Platinum Studios is developing a large number of comic book-based films. Courtesy of Platinum Studios.

The most auspicious news is the development of a Platinum Studios comic division in Connecticut. Platinum controls nearly all European comics and is headed by Scott Rosenberg, the man very much responsible for Men in Black (movie and TV series). Platinum's comic base is designed to find up and coming comics that would be suitable for movie adaptations -­ essentially the premise of this article -- so it is very exciting. They have also signed a deal with Miramax pictures for distribution. I am a bit skeptical as to the quality of these features, but time will tell.

While comics do offer the means to tap into a well of imagination, many of these adaptations are plain bad, i.e. Billy Zane in The Phantom or Shaquille O'Neal in Steel. But rest assured, some of these will wow you with some of the best animation or storytelling in the business. A prime example will be Monkey Bone (formerly Dark Town) with Henry Selick, the puppeteer and stop-motion animator/director from James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas. One can only hope executives will use their Spidersenses to hone in on the right blend.

Gerard Raiti, a Baltimore native, has been an avid comic book fan for twelve years and has reported on animation for various publications including AnotherUniverse.com.