Anthony Falcone had a great way of saying that comics are an inexpensive form of entertainment to produce: “comics are sort of book-movies” (“Why I Like Comic Books,” www.comicbookdaily.com, January 31, 2012). It’s true that comics are not restricted by budgetary constraints that might limit the number of characters or the location. And the author can use any type of special effect—even the most outrageous—without it costing an arm and a leg. Just remember that Rodriguez said that Frank Miller’s Sin City comic was more than a source of inspiration for the film, it was the storyboard for its development.

Now that superhero movies have a choice standing, they don’t seem to draw their inspiration only from the characters but also from the narrative styles of comics. In a critique of The Dark Knight Rises, J. Calab Mazzocco said, “Intentionally or not, The Dark Knight Rises also seemed to mimic one aspect of reading superhero comics, serial storytelling. I occasionally found myself wondering how all the callbacks to the previous films might sit with someone who never saw those, or only saw one of them but not the other” (“ComicsAlliance Staff Reactions to The Dark Knigth Rises,” www.comicsalliance.com, July 23, 2012).