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Comic book heroes echo an eternity in film and print

By Miles Layton jmlayton@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read
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Movies made about superheroes does not mean people rush out to buy comic books, but it doesn’t hurt.

“A few more people are into comic books because of the movies, but we get a lot more people that are into the newer video games from the movies,” said Bill Dawson, co-owner of the Game Vault on Pittsburgh Street in North Union Township. “Some comic books are doing better, but not all of them.”

Gary Loring, owner of Gary’s Comics of Morgantown, W.Va., expressed much of the same sentiment.

“We haven’t seen any uptick in sales because of the movies, but they’ve certainly broadened the appeal of these heroes,” he said. “More people are asking me certain things about the comics, but they rarely buy them just because of a movie. But, people are still very interested in comic books because they read them as kids.”

Comic book heroes are the new thing.

“Ten years ago, if you went to the store or the mall, you wouldn’t see anyone wearing a superhero shirt — maybe you might see a Superman shirt,” Dawson said. “But now, if you go out, you’ll see Batman shirts, Avengers’ shirts, Captain America shirts, Spiderman — that’s all in. When people love a character, that carries for years. That stays with you your whole life.”

Dawson said the movies like the “Avengers” and “Ironman” are based on the comic book stories, but the stories have been changed. When the movies come out, the comic books reflect those changes, Dawson said.

But on that note, there have been changes to decades-old heroes in comic books and movies. In July, Marvel Comics said Thor, the son of Norse god from legend and/or an off-world alien, now will be played by a woman. Instead of Thor’s testosterone-fueled epic battles against evil, a lady Thor will be wielding the hammer of the gods.

“I think they are trying to make Thor more of a title than a character,” said Josh Friend co-owner of the Game Vault, who is OK with the gender-bending change. “If being Thor is just a title, then why not? As a character change from male to female, that would be a little strange, but handing down a title, that’s OK.”

Dawson said if a newly revised Thor movie comes out where she’s wielding a hammer, the comic book version may kill off the male Thor, a difficult feat considering that he is the son of a god.

“I don’t know how they are going to spin that. I don’t know,” Dawson said.

Fear not though, Dawson said Wonder Woman is not going to change into man, no matter what the storyline, but remain a woman. Of course, she isn’t going to ink a movie deal anytime soon. How many Batman or Superman movies are there? Double standard?

Loring said marketing departments more so than artists and writers are driving the creative process for comic book publishers which affects movies.

“Marvel is driven by its marketing department — flashy gimmicks and hype that does not work,” Loring said.

Loring blasted the latest Superman movie, which he said had a decidedly different take on this American classic. Loring contrasted comic book Superman and the Christopher Reeves’ version with last year’s “Man of Steel.” Back when Reeve’s character held sway, Loring said, Superman stayed more true to the mythos.

Loring points out that in “Man of Steel” the fight between Superman and his nemesis General Zod through Metropolis and Smallville causes billions of dollars in damage. In the end, Superman kills Zod in public.

“Read Superman in the comics — that’s not Superman!” Loring said.

Dawson said the changes are made to reflect the times.

“Comic books are definitely changing to reflect the times,” he said. “For example, the Dark Knight series has Batman as darker and more violent. Look how well those movies did. The movies and the comic books are getting darker. They’ve changed a lot.”

Dawson said change is good for comic books and the heroes they portray on paper and in film.

“I do think it’s better now because it has to be,” he said. “Comic books are competing with video games, the Internet and other media. You can’t really keep it the same way as you had it in the 50s and 60s.”

Comic book art has changed to keep pace with the times. In days of yore, heroes were, more or less, two-dimensional creations whereas today’s pages are filled with artwork.

“You buy a comic book now and it is like every page is a painting,” Dawson said. “The quality is way, way better than it was. Publishers are using high-quality paper and top artists. The writing is better. Most books are better than they were 10 to 15 years ago.”

But while change is expected and maybe necessary, Dawson, too, wishes comic book publishers and movie studios would stay true to the stories that inspired these legendary creations.

“If I could change anything, I wish they could stay more true to the original stories when they do the big-name stories,” he said.

Friend added, “As a movie lover, I think the movies are ordinarily great, but there are so many continuity issues. Look at X-men. It’s like the studios don’t even care about the old movies X-men one, two and three that got progressively worse even before the Wolverine movies came out — there’s just nothing that makes sense. How did Wolverine end up in Tokyo? How did Sabertooth become his brother? What’s going on? I guess I don’t have too many gripes. Maybe because after seeing “Guardians of the Galaxy”, which is based off a comic book, I have high hopes for everything. As far as a movie from a comic book, that is the movie that is most like a comic book film.”

Game Vault recently opened a new location on Third Street in California.

“Comic books are never going to go away,” Dawson said. “They keep getting better. The movie industry just keeps getting bigger. Marvel wants to roll out a ton more movies. And DC is coming out with a Justice League movie. Comics are only going to get bigger as the movies go on. Not everyone who goes to see a comic book movie will buy a comic book, but all the comic book buyers will go to see the movies.”

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