I don't know; it sounds a lot like that PBS documentary, which was very focused on the characters through other media (film, tv serials, etc) rather than the actual comics. Have to say that a lot of these I have seen have been rather disappointing (like said PBS documentary). Most gloss over stuff beyond the typical Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and 60s Marvel. Steranko added a lot to the PBS one, though they mostly stuck with characters that had some other media presence. he talks about the Blue beetle being a Green Hornet rip-off and he is brought up because of the short-lived BB radio show. They ignore other Fox characters, like Phantom Lady, and almost entire companies, like Quality.

Jonathan Ross' piece on Steve Ditko was quite good, as he attempts to meet with him (he does, off camera). The Masters of Comic Art, hosted by Harlan Ellison, has moments; but, varies greatly between the people interviewed. Comic Book Confidential is a good oral history of the Undergrounds and those that inspired them; but not comics, as a whole.

The best documentary I ever saw about comics was The History of the Comics, the 9th Art. It was released by White Star Video, in the US, in the early 90s, on VHS. It appears to have been done in Spain or with Spanish tv contribution, though it covers comic books and comic strips from the Victorian period up to the dawn of the 90s. Lots of creators are interviewed, as well as comic historians, like Maurice Horn (France) and Denis Gifford (UK). They talk to Kirby, Kurtzman, Eisner, Moore, Corben, Chaykin, Charles Schulz, Quino, Druillet, Moebius, Tezuka, Kojima, Liberatore, the editor (then) of Heavy Metal, Burne Hogarth, Mort Walker, and several others.

There is another thread about the subject; but, that line-up confirms my misgivings voiced in the other thread; that it is through the lens of other media (meaning Hollywood). That was what devalued the one that PBS did a few years back, with Joe Simon and Steranko. As much as they added some interesting history (especially Steranko and Simon) it was very much focused on comics that were adapted into film and tv (and radio, to a lesser extent) It ignored major works and publishers that did not get turned into movie serials, motion pictures or tv shows. That documentary was still pretty good; but, that facet really kind of disappointed me, as it meant they ignored a lot of great material, in favor of lesser stuff, just because someone did an adaptation. For instance, Fox's Blue Beetle is brought up, mainly because it had a very short-lived radio show, while Quality Comics, which was a major player, was mostly ignored.

The best, overall, documentary of comics I have ever seen is the 4 volume History of the Comics, the 9th Art, which was distributed in the US, on VHS, by White Star Video. It was done in Europe (it has some credits that suggest Spain, thought it has an English narration, though that might have just been for the English market) and focused on comic books and comic strips, showcasing stuff from the 1800s up to the mid-late 80s. It featured several creators in interview pieces, including Charles Schulz, Mort Walker, Lee Falk, Burne Hogarth, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Richard Corben, Quino, Goseki Kojima, Osamu Tezuka, Druillet, Moebius, Liberatore, Crepax, Manara, Alan Moore, Howard Chaykin, Julie Simmons-Lynch (then editor of Heavy Metal), Maurice Horn (French comics historian) Denis Gifford (British cartoonist and comics historian) and some others.

Watched the first episode last night and thought it was interesting look at the Kirby and Lee relationship. Set a reminder for the second episode tonight.

Haven't seen it; but, what you describe is typical of a lot of these things, produced by Hollywood, on the History Channel and the like.  They compact things and skip over stuff that doesn't fit their narrative and nothing will dissuade them from that narrative.  They are more interested in telling the story they have crafted than the actual history.  Even Crumb doesn't completely escape this.

Comics history is a large and complex subject, filled with colorful characters, outright crooks, fan revisionism, corporate images, tragedies and politics, which is fertile ground for a lot of great stories; but, no one wants to explore it in a long form, like a Ken Burns.  That PBS one devoted some time; but really skipped a ton of interesting and key stuff.  Even The History of the Comics, with 4 volumes (and there was more than one episode per volume) had to skim over stuff, because t was covering newspaper and comic book comics, from the US and around the globe.  Manga got stuffed into one episode, really reducing it to snippets.  It tended to group works into thematic blocks, which at least gave you some context to things.

With so many gone, I wonder if we will ever get a really great documentary series about American comics, where you can explore things like Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson skipping out on his debts, and Liebowitz and Donenfeld picking up things, or the lawsuit against Victor Fox, or mafia ties to printing and distribution, or alleged ties to Charlton.  Would Disney allow someone to examine the behind-the-scenes at Marvel, like The Secret History of Marvel Comics or Marvel Comics:  The Untold Story?  Books are one thing, but would they cooperate with a tv or cinematic effort, unless they could control the message, especially with intellectual property rights in the balance?

I thought the Wonder Woman episode was even more interesting.

I was surprised by that ... and it's shows that Neal's cares about them and that's class by him!