Posted in: Comics, san diego comic con | Tagged: Archie Goodwin, Comics, entertainment, Jack C. harris, john romita jr, John Siuntres, Mike Gold, sdcc, Trevor Von Eeden

SDCC 2014: Word Balloon's John Siuntres Presents Rare 1978 Comic Book Documentary

Nikolai Fomich writes for Bleeding Cool:

Last Thursday evening, John Siuntres of Word Balloon Podcast presented "The World of Comic Books," a fascinating documentary created in 1977 and 1978 for the Canadian TV show Behind the Scene. This 20-minute short was narrated by comedy icon Jonathan Winters and included footage shot in DC and Marvel offices, as well as footage of conventions.

The documentary opens with former DC editor Mike Gold walking past dozens of filing cabinets filled with comics. Pulling one open, he takes out and presents Detective Comics #1, explaining the Fu Manchu influence on the cover. From there the film introduces DC and Marvel as two New York titans competing for popularity and millions in sales.

The film features many creators in action – Stan Lee and Archie Goodwin discussing possible identities for the Human Fly; Jack C. Harris and a teenaged Trevor Von Eeden conferring over panel arrangements for an issue of Black Lighting; Jim Steranko – "the top of the comic book avant-garde" – discussing the importance of Venetian blinds in film noir, and how he uses them to create menacing atmosphere in comics; Neal Adams and Julie Schwartz talking about where cameos on the cover of Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali should go; and Archie Goodwin giving some tips to John Romita JR for a cover of Marvel Team-Up. Most amusing was the DC Hotline, where fans would pay fifty cents and call a special number to hear DC's latest announcements about new comics from Joe Orlando.

It was a surprisingly respectful documentary which looked at comics as a serious art form. In addition to those creator cameos, the documentary contrasted the classic Marvel method from DC's script-based method and featured a collector of original art who spoke about how Jack Kirby creates the illusion of motion in his covers. The film even touched upon sexism in cosplay – albeit in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

"The World of Comic Books" was a wonderful time capsule and I heartedly thank John Siuntres for presenting it at San Diego Comic Con. Unfortunately, John hasn't been able to find out who today holds the rights to the film, so it is likely to remain unseen by most comic fans for some time. Hopefully someday it will be online for all to see.

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