Adam & Brian interviewed about comic book movies!

Chillin’ at Richard’sIf you’ve listen to a few our shows you are probably aware that Adam and I both like to share our opinions with anyone that will listen. If you’ve ever met us, you probably know that “sharing” also isn’t limited to Dollar Bin related broadcasts. So when writer and DB listener Lisa Schmeiser asked us to answer a few questions for comic related article she was writing, we didn’t delay in saying yes. Since the article wasn’t about us, the feature was on comic book movies, not all of the Q & A was used. With that and our narcissism in mind, here is most of what we had to say for your reading pleasure.

Lisa - In your opinion, is there something — or anything — that comics publishers could be doing differently to try and capture moviegoers who are thumbing through, say, an Ironman or Hellboy trade after having seen a movie about these characters?

Adam - One-shot story lines around the time of a movie release would definitely help capture those movie goers who are looking for more character related stories. I bet movie adaptations would help too. You see that a lot with the Star Wars franchise. When a Star Wars movie comes out there is always a movie prequel novel, a movie adaptation, and a sequel novel. I feel this greatly increases the chances of a fan of the movie getting sucked into the Star Wars novel universe.

our 1st FCBDBrian - Yes I do think there is more publishers could do to help their comic book properties relate to what movie goers might be seeing on the screen each summer. But I also understand that it isn’t an easy transition to make. Marvel and DC have publishing plans and storylines that run for years and building off decade’s worth of material. Because of that they have a lot invested in the stories they have been telling and their normal readership has been reading. With a monthly title it is very hard choice to make changes to possibly alienate your current fanbase to reach out to just the possibility of other readers. So shifting a monthly title like Iron Man or Wolverine around to mirror a movie being released often does not make a lot of dollars and sense.

Lisa - What about comic store owners/the little guys who run the stores? What do they try to do now to grab interest when someone wanders in immediately after having seen Wolverine? What do they do to try to persuade moviegoers that really, there’s more Deadpool to love in book form too?

with pals @ Heroes Adam - The best thing I’ve seen and think the comic store owners can do is set up a movie related comics display. When a Wolverine movie comes out gather up some of the best Wolverine comics and TPBs and put together a Wolverine spotlight section. That way the movie goers can right off the bat see there is indeed more out there worth while. Also, all characters, even the great ones, are going to have bad story lines. This helps a new read avoid those in the beginning. The next step, of course, is to engage the potential comic reader more about the characters they are showing interest in due to that blockbuster hit.

pic by VeeBrian - I think smart shop owners promote well to both their regulars and walk-ins. I saw a lot of displays and effort put into displays for Iron Man, Batman, Obama and other multi-media heroes during their big media pushes. I think as a retailer you have to hope for increased interest at those times and cautiously plan for it as best you can. It is an opportunity to grow the industry and that is something that anyone with a financial stake in things should want to do. But calling them the “little guy” is very apropos and they will not get a lot of tangible help from the big companies so they can only reach as far as their small budgets will allow.

Lisa - Are movies maybe de-fanging characters or not making them seem compelling enough to want to follow every month? (Because what consumers run into in a book is not like what they experienced when hottie Wolverine saved the world from craaazy Jean Grey in X3, for example? Or they’re like, “This Spiderman doesn’t get all emo with Kiki Dunst! Why not?”

wolfpac 4 lifeAdam - I don’t know that they are necessarily “de-fanging” the characters. Throughout comics history there are many adaptations of any specific character. The character in a movie is just another interpretation. I do think it is difficult for a movie viewer to make the jump from movie to comic when what is seen in the comic does not match what is known from the movie. Again, I think a movie “adaptation” line of books can help ease the movie view into the comic world. IDW does this with their Transformers line for example. They have a “Comic Book” continuity line and a “Movie” continuity line. It could be said that the movie based characters lack depth, but as much as I would prefer that the popcorn movie goers and film budget don’t always agree. That begs the question is it better to have something than nothing? Unfortunately, I think the answer may be “yes.”

party peopleBrian - I’m not sure that people who liked those portions of the movies will find that same feel in the comics. And certainly there are some real differences in the different versions of Spiderman and Wolverine. But if you find the basics and core of what makes Spiderman a great character in the movies or cartoons or comics than you should be able to find that spark in quality storytelling in another medium. I still think that the format is a bigger obstacle than the character differences. Not everyone is going to want to read the comic or play the video game, for a lot of them the movie will be enough.

Lisa - Movie studios have begun taking over one of the most potent forms of comic fan culture, i.e. the convention. Why, in your opinion, are movie fans not wandering over into other media — or even the media-of-origin for their favorite stories — at these cons?

Adam - To be honest the only conventions I have attended are Heroes Con, Baltimore Comic-Con, and SPX. None of those conventions are too “movie studio friendly.” I didn’t really follow too much of the San Diego Comic-Con coverage. I would deduce that the reason movie fans don’t wander over is due to them simply not caring (I’m sure that trap a few, though). Comic reading still has a stigma. I read comics in middle school – dropped them by high school – and eventually, years later, picked them up again. This event only being induced by a new circle of friends who were already into comics. Had I not met them I would probably still be comic free today. The real crowds who see these comic based movies are in the high school range where to avoid giving people another reason to shun you comics are avoided. The other group of movie attendees are the older crowd that feel a) comics are for kids or b) simply don’t have the time or budget to invite a new hobby into their lives.

good times @ Heroes ConBrian - I could talk about this for hours and seem to get bitchy (or bitchier) about this sort of thing around Comic-Con every year. But in reality this is only an issue or problem for Comic-Con and events promoted by Wizard not the majority of comic events. There are many great shows that promote the comic industry and are not dominated by other media.

Part of the problem with failures in mixing the fanbases is that the terms “comics” or comic book is often seen as a dirty word to people that are only involved with them for a buck. There is not a real sense to establish any sort of connection other than “we’d like your money”.

As far as good cross pollination goes, I think it depends on the situation. Joss Whedon’s growing fanbase seems to be willing to follow him and his characters into whatever medium he chooses to dwell. Star Wars and other Sci-Fi influenced fans also travel that same sort of path of going to where ever the material is no matter what format. And honestly those are the best types of fans to have, those that really find a connection to the characters and story telling and will be supportive of it everywhere. So I do think that it can work and that fans can relate to different kind of storytelling and different media formats.

Lisa - Do you think the comics industry and buying experience suffers from an image problem — i.e. it’s clubby and intimidating to novices? What might contribute to this? Other than the Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy?

GCC 09Adam - Hahaha. I has going to say the “Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy.” Yes, I do feel that the industry suffers from it having a “clubby” feel. I remember going into comic shops before getting fully sucked back in and walking around it a big store wall to wall with books and not having a clue where to begin. There shop owner is one of two guys. He’s the guy sitting behind the counter reading an old back issue, or he’s standing there with 1 to 3 other guys engaged in an in depth discussion about why Hulk can’t attack Thor in space with Mjöllnir. Both of those guys let me aimlessly walk around the store for about 10 minutes and then walk out with nothing. I guess that makes it not an “image” problem, but a real problem. The image problem is the “comics are for kids and childlike, fantastic, perverted men” mindset.

Fluke 09 with Chris SchweizerBrian - A lot of entertainment properties are not structured to be instantly accessible to everyone and a lot of them also take a sort of pride in that. Many long running TV shows will have very convoluted plots and intricate storylines that would prevent anyone from just watching a random episode and enjoying it. A high percentage of books and characters from Marvel or DC are the same way only instead of needing to understand 3 seasons of episodes you need to understand a decade of comics.

However, there are a lot of comics that are nothing like that and from a lot of publishers not named Marvel or DC, so what is currently available is not as much to blame as the long standing stereotype. But I think every genre of entertainment has this. We feel the need to label and judge everything in this country and our entertainment is no different. Professional wrestling and its fans are often looked at a certain way by non-fans. Video games and gamers are often judged as immature just like comics. I don’t view comics as having a tougher hill to climb than other industries in the eyes of public perception.

Lisa - Since companies like Marvel and DC parent company Warner Bros both have a lot of skin in the movie game, what do you think the risk is of them putting pressure on writers and artists to deliver movie-franchise-appropriate new properties and stories?

with TLE @ HC 07Adam - Surprisingly, I haven’t been seeing a lot of this. I was surprised that during the release of The Dark Knight you would be hard pressed to find a Batman book that was not neck deep in comic book continuity let alone even have Bruce Wayne in it. I think those focused on the movie game are staying just that. They know the customers already reading the comics will see the movie no matter what they change about the character and they know the majority of the blockbuster viewers aren’t going to cross over into the comics genre anyway. I think they just write it off to millions of dollars made by the movie we just release - let the silly comic guys do whatever they want.

the gang @ Fluke 09Brian - I actually don’t think there is any at all which is both good and bad. Marvel is very closely tied to their own movies (or at least any now being made thru Marvel Films) and this seems to lend itself more towards the movies coming closer to the comics than the other way around. I think that model is fantastic in that anyone seeing an animated show or DVD, a feature film or event a video game can hopefully be directly pointed towards comics to continue their interest. DC does not have nearly the same relationship with their parent company WB and it often shows. While they continue to make high quality animated shows and DVDs (thanks largely to an outstanding producing group) their films are fewer and very hit or miss.

Lisa - On one final note: I am curious as to whether or not you perceive a gender component in why moviegoers don’t turn into comics readers. I mean, I know many many women who will happily drool over Wolverine in the X-Men movies or Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, but would never, ever think of picking up any Marvel books. If you do think gender might be a factor, why? How?

Hughverine is hunky!Adam - I know many women, myself, who have said they went to see “Wolverine” simply because of Hugh Jackman. They didn’t care about the story and after the movie they could still care less. It’s the same reason guys will go see “Transformers,” for instance. They want to see explosions and Megan Fox. I bet even most comic readers who go see that movie aren’t even going to read the Transformers comics. I don’t know if that argues for or against the “gender component.” I suppose it’s to say that people are people. Everyone has their known preferences and will go along with what they are comfortable doing. I suppose if there is a “gender component” it is society’s idea that comics are boy toys, written for boys by boys with boyish ideas.

Brian - Hugh Jackman the movie Wolverine is not really relatable to Wolverine the comic character. In the comics he is short, ugly, hairy and not nearly as prone to posing in a tanktop or with his shirt off at every opportunity. His quests are also often nothing like his noble or even romantic pursuits on film. There is a certain romance novel or stereotypical bad boy gimmick to his movie appearances. I honestly would have no clue where to point a lady interested in the movie dreamboat Logan if she wanted him that way in a comic, but could easily tell someone interested in him gutting people with his claws in comic book form.

I also think something to consider is that movie goers not reaching out to the source material when they like a film is really nothing new or exclusive to comics. A lot of movies are made based on non picture books that fans of the film will never bother to read. Part of that is simply that we have a society that reads less and less for enjoyment. But another point is simply that the movie is enough for a lot of people. They wanted to be entertained for 2 hours and that was all they needed out of it. Sometimes people who are diehard fans of things (comics, games, sports) forget or find it hard to understand that a lot of consumers don’t latch on to things the same way they do. Millions of people will watch football on Sunday but won’t bother with it at all during the week just like millions watched the Dark Knight and that was all the Batman they needed.

Thanks again to Lisa for both asking for and then using some of our comments for her article. While I did not edit her questions or Adam’s answers for this overly long article, I did trim some of mine because my responses were usually three times longer than his.