The Reboot. A term common to the movie industry and comic book fans, the reboot is not quite a sequel, not quite a remake. The reboot is to film as the remix is to music (not quite a cover, but not exactly an original). Judging by the recent proliferation, the reboot is on the verge of becoming its own genre. 

Modern movie reboots have some things in common: They're usually applied to franchises or series, although they don't have to be. They rely on the fan's undying affection for the original premise, irrespective of the actual people involved. But moreover, they're usually inspired by the feeling that the first attempt got it wrong somehow, set the wrong tone, or at least could be improved upon. Sometimes they're right (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Godzilla, earlier attempts at Captain America), sometimes they're wrong (Planet Of The Apes, Superman Returns). For some only time will tell (The Punisher, Man of Steel, Robocop), and some will have a hell of a time overcoming fan skepticism no matter how they turn out because nobody should have ever even THOUGHT about messing with the original (Akira, The Crow, Prometheus). The cynic can't avoid the conclusion that its a cash in, though. And as such, a profitable reinvention might work out nicely for the movie studios and those who own the original rights. But for those cases where the original creators are out of the loop, don't own the rights (or there are no rights to be owned), aren't consulted or even acknowledged, where its clear that the rebooters are clearly making reference to the original work in their zeal to entice an audience and are trying to capitalize off of the reputation of that work even though they had absolutely nothing to do with the building of that reputation, in those cases any true fan should refuse to support these frauds no matter how much that fan misses the original. 

The casual patron is one thing, but how can someone calling themselves a true fan take part in a shameless knock-off without at least acknowledging the affront to the original? Furthermore, it really underscores how the copycat, along with their accomplices at the venue, are collectively incapable of coming up with an original concept, let alone promoting their rehash without making clear and overt references to the original work that they're trying to rip off (all the while conveniently abstaining from acknowledging those who labored under difficult circumstances to create the work that these charlatans are only too happy to bastardize without due credit. It's all well and good to smear a person's reputation by claiming that THEY were "difficult to work with," without acknowledging the soul crushing difficulty of the circumstances imposed by the inflexible and often irrational management. Anyone can be all congenial when they haven't suffered for their creation, let's see how chipper they are after going all in with that nutjob for the long haul!!)

*ahem*

One such movie reboot which could't help but improve upon the previous attempt is last year's "Dredd." While I haven't seen "Dredd," I imagine that it would have a lower threshold of acceptance from fans to overcome than a sequel to "Supergirl." From the moment it was announced that the 1995 movie adaptation "Judge Dredd" would star Sylvester Stallone in the title role, fans of the original comic book character felt their own sense of dread. And, well, they were right. While that film can be as enjoyable as any other action adventure fantasy flick to the casual viewer, anyone with any appreciation for the Judge Dredd of U.K. comic fame had every right to be incensed. I mean, . . . Dredd takes off his helmet in the film. . . . !!! Never mind the corny life affirming ending and the love interest, can't they even get the smallest details right? As a comic character, Judge Dredd got his start way back in 1977. But like new wave music, Judge Dredd was a cultural phenomenon that really hit full speed in the 80's. The character was created for a comic magazine that featured a number of different story lines, but would later branch out to a dedicated publication. There would later be a U.S. version as well, and despite not having been created by DC or Marvel, the character of Judge Dredd eventually ranked #35 on IGN's list of 100 all time greatest comic book characters. So what was the name of the U.K. comic magazine that first serialized the character Judge Dredd?