Marvel Comics Archives - Media Guy Struggles https://mediaguystruggles.com/category/marvel-comics/ The Media Guy. Screenwriter. Photographer. Emmy Award-winning Dreamer. Magazine editor. Ad Exec. A new breed of Mad Men. Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:04:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://mediaguystruggles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/MEDIA-GUY-1-100x100.png Marvel Comics Archives - Media Guy Struggles https://mediaguystruggles.com/category/marvel-comics/ 32 32 221660568 Comic Books Have Finally Graduated https://mediaguystruggles.com/comic-books-have-finally-graduated/ https://mediaguystruggles.com/comic-books-have-finally-graduated/#respond Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:04:00 +0000 http://mediaguystruggles.com/2012/10/07/comic-books-have-finally-graduated/ The Media Guy loves comics as much as the next guy. Last year I even counted the days down to National Comics Day. Comics rule the movies and produce large numbers now in publishing. But, comic books as a legitimate form of American art and literature? I guess their time has come. On Oct. 10, […]

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The Media Guy loves comics as
much as the next guy. Last year I even counted the days down to National Comics Day. Comics rule the movies and produce large numbers now in publishing.



But, comic books as a
legitimate form of American art and literature?



I guess their time has come.


On Oct. 10, New Jersey’s
Monmouth University will confer the world’s first fine arts doctorate in comic
books on Michael Uslan, the originator and executive producer of the
blockbuster Batman movie franchise that began in 1989, including the recent Dark Knight trilogy.


Uslan, who wrote about his
comic obsession and its positive effect on his life in his memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman
says it’s a long overdue recognition
for an industry that was derided and vilified for decades.



“This will have a tremendously
positive impact on the industry, the fans, the artists and writers,” he says.
“With the recognition by academia of comic books as expressions of fine art,
we’ll see more talented people going into the industry, and they will continue
to innovate, refine and redefine this art form and the art of graphic
story-telling.”



The university chose Uslan
for the honor because of his decades of work establishing the genre as an
important element of American art and culture, said Monmouth President Paul G.
Gaffney II.



“We are proud to award
Michael Uslan an honorary degree in the ‘fine art of comic books,’ ” he said.
“Through his work and teaching, he has shown the world that comics are a
legitimate art form and uniquely American.”



Uslan, who taught the world’s
first accredited college course in comics at Indiana University, Bloomington,
Ind., in 1971, also wrote the first textbook on comics, “The Comic Book In
America.”  Today, many colleges and universities offer comics courses.



Uslan’s drive to change the
way society views comic books dates to childhood, when he recognized the heroes
he so admired were often portrayed in media as campy characters not to be taken
seriously. As he grew older, he learned the dark history of the American comic
book, which first appeared in 1934.



“After World War II, there
was a spike in juvenile crime. Psychiatrist Fredric Wertham blamed comic books
in his book, ‘Seduction of the Innocent’,” Uslan says, “that led to a 1954 Senate
investigation into comic books and their alleged deleterious effects on
America’s youth, including the notion they caused asthma because comic book
readers stayed indoors to read instead of playing outside in the fresh air.”



“During that period, the
general public viewed comic books as poison. Many parents wouldn’t let their
kids near a comic book. There were comic book burnings,” Uslan says. “From the
1930s to the ‘70s, people in the industry were derided for working in the world
of comics. They were looked down upon by society.”



Meanwhile, artists and
writers – notably Stan Lee, former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and
co-creator of iconic heroes such as Spider-Man and the Avengers – were weaving
a modern American mythology, Uslan says.



He points to these reasons
why America is finally now, rightfully, embracing its unique art form.

  • Comic books
    are a mirror of American society.

    Sociologically, since the 1930s they’ve been reflecting our changing culture,
    our values, mores, fashions and fads, warts and all, prejudices and biases
    included.
  • Comic heroes
    are our modern mythology.

    The only difference between them and the ancient Greek gods is that our
    super-heroes and super-villains today wear Spandex and capes. But like the
    ancient gods, they reinforce values, convey moral lessons and provoke important
    discussions about ethics.
  • The explosion
    of blockbuster feature films based on comic books and graphic novels has made
    American comics a global fascination.
    Uslan’s 1989 “Batman,” directed by Tim Burton, ushered
    in a new dark and serious portrayal of comic book heroes on the big screen. His
    2008 “The Dark Knight” and this year’s “The Dark Knight Rises” opened the door
    to other comic-based blockbusters, from “The X-Men” and “Spider-Man” to “The
    Avengers” and “Iron Man.” These movies are influencing every aspect of culture,
    from video games to fashion trends. By 2013, comic book conventions will be
    bursting on the scene overseas, proving that the characters and stories the
    creators have given us have the power to cross cultures as well as borders.
  • Comics have
    earned recognition in the art world.
    Comic book exhibits have been displayed in the galleries
    of noted art museums from the Smithsonian Institution to the Louvre to the
    Metropolitan Museum of Art to the United Nations.

“Next,” says Uslan, “I’d like
to see creative geniuses from the industry like the venerable Stan Lee
recognized with Kennedy Center Honors for their achievements. What were once
simply comic books are now being translated into the performing arts and it’s a
crime that neither Stan nor any other creator from the field of American comic
books and graphic novels has ever been recognized and honored by that
illustrious group.



“And if it’s a crime, it
means that Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, The Hulk and the rest will be after
them if they don’t make it right.”

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Dust Off Your Capes https://mediaguystruggles.com/dust-off-your-capes/ https://mediaguystruggles.com/dust-off-your-capes/#respond Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:27:00 +0000 http://mediaguystruggles.com/2011/08/11/dust-off-your-capes/ Hail ye Spiderman, Superman, Batman. Time to dust off your capes and come out and play. Super heroes, and acting like one, have long been a running theme in The Media Guy Struggles. Connecting with your favorite hero just go easier. I know that few of you realize, but August 28, is the second annual […]

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Hail ye Spiderman, Superman, Batman. Time to dust off your capes and come out and play. Super heroes, and acting like one, have long been a running theme in The Media Guy Struggles. Connecting with your favorite hero just go easier.

I know that few of you realize, but August 28, is the second annual celebration of International Read A Comic in Public Day. So grab your favorite comic or graphic novel and grab a spot in the park with your kids. Some of you are now wondering—perhaps you already Googled—what a graphic novel might be. Graphic novels and collected editions came into vogue following Marvel Comics’ emergence from bankruptcy in the mid-90’s when they shifted focus away from single issues sold in the direct market to these specialty items sold through mass-market bookstores.

While you’re sitting there saying, “Media Guy! Take off those nerdy Clark Kent goggles and see the forest among the trees…comic books are for booger-eaters living at mom’s house.”

Au contraire, comics are bank and generate copious revenue for both the independent publishers and the big boys. Now with the intellectual property firmly entrenched into our movie going experience, the sky is the limit for what kinds of revenues will be generated. The major economic shift occurred in 1997 when New Line optioned the rights to make Blade. You remember pre-jailed, IRS-hating Wesley Snipes portraying the obscure vampire-hunter character from the 1970s, right? The 1998 movie was a hit bringing in $125+ million and when X-Men was released in 2000 grossing almost $300 million, it was on like Donkey Kong (whoops, do I have to pay Nintendo for saying that?)

The Blade and X-Men series showed that smaller comic properties could open films and sell DVDs. They revived the superhero film genre almost instantly opening the door for Spider-Man’s $800 million dollar payday.

Recently, The Walt Disney Company proved just how far comics have come with their $4 billion acquisition of Marvel Comics and all of their intellectual property. Even Donald Trump would agree that comics aren’t nerdy any longer.

On a side note, the thing about this media I find ironic is the term “book” in the “comic book.” When we speak of books, we imagine verbose narratives with grand words and deep Lawrence Durrell-like thinking. It’s about the words, right? Comic books are just the opposite. Their narratives are all about the pictures telling the story with minimal words. They are the ultimate “a picture is worth a thousand words” medium. Words aren’t completely dismissed, but a great deal of the word’s value rests in the typography and unique tradition hand-lettering.

In the advertising world, we build copy points first and visuals second. In the comics world often an entire story is composed visually and then text is added in response to those images. From an Ad Man perspective, this is a bizarre was to work, but originally the most successful comics were created in this exact manner.

So, short story long, grab your capes and nerdy glasses and come out on August 28th with your favorites. Leave your secret identity at home; there’s no need to hide.

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