Review by C.J. Bunce
When the movie The Crow came out on VHS in September 1994, I was working at a video store and was surprised by its reception even compared to fandom response to the decade’s blockbusters. Hot on the heels of the first movies being adapted from major comic book properties, comic creator James O’Barr sold his personal, emotional story at the right time. Before the entire graphic novel series was printed, the movie rights were sold and the screenplay was under way. Ultimately the darkest of superhero stories would be a launch point for Brandon Lee, son of martial artist Bruce Lee, who was primed to be the next action star. But an accident on set took all that away and resulted in his early death. What might have stopped the movie ended up putting it on a different kind of trajectory, a cult film, a symbol for the Goth community, and a star, a story, and a mythology that took on a strange, chilling spiritual aura.
The Crow is the story of violent murder and a spirit led by a crow returning to wreak havoc on the murderers, with Brandon Lee’s Eric Draven as the ambassador of revenge. Thirty-two years later Titan Books has reached back in time to create The Crow: The Definitive History, a deluxe hardcover chronicle available for pre-order now here at Amazon and arriving in stores in one week.
Film writer Jeff Bond takes you back to 1994. Brandon Lee’s character, ex-rock star Eric Draven, returns from the dead to right a wrong or seek vengeance. Bond begins with a surprising look at the graphic novelist whose personal loss inspired the story. Readers will visit the excitement of the promise of the movie, the concept artwork that took the comics into new territory, the anticipation of casting Lee for the role, the production, and then the death of Lee that ground the project to a halt.
The book recounts film critic Roger Ebert whose review called the movie the best adaptation of a comic world into film yet. Ebert also noticed the mirroring of Draven’s death and rebirth with Lee’s death and rebirth in the form of the success of the film–which certainly wouldn’t have received the press and reception without the real-life tragedy. Yet Ebert’s view was that if Lee had survived he might very well have become a great action movie star. Of course Brandon Lee’s death and the resulting mythology and fandom mirrored the death of father Bruce Lee’s premature death at 32.
Rated R and darker than Tim Burton’s Batman and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, the stakes were life itself and the souls of anyone with evil in their being. Bond chronicles a long future after the 1994 film release. Sequels would come and never stop: The Crow: City of Angels, The Crow: Wicked Prayer (which co-starred Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, Tara Reid, Dennis Hopper, and Danny Trejo), The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (which starred Iron Chef’s Mark Dacascos), and The Crow: Salvation, which co-starred Kirsten Dunst and William Atherton).
The Crow’s director Alex Proyas would later make Dark City starring Rufus Sewell and Knowing starring Nicolas Cage–both recommended for fans of the dark vibe of The Crow.
One of the best ideas of the past decade is returning to films that aren’t blockbusters from the past and revisit the making of those films. Usually those films rely more on contemporary interviews from magazines or TV, but Bond was able to interview at least a dozen participants for new material.
The artwork, the photographs, and the stories deliver on the promise of the title. The Crow: The Definitive History, creates the whole picture, in a nice full-color, over-sized hardcover edition. The comic, the movie, the actor, and the legacy documents a bittersweet story but one that should resonate with fans of the Lee family, the movie, and all things Goth-inspired. Order your copy now here at Amazon, arriving September 1, 2026.
