Comic Book Confidential (1989)

Review by All Movie Guide
Clearly filmed on a budget (as are most documentaries), Comic Book Confidential has a grainy, low-key look and feel to it, almost the cinematic equivalent of the pulp paper upon which comic books were originally published. This gives the film something of a disreputable aura to it, perfectly in keeping with the rather disreputable reputation of its subject -- and that's all to the good. Comic Book Confidential maintains an irreverent attitude, even as it honors comic books and their creators. Using an overview approach, it doesn't delve too deeply into any one area (production, working conditions, personal philosophies, etc.), which is probably just as well. Almost any one of the creators interviewed could be the subject of a full-length documentary (as, of course, Robert Crumb has been). Still, there are enough insights and moments of revelation to keep this from being just a skin-deep look. Directors Charles Lippincott and Ron Mann have been creative in adapting a static visual medium into a moving visual medium, incorporating devices such as limited animation, camera sweeps, pans, and interesting and mutable juxtapositions of panels and images. This last device is especially effective when applied to Frank Miller's talking TV heads from The Dark Knight Returns. The directors also have many of the artists read from their stories, which works better in some instances than in others. Most of the artists come across well, seeming relatively comfortable in front of the camera, and it's interesting to see many of them at work. Also of note is the soundtrack, which makes use both of original and preexisting songs. Thoroughly enjoyable, Comic Book Confidential is a good introduction to the varied world of comic books and the people who make them. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide