Let's get this out of the way right at the start, folks: 2009 was not a memorable year for comic book movies.

Where 2008 gave us two of the best comic book movies of all time in "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" (as well as the darn good "Wanted" and "Hellboy II"), the 2009 theater slate gave us one of the most polarizing comic book adaptations to ever hit theaters ("Watchmen") and an uber-hyped but critically panned blockbuster ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"). A few more forgettable adaptations slipped in the back door, too — namely, films based on Top Shelf's science-fiction thriller "The Surrogates" and the Oni Press murder mystery "Whiteout."

So it's no surprise that comic book movies were noticeably absent from this year's list of Academy Award nominees. However, since public outrage over last year's "Dark Knight" snub paved the way for an expanded nomination pool this year, it's worth giving this year's list a look to see what should be celebrated, what's missing and what's worth pondering at the intersection of comic book movies and the 2010 Oscars. Read more...

Albert and Allen Hughes' "The Book Of Eli" hits theaters today, but comics fans might recall that the "Menace II Society" directing duo got behind the camera back in 2001 for an adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel "From Hell."

Given the high profile of Zack Snyder's adaptation of "Watchmen" (also based on a Moore graphic novel — but you knew that already), we had to ask the brothers about their experience with Moore and how they felt about Snyder's take on the veteran comic creator's work.

"My brother had a conversation with Alan Moore back during 'From Hell,'" Albert told MTV News. "He said, 'You guys do your thing, I do my thing, and there's no need for us to mix it up.' And that's exactly how we saw it. We saw his thing as source material." Read more...

Well, apparently it wasn't Robert Downey Jr. who called Sherlock Holmes a superhero — but that doesn't mean the comparison isn't an apt one. When we sat down to chat with the actor and his "Sherlock Holmes" co-star Jude Law during a recent press event, we had to ask him about another little project on his radar these days: "Iron Man 2."

While Downey was remarkably tight-lipped about the future of the "Iron Man" franchise (and his potential involvement in "The Avengers"), we did manage to forge a comic book connection between the two actors when the topic turned to Law's sealed-in-ink comics cred.

"Oh, it's going to be great," said Downey of "Iron Man 2," only to remark that a widely disseminated quote in which he compares Sherlock Holmes to a superhero didn't actually come from him. However, Law said he might want to take credit for the quote anyways. Read more...

Last week, we asked MTV readers to vote on their favorite comic book movie of 2009, and now the votes are in!

With more than 50 percent of the total votes, "Watchmen" was the top choice among fans — and by a wide margin, too. When all the votes were tallied, Zack Snyder's live-action adaptation of the classic Alan Moore graphic novel was the clear-cut winner over "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which received half as many votes to nab the second-place spot.

However, while many predicted a victory by Rorschach, Nite Owl and the rest of "Watchmen" cast, there were some surprises in the final vote — namely among the animated features. Read more...

It's that time of year when we run down our favorite projects from the world of comics and comic book movies, folks. And while that's all well and good, this year I want to make sure Splash Page readers have a say in all the "Best Of" madness, too!

Next week, we're rolling out bunches of "Best Of" lists covering our favorite books, series, films and anything else that made big waves around Splash Page HQ over the last year — and along with rolling out our own picks, we'll reveal your pick for the best comic book movie of 2009.

Was "Wolverine" the best there was at what it did (this year)? Has distance (and the rest of the year's films) made you fonder of "Watchmen"? Or was one of this year's animated movies (i.e., "Hulk Vs." or "Green Lantern: First Flight") better than anything the live-action world had to offer? Read more...

FROM MTV MOVIES: As the year comes to a close, the MTV Movies team has begun to look back at the cinematic year that was 2009. While we pick our favorite films and performances and talk to the brightest lights in Hollywood about which movies moved them this year, we also can't forget what often gets us most excited about a film: the trailer. From the superheroes of "Watchmen" to the supernatural creatures of "The Wolfman," here are our favorite trailers of the year.

1. "Watchmen"
Zack Snyder's adaptation of the most celebrated graphic novel ever was possibly the most divisive film of the year — "Perfection!" some cried. "Abomination!" others countered — but everyone had to agree this trailer was pure badassery. Was there a cooler shot in 2009 than the Comedian flying in slo-mo through a window? The trailer gave us that gem and so many more. Dr. Manhattan, in all his massive, blue, glowing glory, plowing his way through the war-torn fields of Vietnam. Rorschach's damaged-soul growl. Fight scenes and war machines and visual effects galore. The trailer did what the best trailers are meant to: It piqued your interest without revealing all.

For the rest of MTV's Best Movie Trailers Of 2009, head over to Movies.MTV.com!

Back in March, comedian Patton Oswalt had some fantastically expletive-filled words for "Watchmen" haters, those frothing fanboys and armchair critics who began to trash the movie before they'd even seen Zack Snyder's big screen adaptation of the Holy Bible of graphic novel geekery.

As the year in movies comes to a close and awards season ramps up, we caught up with Oswalt on the red carpet at the Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York. We wanted to know if, almost nine months later, the actor and sometime comic book writer had any more thoughts about one of the biggest comic adaptations of the year.

You better believe he did. Read more...

Wolverine co-creator Len Wein wants the forthcoming “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” sequel to reveal aspects of Logan’s character that have previously been ignored on the big screen—namely, his "noble warrior" side.

“I just want to see them explore the characters more,” Wein explained in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes. “I think the Japanese Story, if that's where they're going to go—and I imagine they are going there for the next story—is the perfect next choice. It gives you a whole other side of the character and allows you to explore aspects that have never been seen on film before—the noble warrior, as opposed to the berserker.” Read more...

For many gamers, "Little Big Planet" was one of the most fun, addictive video games released last year. Now it's getting a little something extra to win over the hearts and minds of comic book fans, too.

According to game developers Media Molecule, a new "Watchmen" costume kit will be released this week for "Little Big Planet," allowing players to suit up their characters as one of four characters from Zack Snyder's big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel. Included in the pack will be skins for Silk Spectre, Rorschach, Nite Owl and Ozymandias, as well as a bunch of "Watchmen"-related sticker sets for in-game decoration. Read more...

A pair of films we covered from every angle in the run-up to their theatrical release dominated the DVD and Blu-Ray sales this week, with "Watchmen" dominating its first week on shelves and "Coraline" following up in second place.

The Zack Snyder adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' classic series took the top spot in sales and rentals for both DVD and Blu-Ray formats its first week, with a high percentage of both "Watchmen" and "Coraline" business targeting the high-definition Blu-Ray versions of each film. According to Home Media Magazine, the "Watchmen" Blu-Ray accounted for 36 percent of sales since hitting shelves on July 21, while the hi-def editions of "Coraline" tallied 18 percent of total sales.

While Blu-Ray continues to stake out a place for itself as a viable format for the long haul, the numbers also seem to indicate a decent life for "Watchmen" in the home entertainment world. That's also a pretty significant showing for "Coraline," which grossed far less at the box office than Snyder's epic adaptation ($75.3 million to $107.5 million) but still placed high on the home video charts.

Planning to pick up "Watchmen"? Already own it? Which version?