Comic book movies have been around for a long time. Ever since Christopher Reeve first put the “S” on his chest and soared the skies with terrible pre-1980s special effects, the superhero film has been a hollywood secret weapon.

But the pace has begin to pick up exponentially, after the release of Spider-man in 2002. As every year since has seen at least four superhero movies hit the theaters.

And the reason for these movies actually makes a lot of sense when you think of it from a production company’s point of view. These characters have built in story lines and are almost guaranteed to boom at the box office upon release.

So it is unfair to ask if they relate to the source material, but better to ask if they add to the experience and aura of the character that they are depicting.

And while it may be a bit of a cop out, some do a better job than others and I think that just has to be an accepted fact that not every movie that is made is going to be good.

Two movies on opposite ends of this spectrum are “Watchmen” and “Daredevil.”

“Watchmen” is, for my money, the best comic book movie that has ever been made. It hit the tone of the books and had excellent performances from the entire cast of heroes, and truly gave the feeling of watching a book come to life.

“Daredevil,” on the other hand, is one of the worst comic book movies. And that really pains me because Matt Murdock/Daredevil has always been one of my favorite characters in the entire comic book store. Although many people blame future Batman star, Ben Affleck, for the terrible film, he isn’t the problem.

The problem is that the film isn’t about Daredevil, the character that has been a classic staple in Marvel comics, it is about a blind guy who has super gymnastic abilities when he puts on a red spandex suit that just so happens to call himself Daredevil.

So Hollywood isn’t doing the comic book industry a favor with the movies that they are making. But they are making enough good ones to bring new interest into what is an artform that people give their lives to, making and collecting.

So it’s hard to say that they are hurting it either.