Monday Media Madness: The Eisner… err… Oscar Goes to…
Every Monday, Matt. Murray reviews, revisits and rambles about comics, cartoons and their interactions in and with related media.
by Matt. Murray
At this year’s Academy Awards, Heath Ledger made a certain kind of cinematic history by becoming the first actor to win an Oscar for a role originated in the pages of a comic book. As a nominee, he followed in the footsteps of acting greats Al Pacino and Paul Newman, who were likewise recognized in the Best Supporting Actor category for their respective turns as funny book villains in Dick Tracy and Road to Perdition. (Note: William Hurt was the only other actor ever nominated for a comic book movie, again for Best Supporting Actor as a villain, in 2005’s A History of Violence. However, his character was completely a construct of the film’s creative team, and didn’t actually appear in the graphic novel.)
