The Business Between Comics and Movies
By: Adam Krause |
Friday May 29, 2009 |
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Summer Loving |
| Wolverine kicked things off with a mediocre bang while Terminator Salvation proved that there could always be more to the story when you have a franchise goldmine on your hands. And Star Trek blew us all away and reminded everyone who saw it how enjoyable a great popcorn flick can be when it’s done right. Yes, we are only a few weeks into the action-packed summer blockbuster season and already fanboys have had a lot to discuss around the water cooler, or while waiting in line to purchase advance tickets to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. And even though a lot of this summer’s buzz will be generated at the multiplexes, its not just limited to the movies any more. In fact, a  lot of it will be happening at your local comic book store as well. You know, that medium that created many of the beloved characters that you dish out $12 to watch on the big screen. And thanks to Hollywood’s forever blossoming romance with these graphic cartoons, summer is not only just a season for high-octane movies but for high-octane comics as well. Thankfully, the two go better together then peanut butter and jelly.The comic book has always been warmly embraced by Hollywood. Especially in the last 10 years or so when movie fans have seen a surplus of comic characters hit the silver screen. Marvel Comics, one of the industries leaders, has even started it’s own film studio and had a mega hit last summer with Iron Man. Pretty much all of the comic properties out there are purchased and produced (with sequels awaiting green lights) or purchased and in the works. There are planned films of well-known mainstream comic titles like The Avengers, Thor and the Green Lantern just to name a few. A Wonder Woman film has supposedly been in the works for the last twelve years! And all of these have the potential to be financially successful summer blockbusters. There are also planned films of lesser-known, cult-based comics like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Lobo. These will all be released within the next few years and the trend will only become more popular due to the success these films usually achieve. Think about it, if you are the head of a major movie studio and you want your big summer movie release to pull a Dark Knight at the box office, what better way to get your fans foaming at the mouth then comic books. Terminator Salvation not only released teaser comics but a graphic novel prequel to the film’s storyline in order to get fans pumped. Transformers, Harry Potter and G.I. Joe are all following suit. This is the chief reason why big summer comic books are becoming so common. It’s because they are usually used as the primary marketing outlet for these big blockbuster films, especially the ones that originated on the comic book page. Comic books have always gone hand-in-hand with movies and are a medium that most film buffs find appealing and vice versa. Movies that the studios want to target at young 18-35 males (most summer blockbusters) will almost always use comic books to spread the word and build a film’s hype.  It can work the other way as well, where writers use comic books to tell stories that movies no longer can. One of this summer’s most anticipated comic book releases is Die Hard: Year One, a prequel to the Die Hard film that chronicles John McClane’s adventures as a rookie cop in 1976 New York. An extremely awesome idea, right? But unless some amazing special effects are created to make Bruce Willis look about thirty years younger, this story can only be told as a comic book. Another comic book releasing this summer will have all Evil Dead fans lined up around the block. Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama tells the story of how Ash Williams (played by Bruce Campbell in the films) from Evil Dead/Army of Darkness fame saves President Obama from the evil Necronomicon. This is another superb idea that can only really exist on the comic book page. This relationship between film and comic books will never be more apparent then in a couple of weeks when Comic-Con 2009 begins on July 23 in San Diego. The pinnacle event for comic lovers and fanboys worldwide has been taken over by Hollywood and is now used as merely a means of spreading the word to promote your upcoming film. So as long as long as the writers and illustrators keep thinking of fresh, new ideas for comic books, Hollywood will always be there ready to turn them into feature length summer blockbusters. It’s really more like a business relationship between the comic book industry and the film industry that definitely seems to be working for all parties involved, especially the fans. |
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