Comic Book Villains

Kind of a unique idea for a dark comedy. Competing comic book store owners trying to outwit each other for a prize collection. Unfortunately the crazed collectors are all, except one, unlikable, unsympathetic, and greedy. The movie is very uneven, with characters morphing from just scheming crazies, to murderers. It is at this point, when almost everyone has transformed into killers, that "Comic Book Villains" seems to have run out of ideas, and rapidly spirals downhill. If after the confrontation in the old ladies home, the script had been fully developed, the movie might have worked better on several levels. As it stands, it is at best, a very mediocre black comedy. - MERK

As a comic book reader and fan, I had been meaning to see this film for sometime. I wouldn't have minded waiting a bit longer, because, to be brutally honest, it is rather boring. The basic premise is two rival comic store owners fighting to purchase a large and valuable collection from an elderly woman whose son has just died. While the two comic stores are rivals, they are both in the business for entirely different reasons - one is an actual fan, one is only in it for the money. This highlights two sides to actual comic collecting as well.

The cast are an odd mix, but like any good comic book, that is expected. Not that this is a comic, but it seems to play out as one. Donal Logue plays Raymond, the unpleasant know-it-all owner of one store, he is a genuine fan of comics (I suppose you could compare him to Comic Book Guy from "the Simpsons"). Michael Rappaport is terrific as the money-hungry Norman, owner of the second store. Natasha Lyonne is fantastic (isn't she always) in his bitchy wife, Judy. DJ Qualls impresses me for the first time ever as fan-boy (and narrator) Archie, and apart from Rappaport and Lyonne, is probably the best actor in this film. I'm in no way saying that the others are bad actors, just this film isn't their best. Cary Elwes seems a bit out of place as Carter, and the lovely Monet Mazur is very underused as his girlfriend Kiki (but then again, aren't most girlfriends in comics?) Danny Masterton is as annoying as ever as Conan, while Eileen Brennan adds a touch of class to the film.

Overall, I was expecting more. There aren't that many films around which focus on comics so "Comic Book Villains" does a good enough job. THe cast are great over all, and there are bits of comic trivia scattered throughout the film, and its fun trying to pick up all the names of characters and events from various comic book series. But at times, the film can be a bit boring. For fans of comics, I suggest you watch it, but for others, view with caution.

Comic Book Villains is a satirical black comedy about, you guessed it, comic books and the sometimes strange people that collect them. The movie is a little darker than expected so perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I known what I was about to see. Still, it was a fun movie that pokes fun at the world of comic book collecting/collectors.

DJ Qualls plays Archie, an all around good guy and the narrator of the story as well. Qualls is perfect as the comic book geek type. His favorite place to hang out and buy/read comics is at Raymond McGillicudy's (Donal Logue) comic shop (the names of the shops escapes me). Raymond is into the comic book scene and has the shop because he loves dealing with comic books. Across town is Norman and Judy Link's (Michael Rapaport & Natasha Lyonne) comic shop. Norman and Judy are there strictly for the money. Archie loves Raymond's shop and his knowledge in comics plus he finds everything he likes there so he has never found a reason to visit the other shop. On the other hand, there is "Conan", played by Danny Masterson from That 70's Show. Conan claims he is a descendant of the creator of Conan The Barbarian comic books and is the instigator for the whole movie because he visits both shops regularly and provides information to both.

The movie takes it's dark turn after both shop owners discover there is a pristine collection of comic books that belonged to a deceased comic book collector who had a great collection. After that, the backstabbing, double-crossing, dirty tricks and much more begins the dark tone of the movie.

My favorite characters were Norman and Judy Link. Rapaport usually plays a tougher character and it was different to see him in more of a submissive position here, especially to his wife. Lyonne also did a great job as a "comic book villain" and certainly looked her best here as well. Also, Danny Masterson played a subtle instigator well, not unlike his character Hyde from That 70's Show. Overall, worth a look. 6.5/10

Was this supposed to be comedy? It could hardly be called funny. A serious movie? Let's not even ask.

This movie transitions from lighthearted, mediocre but sweet/harmless farce to some sort of dark thriller in a way that is simply bizarre. The characters went from benign to murderous without any evolution... they just went from good to evil, plain and simple (I apologize for using that phrase). Both halves of the movie were vaguely interesting, and watchable. Neither was amazing. If the writers had chosen one tone to stick with throughout the movie, it would've been a regular old two-star, maybe two-and-a-half. But this... this was like if halfway through You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan went insane for some reason and started murdering people. It just fundamentally doesn't make any sense.

As for the acting, Logue was actually fun to watch, Cary Elwes (of whom I'm a fan) made me cringe, Eileen Brennan was actually quite likable, and DJ Qualls was hardly ever on screen despite being the narrator. He went through the first half of the movie mildly, and the second half with a sense of unease. Just like me.

"Comic Book Villains" requires a familiarity for the themes of comic books, rather than the comics themselves. There are three types of comic book 'geeks' in the movie: the hardcore collector, represented by Logue's character; the famous book reader, who knows everything about popular comics, but nothing about less-known ones; and the casual reader, represented by DJ Quall's character of Archie. His role is where the problems begin. Every moment that Logue, Rappaport, or Cary Elwes is on screen, the movie shines of brilliant observation and attention to dialogue. However, Archie was written as the ideal reader, a guy who understands that comics are entertainment, not reality. He epitomizes everything i dislike about this movie. Every scene he is in is either hinting at a message, or explaining a message. The theme Archie brings to the story is furthered by ridiculously pathetic acts of violence and obsession, which ruin the film's last 4th. If one were to watch the ending of the movie and then the beginning, he would not have any idea they belonged to the same picture. Take Natasha Lyonne's character for instance. At the opening of the movie, she is a bright woman who runs a comic book store very casually. A slow change and character ark would have been brilliant for her character. However, after one stupid plot-hole-filled scene, she becomes a vengeful warrior obsessed with getting the mcguffin of the piece, the dead man's comics.

This film deserves more attention than it gets; it's more enjoyable than a lot of the comedies out there even if one has no interest in the comic book aspect shown in the film. That can be looked at as a frame for the characters and an incidental device to move the plot along. The actors bring the characters to life in a believable fashion. The real surprise for me was Cary Elwes, who I generally think of in stick-up-his-wazoo, pretty-boy roles like in "Twister" or his turn on "The X-Files". Here, he manages to play a nasty two-bit, low-life punk with some edge, and I almost didn't recognize him. It's a low-budget, independent film, but a cast of names we recognize from other films give it some prestige. Robinson also makes a statement on the comic industry as it has gotten into through the 90's and into the new millennium. It is held together quite well by the narration of one of the main characters, and in spite of its title manages to hit more than one emotional note throughout. It deserves a much wider audience because of the fine character acting of the entire cast.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.