American Splendor (2003)

For most people, the words "comic book movie" means The Avengers, Batman and Superman. But it can also mean Ghost World, Persepolis and American Splendor. Comics is simply the medium. A comic can be about anything. It doesn't have to be about larger than life characters doing this or that. It certainly doesn't have to be excessively gritty. The wonderful thing about American Splendor (both the comic and the film) is that though it exemplifies everything that those other comics and movies are not, it is still both a comic book and a comic book movie. As Harvey Pekar says, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff." His story is just as worthy of our attention as Bruce Wayne's. In-between these two poles lies an endless wealth of stories to tell and styles in which to tell them. You can put anything you want inside of those panels. In fact, you might not even need panels. It's all valid.