Comics are at a weird point in their development. When the format first started out as a productive medium in the 1920’s, the primary audience was composed of children and the uneducated.
As time went on though, comics developed into a more respectable medium due to its use in covering more mature topics. Comics today are nothing like their predecessors, and are now welcomed into the mainstream with open arms thanks to various adaptations and acclaim.
But have things really changed? Can you go up to a random person on the street and start a conversation about Spider-Man and have it be two sided?
“The best form of publicity comic books have right now are movies,” Randy Williams, of Legends Comics in Towson Maryland. It is due to films like Spider-Man and X-Men that the comics they were based on were re-energized.
Comics today have reached new highs as a result of an increase in popularity due to crossovers into other media.
In fact, the comics underwent some changes after the films came out to be more accessible to those who were more familiar with the films.
Before the film came out, Spider-Man used mechanical devices to launch web-fluid from his wrists. In the film this was altered to be a part of his natural powers, and he didn’t need any complimenting mechanism. After the film’s release, the comic version of the character underwent a new mutation that allowed him the abilities of his film counterpart. That’s just one of the small changes that have been made.
Since the release of the third Spider-Man movie, the comic’s continuity of Spider-Man has been reset so that Peter Parker (Spider-Man’s alter ego) and Mary Jane Watson are no longer married. A decision that has been upsetting to some comic book fans.
“I can understand why because you need to appeal to a new audience for comic books that are interested in more realistic forms of entertainment.”Jonny Chandler, a junior music education major a Towson University said. “It’s even true in movies. Movies are more reflective of real life these days. I understand, but I’m not a big fan personally.”
Are movies the only way to get people into comics though? Not necessarily.
“What a person should read depends on what they’re into,” Williams said. “If there into something like crime, they should check out “Powers.” It’s a good bridge between older comics and the newer stuff.”
An interesting point to note is that many hit films that have come out in recent years were based on independent comic books, just were not advertised as such; the worst culprit being 2003 Best Cinematography award winning movie “Road to Perdition.”
“A lot of people come in here and are surprised to see that [Road to Perdition] was a comic book,” Williams said.
While most comic adaptations made these days put their origins in almost all of the advertisements for their films, “Perdition” made no attempt to do so.
Looking at the summer movie slate from just about every movie studio for the next few years and you find almost the entire thing is made up of action adventures based off of comics.
As a result, more people are open to going to the comic book store. It will be interesting in the coming years to see how comics change as a result.
