**

​The third and final volume in Collins' thematic trilogy of comics controversies:  who really owned Superman, the Al Capp/Hal Fisher fued, and now this, Dr. Fredric Wertham's 1950's crusade against comic books that ultimately resulted in the creation of the self-censoring Comics Code Authority.  A roman à clef, the book turns Dr. Wertham into Werner Frederick, Bill Gaines into Bob Price, Mad magazine into Craze, and so on.  And it's all about what happens when one of the players in this comic imbroglio gets murdered.  It's a lightly written, occasionally amusing mystery aimed at undiscriminating fans of comic book history, people who won't mind that the heroes (Jack and Maggie Starr) may inhabit the 1950s but think and behave like people from our own 20-teens, nor that Collins takes the path of least resistance (and highest personal resonance) by casting Wertham as evil, misguided, and foolish for daring to question the suitability of some comic stories and artwork for young readers.  Takes its title from Wertham's own book, unintentionally preserving its warning to the unwary.

***

It's unclear what it means to our society that comic books have gone from a kid's pastime to a nerd's passion, but it is certain that any moviemaker that doesn't understand that is just asking for trouble.  The makers of this film, starring Halle Berry, weren't just clueless; they put on miniskirts and f-me shoes and went for a nighttime stroll down Rue Violeur.  You see, Catwoman isn't about the Catwoman.  Selina Kyle exists, but in the past.  This Catwoman is named Patience Phillips.  She doesn't prowl the streets of Gotham, either, and Batman is never mentioned.  How she becomes Catwoman -- well, that rewrites 60 years of history.  No longer a woman with criminal tendencies, she is a supernatural creature with spidey powers.  If you invite it, sometimes you get it. This movie got it from critics, audiences, and the box office.  Yet for all that it is an enjoyable romp.  Add in Halle Berry in a push-up bra and you have a movie made for the originally intended audience of comic books.  What is it about?  What does it matter?  It's about Catwoman.  A new Catwoman, one that oddly enough won't appeal to today's comic book fans, but just might appeal to those of an earlier era.  With, notably, a terrific and spooky opening credits sequence.

**

Rewrite of the Superman origin story has Kal-El coming to Earth, meeting his father's consciousness, and doing battle with the Kryptonian traitor General Zod and his band of genetically-engineered warriors.  Director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer self-consciously jumble the timeline of Clark Kent's coming of age, but for them all Clark's "high points" are either action-oriented or moments when he manfully restrains himself from kicking a tormentor's butt -- which, sadly, qualifies him as the deepest character in the film.  Overlong and almost humorless, though with one bit of unintended hilarity:  after bemoaning the Kryptonian system of eliminating free choice with genetic engineering, Clark's dad proceeds to tell Clark everything he must do now that he's on Earth. Kids' stuff.

**

Bright colors, Tommy guns, funny-looking criminals, and retro clothing are about all this shockingly bad paean to the Dick Tracy character and comic strips has to offer.  Director-star Beatty, lucky to have his yellow hat and trench coat (for without them he'd have no personality at all), takes on Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice, a mob boss who wants to take over the city by yelling louder and more often than anyone else.  Tedious, to say the least.  Co-starring Madonna as sultry singer Breathless Mahoney and Glenne Headly as Tess Trueheart, the object of Tracy's passionless devotion.  Young Charlie Korsmo plays the obligatory kid, a street urchin who talks about "dames" and wants to be just like Dick.  With scads of other big name or well-known actors in supporting roles and a number of instantly forgettable Stephen Sondheim songs.