We comic book fans have just had one kick butt comic book superhero summer!
That’s right, we showed them Hollywood executives who really runs the box office money machine!
Ya’ say “who?”, it’s “us!” the comic book sci-fi geeks nerds and aficionados!
We rule!!!!
“The Dark Knight” is past $500 million at the box office and $883 million worldwide. Robin the Boy Wonder would say something like “Holy Box Office Batman!”.
Our conventions get larger, our geekdom grows exponentially. No longer are we the brunt of jokes because us nerds/geeks rule the world!
I hope you all got a chance to visit the comic/sci-fi conventions! These events are more than just a crowd or people scouring for their favorite old back issues of books, it’s more like family! There are people at the conventions who’ve attended or have had booths there for decades on end. It’s fun to see people who were teenagers now have kids and grandkids show up at the conventions all dressed up in their superhero outfits or Mr. Spock ears.
I still can’t resist an Irwin Allen tv show model kit. If I walk down an isle and see a model of the Jupiter 2, Seaview, Land of the Giants’ Spindrift, I have to buy them. That Lost in Space giant cyclops model is a must have too. I wish someone would make some new Irwin Allen model kits! We didn’t have many as kids in the 60’s.
This year the merchandise was flying off the shelves. The DVD packages later this year with Iron Man, Hulk, The Dark Knight, are going to break more records.
The comic book industry has seen some changes as well. Some areas rose in sales and some tanked. This business never ceases to amaze me in it’s executive stupidity, cronyism, and downright rip off.
All they have to do is make comics professionally with honest talent but no. For some reason they have to do everything other than what’s been proven to be successful.
Ever the battle in the world of comic books.
Things in Hollywood have picked up. Studios have finally gotten wise to the value of good comic book stories because they translate so well onto the screen. I will probably get a ton of email from die-hard comic book geeks but the I don’t see how the upcoming “Watchmen” movie is going to entertain audiences. Although it was written by legend Alan Moore, it was a tedious read that just bored me to death. Moore has a tendency to so overwrite that it gets methodically plodding although brilliant and far above even the brilliance bar. Alan Moore wrote the most bizarre Batman graphic novel ever “The Killing Joke” which was illustrated by one of the few true masters of illustration Brian Bolland. A crisp well printed copy of this novel is a must have. The story about the origin of the Joker is just outstanding. That’s the diamond in the rough for me in regards to Alan Moore stories. He’s super brilliant but I can’t get into those stories. Comics are visual. So when “Watchmen” hits the screens it’s success is going to have to be in following Moore’s story but filming it in a sense that translates it to the screen that makes audiences interested and carries them away.
So that’s the big expectation coming up as well as several other superhero movies in the wings!
With the new publishing venues out here like WOWIO and others, we cartoonists have many more options. I’m often asked why I’ve been continually successful no matter which way the comics business turns. It’s because I stay away from it. I study and apply new technologies. There’s a cliquish arrogance with the comics business. That’s it’s Achille’s Heel because every few years a guy no one ever heard of comes up with a new comic book that takes the world on and allegiances and corporate models change. That’s why you never give up on your creative endeavours. It’s people like you who make the changes for the better. Always drop me a line to ask a question.
