Starz
Premieres on Tuesday 10 June @ 10pm ET/PT

You certainly don’t have to be a Hollywood insider to know that there is big box office business in Comic Books.  This new special on Starz (part of the network’s original series, Starz Inside, hosted by Richard Roeper) delves into the convergence of art and commerce for the most-adored comics around.  Going back to the KAPOW! days of Adam West as Batman, up through Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan, famed artists and film producers alike weigh in on the transfer from page to screen.  The show looks to technology as a story-telling salvation, the marvels of casting (Richard Donner discusses his discovery of Christopher Reeve), and the new aesthetics of folks like Frank Miller.  There is a bit of behind-the-scenes fun on the set of “Hellboy II” and some pontificating on the un-nerding of Comic Con as it becomes a litmus test and unfurling station for the latest incarnations.  It’s not as comprehensive as a survery course in graphic novels, but a nice primer to get audiences jazzed about the possibilities for comics and films as they become more co-dependent than ever.