A response to Whither Comics After the X-Movie?:

Rob—

This is a conversation I was having with one of my customers last week. The article you forwarded me was well-timed. Thanks!

----- Original Message -----
From: Steven Bates
To: Peltz Craig D Capt HQ AFMC/DPMOS
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 3:02 PM
Subject: Comics 2 Film

Craig—

>> I DO think the comic book industry could only benefit from greater wide-screen representation, hence exposure to a much larger audience. <<

I'm actually on the other side of the fence on this one. Yes, BATMAN back issues spiked before the release of the various films, in speculation on the value of certain characters' first appearances, mostly. And SPAWN (and to some extent BLADE) brought in a few new readers inspired by the cinematic counterpart to those comics/characters.

But I think comic books were as successful as they were for so many years because they filled a niche no other medium could touch. If you wanted to see "super powers" (or even dynamic caped crusading vigilantes), rarely did the movies or books compare to the comic books. ZORRO and TARZAN are two possible exceptions, of course, but most attempts to do comic book-like stories outside the four-color serial format flopped. Either the costumes looked silly, the special effects were laughable, the story tanked, or a combination of all three. This was almost universally true until SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. Even that film was limited, but most of the elements from the comics were successfully recreated on screen, enabling us to believe that a man could fly, and that comics could be translated into other entertainment media.

About every ten years, someone would do super-heroes "right" (for the time), with a smattering of peripheral tagalongs. SUPERMAN dominated TV screens in the fifties. In the 1960's, it was BATMAN on TV, with GREEN HORNET and a few others in tow (including spoofs like CAPTAIN NICE and MR. INVINCIBLE). In the seventies, we got SUPERMAN on the big screen, along with WONDER WOMAN, SPIDER-MAN, THE HULK, and a few more (not including heroes like THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and KUNG FU's Caine). The 1980's were somewhat dry, with only a handful of serious attempts at super-heroes, with THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO flying across TV screens, and FLASH GORDON, POPEYE, CONAN, DARKMAN, and ROBOCOP in movie theatres. BATMAN kicked-off the last decade of the 20th century, and inspired THE CROW, DICK TRACY, THE SHADOW, THE PHANTOM, and on television, LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.

In recent years, we've seen "comic book" movies proliferate at a phenomenal rate. MATRIX, SPAWN, BLADE, X-MEN, and a slew of lower-budget variations on the theme, choke the shelves of video stores. The audience for these kinds of movies is a quantifiable quotient, and the studios are committed to taking every last dollar from our wallets they can. But most of these film-fans are not comic book readers. Less than 1% of the American public reads comic books. TOMB RAIDER sold $40 million in tickets its opening weekend alone—and comic book sales on TOMB RAIDER have hardly budged.

Computer Generated Images, rock music soundtracks, cool costumes and make-up, and hot bodies, have replaced four-color images printed on newsprint. The audience for the genre continues to grow. Hollywood has embraced the comic book industry as a research & development hotbed. Meanwhile, comic book sales diminish nearly ever quarter. Publishers, distributors, and retailers of comics are folding up monthly. Readership is dominated by older readers, and kids—once the lifeblood of the comics hobby—are watching movies, playing games, taking in professional wrestling matches and rock concerts. As long-time comics readers grow up, get families, and lose interest in the hobby, there are few new readers replacing them.

Why read when you can sit back and let the same storylines, with fluid, real-time special effects, pulsating music and sounds, and Jennifer Lopez and Freddie Prinze, Jr., wash over you?

I believe the fans have spoken.

Steven Bates, Manager
Bookery Fantasy
16 West Main Street
Fairborn OH 45324
(937) 879-1408
www.bookeryfantasy.com

A Partial List of "Comic Book" Movies & TV Shows
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
ANGEL
DARK ANGEL
X-MEN
BLADE II
anything with Stallone, Seagal, Van Damme, or Chan

Rob's reply
I agree with you, though not quite for the same reasons. As I concluded after seeing the X-Movie:

But I think our thinking tallies. I've long denounced the superficial aspects of comics, which also applies to movies. I think comic books resonate for deep, "iconic" reasons: Superman as "truth, justice, and the American way," the X-Men as the embodiment of teenage rebellion. These iconic reasons are why "everyone" knows Superman but not Captain Marvel, the X-Men but not the Teen Titans.

A movie barely scratches the surface of these archetypical themes. In contrast, TV shows (e.g., Buffy) generate huge followings for reasons similar to comics. Their themes and characters emerge after months or years of development.

That may explain why few movies develop cult followings like many TV shows or comics. Star Wars is the most prominent exception to this rule. How many people crave Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park action figures, or write fan fiction for these properties online? Not many, I'd guess.

That's why I doubt movies will create many fans for comics. But if comics grow up, become more sophisticated and life-like, appeal to those adults rather than to the fanboys who have gone elsewhere, I think comics have a chance to survive. They may have to transmogrify into graphic novels or mass-market magazines, but people will always want escapist fantasy. That's a comic-book specialty.

Rob

Related links
More on the future of comics and PEACE PARTY
The future of comics

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