myself.
Have you read newuniversal: Everything Went White by Warren Ellis? It reboots the famed White Event from the original and Jonathan Hickman picked up a bunch of elements from it in his Avengers run.
Psi Force and Star Brand were my favorite of the New Universe. Anyone remember Strikeforce: Morituri?
A C Remember Strike force: Morituri? I've got a good chunk of the series! Its one of those titles I always keep an eye out for at comic cons or shops. It was a really good comic.
True Fan Forum I still need about a quarter of the issues myself, glad to know people remember it!
I like very much when a comic is different from its adaptation, or vice versa. Tends to be more creative, or not. I loved very much the Marvel version of Transformers, it was darker than its source in the cartoon. I read a few Transformer comics by IDW but is different to what I used to like in the Marvel comics.
We also got adaptations of TMNT in the 90s and also The Crow in 1994.
Hi Chris, I was wondering if you could do an episode on Frank Quitely and his pencilling techniques as well as his unique use of panel arrangement.
You kind of neglected to mention that there was a total of two MiB comic miniseries before the film.
Sandy Carruthers told me he still owns the copyright to the artwork in the original MiB comics, so I'd presume Cunningham also owns a piece of those rights.
Either way, it kills me that the original MiB comics are so hard to find. There was a trade of the first miniseries, but it's super rare nowadays. One of the 1997 MiB oneshots was actually a reprint of the very first MiB issue, but having only issue easily available is kind of a tease.
I'd assume that besides Sony, Cunningham, Carruthers and Maibu/Marvel, that Scott Mitchell Rosenberg may own a piece of the rights. Rosenberg was a bigshot at Maibu, and it's been speculated that his ongoing producer deal with Marvel is a reason that Malibu's properties have been dormant since 1997.
There was an American Entertainment exclusive reprint of the first issue published by Marvel. So Marvel published 4 MIB comics, 2 in the original continuity, 2 in the movie continuity.
I think the Cartoon Had some of the serious tone of the comics but with the lighthearted nature of the movie.
And they're far more likeable.
Interesting that the comic predates the X-Files, I always thought of MIB as a mixing of X-Files and the Mr Wolf character in Pulp Fiction, the 'cleaner'. But both of those came after the comic (but before the movie). However, the Mr Wolf 'cleaner' trope is itself stolen/adapted by Tarantino from Nikita, and Nikita came out the same year as the MIB comic. The original cleaner in Nikita was a shady government spook. And the 'top secret government organisation' facility in Nikita is very similar to the one in the MIB movie, but with assassins instead of aliens. So the MIB clean up UFO sightings using the memory gadget thing, while the cleaner in Nikita cleans up botched government assassinations using bottles of acid and a bathtub. Also, the forcible-abduction-by-government-spooks type situation for the protagonist in the comic sounds very similar to Nikita. And the more violent/serious tone of the MIB comic sounds closer to Nikita than to its own later movie adaptation.
Man I miss Malibu. I also loved Full Moon Entertainment! The 90s were quite a time.
I remember time cop, judge dredd & the mask were the ones that got the ball rolling as far as comic book movies in the 90s besides all the DC stuff of course but they never advertised that they were comics
Very interesting, I was always curious about the Comics, so Now I'm satisfied 😉
The Mask was another movie that I'm pretty sure didn't brought much attention to the comic either and another movie that not many people knew was based on a comic (please correct me if I'm wrong)... Whoa I also just remember "The Crow".
I had no idea they existed until today. So thanks, fine sir.
I hadn't heard of this comicbook before now. Was it even issued out here in the UK?
Another great video, but Samurai Santa continues to taunt me! Staring out from that rack, refusing to yield his secrets.