A friend of mine commented that he didn't understand the whole comic book movie trend that has taken over Hollywood. Why are people so fanatical about these films and TV shows? What is the appeal? Being a mega-fan myself I thought the answer was obvious but apparently not. It turns out that there are some people who didn't grow up reading comic books. Go figure?
I decided to break it down in a way that these outsiders can understand. Here are the Top 5 Reasons these films and shows now dominate the entertainment landscape.
5. Identification - Have you ever read a book, fell in love with it and thought, I hope they make this into a movie. Then they do make it into a movie and you get to enjoy it from a whole new perspective. Now imagine that you read a book, fell in love with a character and found out they wrote hundreds of books about this character. Then you read those books over the course of many years. Then a movie comes out about it. Can you imagine the bond you would have with that character? The love you would have of their story? This identification is what comic book fans feel when a new film or show is introduced.
Personally I grew up reading Daredevil. I loved the idea of a man without fear who snuck around the city at night saving innocent people and catching bad guys. I read more than 150 issues of that comic book when I was a kid. The catharsis I felt when Netflix created a television show about Daredevil was truly an awesome feeling. It was like a joyous part of my childhood had been brought to life for all to see.
4. Sincerity - Hollywood has the tendency to make a lot of five minute films. This is where some writer comes up with an idea for a movie, puts in about five minutes worth of thought and then pitches it to a studio. The film is usually full of special effects, cheesy drama and over the top conflicts. The movie is also empty of any real meaning. These weak action flicks used to be referred to as 'Straight to video.' They often lost money in part because they lacked sincerity.
One of the draws of the new comic book trend is that the studios are taking long established stories that already hold deep meaning for the audience and then working to bring that vision to life. This form of artistic sincerity takes a lot of hard work but the end product holds up. Iron Man might be the best example of such integrity. The film had excellent acting, brilliant recreations of comic scenarios and strong secondary storylines relevant to current events. It was an all around good flick. It received 60 award nominations with 19 wins and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 94%.
3. Variety - Movie makers sometimes suffer from creative laziness. They to make the same film over and over again assuming that a new audience will appreciate it. In the age of digital media where people can watch any movie from any era with the click of a remote, redundancy has become unappealing. Movie goers are more open minded than at any point in human history. They want to expand their world, they want to see something new.
Comic book stories have a huge appeal because they solve this problem. Marvel Comics alone has over 9,000 characters. The stories take place all over our world and on various other worlds. The characters are made up of every race as well as hundreds of different alien races. These are stories of honor, revenge, love, redemption, you name it! Comic books are a gold mine of tall tales and colorful personalities with virtually no end in sight.
Comic book stories have a huge appeal because they solve this problem. Marvel Comics alone has over 9,000 characters. The stories take place all over our world and on various other worlds. The characters are made up of every race as well as hundreds of different alien races. These are stories of honor, revenge, love, redemption, you name it! Comic books are a gold mine of tall tales and colorful personalities with virtually no end in sight.
2. Expert Audiences - When you walked into Forrest Gump you were just another face in the crowd. Likely, you had no stake in the success of the movie and no inside information about the plot or characters. That is the way movies used to work. Comic book films, on the other hand, are fast becoming audience driven projects. The producers, directors and actors hear the voices of the fans and learn what is expected of them. These new audiences are full of experts who know the characters inside and out. The watchers have become a powerful part of the production as their input actually makes these movies better.
The best example of this exchange is Deadpool. This project was a bit controversial due to its unavoidable adult themes. It sat on the shelf for 11 years, stalled by uncertainty. Then some mysterious person leaked a teaser trailer. Comic book geeks spread the video like wildfire. It gained so much attention that the studio had to take notice. When they saw that the movie had a huge and enthusiastic potential audience they gave it the green light. Deadpool became the biggest R Rated opening weekend with 132.7 million dollars. It was the biggest opening weekend for a first time director, Tim Miller. It was the 17th biggest opening weekend of all time. As for quality, it earned a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 84%.
1. Money Makers - The entertainment industry is an industry, duh! They are thrilled with anything that makes money and comic book films make big money. The Avengers (2012) made 1.6 Billion, The Dark Knight (2008) 1.5 Billion, Spider-Man (2002) 1.4 Billion, Iron Man 3 (2013) 1.2 Billion and the list goes on. How can you argue with these numbers? Success breeds success. For each comic book film that does well, there are a hundred pitches for the next one in line.
It is fair to say that not only have comic book movies come to stay, they are quite literally changing the way Hollywood does business. They are connecting movies with each other, with TV shows, with video games and most importantly they are interacting with the audience. They have brought life back to a dying format and done so in spectacular fashion.
When I was a kid I was a little embarrassed that I read comics. Only my closest friends knew how much those colorful pages inspired me. They provided me with motivation and ambition. They instilled in me a sense of right and wrong. They gave me unique ways of seeing the world and my place in it. To tell the truth I feel bad for people who didn't get to read comics when they were growing up because I can't imagine a world without them.
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About the Author - Alex Hutchinson is an award winning short story writer and recreational athlete. His 8 books and 700 articles have been enjoyed by thousands of readers. His latest book Twisted Trails was an Indie Excellence National Book Award Finalist. He lives in Florida with his wife Terri and their three cats - Raistlin, Dalamar and Gideon.
The best example of this exchange is Deadpool. This project was a bit controversial due to its unavoidable adult themes. It sat on the shelf for 11 years, stalled by uncertainty. Then some mysterious person leaked a teaser trailer. Comic book geeks spread the video like wildfire. It gained so much attention that the studio had to take notice. When they saw that the movie had a huge and enthusiastic potential audience they gave it the green light. Deadpool became the biggest R Rated opening weekend with 132.7 million dollars. It was the biggest opening weekend for a first time director, Tim Miller. It was the 17th biggest opening weekend of all time. As for quality, it earned a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 84%.
1. Money Makers - The entertainment industry is an industry, duh! They are thrilled with anything that makes money and comic book films make big money. The Avengers (2012) made 1.6 Billion, The Dark Knight (2008) 1.5 Billion, Spider-Man (2002) 1.4 Billion, Iron Man 3 (2013) 1.2 Billion and the list goes on. How can you argue with these numbers? Success breeds success. For each comic book film that does well, there are a hundred pitches for the next one in line.
It is fair to say that not only have comic book movies come to stay, they are quite literally changing the way Hollywood does business. They are connecting movies with each other, with TV shows, with video games and most importantly they are interacting with the audience. They have brought life back to a dying format and done so in spectacular fashion.
When I was a kid I was a little embarrassed that I read comics. Only my closest friends knew how much those colorful pages inspired me. They provided me with motivation and ambition. They instilled in me a sense of right and wrong. They gave me unique ways of seeing the world and my place in it. To tell the truth I feel bad for people who didn't get to read comics when they were growing up because I can't imagine a world without them.
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About the Author - Alex Hutchinson is an award winning short story writer and recreational athlete. His 8 books and 700 articles have been enjoyed by thousands of readers. His latest book Twisted Trails was an Indie Excellence National Book Award Finalist. He lives in Florida with his wife Terri and their three cats - Raistlin, Dalamar and Gideon.
