Sans-comic...Con.

I’ve loved comics since I was a kid. While I was never a super-fan (I don’t have a massive comic collection and I’ve never been to a comic convention), I still bought and read comics…and I still do.

As I’ve said in previous posts, comic books (just like video games) have grown up with their audience. I honestly believe that if comicbooks didn’t have that ‘just for kids’ stigma, there would be as many people would be reading comics as there are reading novels.

The proof of this is in recent box-office takings. People might not read comic books, but millions and millions of people go to the movies to see Superman, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Sin-City…and of course, Batman.

My point is this: If these stories are ‘silly’ and ‘just for kids’…why are so many people going to watch movies that are directly lifted from comicbooks?

Batman on its own is a deep psychological study. Spider-Man asks the question ‘What would it be like if a real, normal person with the same problems you and have suddenly found themselves with Super-Powers?’

My favorite comicbook series of all time, Marvel’s ‘Civil War’ went even deeper. I’ve wrote about that before, so I won’t go into it again…except to say that as a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature, Marvel’s Civil War should be taught in High School English class.

At first I was glad that one of my favorite media was finally getting the attention it deserved. I figured a lot of people would see the movies and maybe, just maybe, go pick up a comic book. The Spider-Man movie came out in 2002, but all the Spider-Man movies are just a tiny peek into a 46 year long series.

Unfortunately, I forgot how these things always go. I remember cringing when I saw Samuel L. Jackson presenting the video game awards and listening to all these celebrities talking about how they all love this ‘exciting new medium’. New? Well, if you consider a thirty year old industry to be ‘new’ I suppose they’re right on the money.

So, flicking through the channels today I saw that G4 and Starz were showing coverage of Comic-con08.

“Awesome!” I thought. Having never got to go to a comic convention I was looking forward to seeing some coverage. You know, interviews with some of my favorite comic book artists, maybe a section on Webcomics and how they’re changing the genre, interviews with comicbook writers on the direction they’re going to be taking some of my favorites in the future.

Instead, what did I see? Interviews with movie stars about the comic-based movies they starred in. Interviews with people talking about what franchise will be taken to the big screen next. Even interviews with freaking games developers on the games they’ll be making based on comic franchises.

Did ya forget the actual comics there buddy?

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m far more interested in an interview with someone like Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley (The writer and artist of ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ respectively)…than with some freaking actor who didn’t even realize that their movie was based on a comic until halfway through filming.