comicbooks-9

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Batman Begins VS the Fantastic Four. What Next?
Author: Comics Galore
Well, it looks like Hollywood keeps it continual pot of revenue filled with, guess what, comic book heroes. Batman Begins and The Fantastic Four are about to duke it out on Hollywood and Vine. An age-old comic book company rivalry is yet renewing the heat this year. I guess all of us comic book aficionados always wonder who would win the battle between such and such superheroes.

Well at least in the next few months one way to keep score is to watch the revenues generated between the recently released "Batman Begins" and the soon to be released "Fantastic Four", which were both childhood fascinations of mine. Not only are there superhero "what ifs" going on here, but which comic book company will stand to gain the most economic substantiation? Batman punches the daily time clock at DC Comics and the Fantastic Four was the brainchild of Stan Lee and crew at Marvel Comics.

And don't tell me there is a small comic book hero market. Batman Begins claimed the number one spot in gross revenue on its opening weekend. It is going to be very interesting to see what the Fantastic Four does. Hollywood is definitely increasing the thickness of its silver lining these days with comic book hero movies. Batman took in almost $49 million it's opening weekend. How many mint condition old comic books would you have to sell to make that kind of dough? Are we in the wrong end of the comic book world (ha ha)?

The rivalry between Marvel and DC used to be a major dividing line amongst the tight knit group of comic book collectors. When comic book interest started to decline in the 1970s, this issue became largely irrelevant. But now as video games, online role-playing games and major motion picture productions are spreading across the globe, the classic Marvel-DC conflict is springing back to life.

Superman is coming back to life on the big screen as well as Wonder Woman. Marvel has been riding high off their major successes with the X-men and Spiderman. They are now digging deep into their catalog of characters and are working on screen adaptations of Iron Man, the Submariner, Thor and Silver Surfer, among others. Have we entered a new comic book age that will have to be defined around major motion pictures? Maybe it could be call the "Greenback Age". Do you have another definition?

And as computer literate as so many are these days, Marvel and DC will have to start developing more online games and virtual universes of all their characters that you and I will be willing to pay a monthly fee to access through our computers and game consoles. Ka-ching, Ka-ching. DC has already announced a deal with Sony Online Entertainment and Marvel is working with Vivendi Universal Games. With the massive successes of the X-Men and Spiderman movies, this has proven that the Marvel characters still have life and relevance in today's pop culture.

While DC may be playing a bit of catch up, they are quick to point out that they and Warner Bro. have been more successful on the small screen with TV shows like "Smallville" and several animated cartoon series. And further since their TV and film projects are filmed and aired by the Warner Bro. conglomerate, DC gets to keep more of the profit than Marvel does on their projects.

What do we, the consumer public, get out of all this? Well, for one, we get to see our heroes in a more realistic light than ever before. We can grab that popcorn and maybe an extra drink and watch our comic book heroes and characters come to life in a real world setting, at least for a few hours, and walk out with a little more joy in our hearts. Go out and get immersed in Batman Begins and hold your breath for the Fantastic Four. And besides, this new revelation in Hollywood may just increase the value of our old mint condition comics. We can only wait and see.

Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to take up residency on the Internet. He is the owner and editor of several websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood passions; www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com . You can visit here to keep up to date on the world of comic books and comic book collecting. Feel free to sign up for his comic book ezine at www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-ezine.html

...

comicbooks-9

Comic Book
Back To Snippet
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Batman Begins VS the Fantastic Four. What Next?
Author: Comics Galore
Well, it looks like Hollywood keeps it continual pot of revenue filled with, guess what, comic book heroes. Batman Begins and The Fantastic Four are about to duke it out on Hollywood and Vine. An age-old comic book company rivalry is yet renewing the heat this year. I guess all of us comic book aficionados always wonder who would win the battle between such and such superheroes.

Well at least in the next few months one way to keep score is to watch the revenues generated between the recently released "Batman Begins" and the soon to be released "Fantastic Four", which were both childhood fascinations of mine. Not only are there superhero "what ifs" going on here, but which comic book company will stand to gain the most economic substantiation? Batman punches the daily time clock at DC Comics and the Fantastic Four was the brainchild of Stan Lee and crew at Marvel Comics.

And don't tell me there is a small comic book hero market. Batman Begins claimed the number one spot in gross revenue on its opening weekend. It is going to be very interesting to see what the Fantastic Four does. Hollywood is definitely increasing the thickness of its silver lining these days with comic book hero movies. Batman took in almost $49 million it's opening weekend. How many mint condition old comic books would you have to sell to make that kind of dough? Are we in the wrong end of the comic book world (ha ha)?

The rivalry between Marvel and DC used to be a major dividing line amongst the tight knit group of comic book collectors. When comic book interest started to decline in the 1970s, this issue became largely irrelevant. But now as video games, online role-playing games and major motion picture productions are spreading across the globe, the classic Marvel-DC conflict is springing back to life.

Superman is coming back to life on the big screen as well as Wonder Woman. Marvel has been riding high off their major successes with the X-men and Spiderman. They are now digging deep into their catalog of characters and are working on screen adaptations of Iron Man, the Submariner, Thor and Silver Surfer, among others. Have we entered a new comic book age that will have to be defined around major motion pictures? Maybe it could be call the "Greenback Age". Do you have another definition?

And as computer literate as so many are these days, Marvel and DC will have to start developing more online games and virtual universes of all their characters that you and I will be willing to pay a monthly fee to access through our computers and game consoles. Ka-ching, Ka-ching. DC has already announced a deal with Sony Online Entertainment and Marvel is working with Vivendi Universal Games. With the massive successes of the X-Men and Spiderman movies, this has proven that the Marvel characters still have life and relevance in today's pop culture.

While DC may be playing a bit of catch up, they are quick to point out that they and Warner Bro. have been more successful on the small screen with TV shows like "Smallville" and several animated cartoon series. And further since their TV and film projects are filmed and aired by the Warner Bro. conglomerate, DC gets to keep more of the profit than Marvel does on their projects.

What do we, the consumer public, get out of all this? Well, for one, we get to see our heroes in a more realistic light than ever before. We can grab that popcorn and maybe an extra drink and watch our comic book heroes and characters come to life in a real world setting, at least for a few hours, and walk out with a little more joy in our hearts. Go out and get immersed in Batman Begins and hold your breath for the Fantastic Four. And besides, this new revelation in Hollywood may just increase the value of our old mint condition comics. We can only wait and see.

Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to take up residency on the Internet. He is the owner and editor of several websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood passions; www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com . You can visit here to keep up to date on the world of comic books and comic book collecting. Feel free to sign up for his comic book ezine at www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-ezine.html

...

comicbooks-8

Comic Books
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Comic Books - Exploring Your Imagination
Author: Sue Jan -
A comic book, or comics for short, is a magazine or book containing sequential art in the form of a narrative. Since the formulation of the comic book format in the 1930s, young and old alike have enjoyed comics. However, the comic industry lost some of its popularity when it came down with a crash in the mid 1990s.

To promote its popularity once again the comic book industry is producing films based on the comic book stories. This method proved successful for few stories like Sin City, X-men and Spiderman but it failed miserably for other titles that flopped at the box office. So far this approach seems unable to rejuvenate the comic book industry.

Research shows that the main cause of downfall of the comic industry is the removal of comic books from shops and stores. But this cannot be the sole cause since comic books are now easily available on the internet, in movies and animations.

Another question that comes to mind is why Japanese animation or "manga" is doing better then traditional comic books? The answer is simple. The Japanese write a better story line and their animated movies are made for a wider audience. Often, Japanese comic books are framed as graphic novels containing 70 to 220 pages for a mature audience. The manga holds a more important place in Japanese culture, and is both well respected as an art form and also as a form of popular literature. On the other hand, comic books in Western countries are generally geared towards young teenagers rather than adults. This approach has made it tough for the Western comic industry to attain its dominant position.

Common misconceptions regarding comic books turning readers into out-of-touch delinquents have also hurt sale. Many parents fear that comics will brainwash children into believing that supermans and batmans actually exist in the world. For this reason, many parents forbid their children from reading comic books as in their view they carry no ethical or moral values. These attitudes have contributed to the lack of interest in comics as well as its drop in publication.

The comic book price guide also sheds some light on why comics are no longer sold. The price guide reveals that the cost of comic books has soared up with the success of movies like Batman, Spiderman, and Superman etc. making it unaffordable to many. Plus when it comes to buying storybooks parents prefer to buy their children fables or novels that will help them build up their vocabulary and learn proper English.

But these parents fail to realize that without fantasy and imagination as found in comics, a child's creativity cannot develop. Comic books help break the monotony in children's lives and refresh these young minds to face the challenges of daily life.

Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com

For more on Comic Books , visit Comic Book Fan . Susan also enjoys writing on a wide range of topics at Internet and Communications

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comicbooks-7

Comic Books
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Comic Book Industry Blunders
Author: Dave Gieber
What has gone wrong within the industry and can it be fixed? The rape and pillage, in the eyes of
some, may have left the comic book industry gasping for life support. It seems that for an
industry that has seen so much success, the history of comic books, has apparently been
confounded by seemingly dumb mistakes.

The first could have very well been the coining of the name "comic books". The earliest versions
of the so-called half-tab (for half tabloid) reprints of the Sunday funnies (the comics) became
known as "comic books". This led to the thinking in general, that comic books contained comic
or funny material, which we all know, is a far stretch from reality. Comic books can be very
somber, dark or adventurous magazines. It has often been suggested that there should be another
term coined to better describe this literary package we all know as comic books. To date, no
other user-friend term has been suggested for use in the comic book industry.

A second misdirection came when magazine prices started to rise. Instead of increasing comic
book prices, like other successful magazines did, the comic book industry decided to cut pages to
keep the then current price tag of 10 cents. This brought on the impression that comic books
were "cheap" by definition, and neglected the fact that a dime was a lot of money at one time
(steak & eggs cost 35 cents). This presented the image that comic books were just for kids. It
also made the product increasingly less viable for retail merchants to stock. Why take up the
same shelf space, when a higher priced magazine would do more nicely. Again the perceived
value of the comic book was loosing credibility.

Then as the 1950s rolled around, an individual by the name of Dr. Frederick Wertham, published
a book entitled "Seduction of the Innocents". Through the use of unscientific research and
assumptions, he stated that all the nation's ills were directly related to kids reading comic books
(ah hmm, what?). Central to his thesis, was the misassumption that comic books were strictly for
kids. The more adult material, it was irrationally assumed, was aimed at our sweet, naïve
innocent children. Yes, we do have to protect our children, but it still bothers me to no end, that
certain self-righteous individuals believe their lot in life is to make the rest of the planet adhere
to their own personal beliefs. If this were the case, then our great country would have never been
founded.

With this wildly irrational attack on the comic book industry and many congressional leaders
jumping on the bandwagon, comic books were gaining a bad reputation. The comic book
industry publishers at this point, could have banded together and declared that comic books, like
movies, were not "just for kids". It should have been stated that the wide range of comic book
genres represented was target to as wide a range of readers. All but one of the publishers
(William Gaines, publisher of EC Comics) buckled under to this Congressional Investigation and
the Comic Code Authority was created. This governed the content of comic books and ensured
that for the next 15 years or so, the literary content would not rise much above that of pablum for
the mind. Therefore another slide into incredibility for the comic book industry took place.

Can the comic book industry be saved? Very possibly, but when the individuals in charge of the
saving are as eager as ever to make the same mistakes all over again, what will the outcome be?
They don't even appear to be cleaver enough to make new mistakes.

About the Author

Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to take up residency on the Internet. He is
the owner and editor of several websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood
passions; www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com . You can visit here to keep up to date on
the world of comic books and comic book collecting. Feel free to sign up for my comic book ezine.

...

comicbooks-7

Comic Books
Back To Snippet
Back To SITEMAP

Comic Book Industry Blunders
Author: Dave Gieber
What has gone wrong within the industry and can it be fixed? The rape and pillage, in the eyes of
some, may have left the comic book industry gasping for life support. It seems that for an
industry that has seen so much success, the history of comic books, has apparently been
confounded by seemingly dumb mistakes.

The first could have very well been the coining of the name "comic books". The earliest versions
of the so-called half-tab (for half tabloid) reprints of the Sunday funnies (the comics) became
known as "comic books". This led to the thinking in general, that comic books contained comic
or funny material, which we all know, is a far stretch from reality. Comic books can be very
somber, dark or adventurous magazines. It has often been suggested that there should be another
term coined to better describe this literary package we all know as comic books. To date, no
other user-friend term has been suggested for use in the comic book industry.

A second misdirection came when magazine prices started to rise. Instead of increasing comic
book prices, like other successful magazines did, the comic book industry decided to cut pages to
keep the then current price tag of 10 cents. This brought on the impression that comic books
were "cheap" by definition, and neglected the fact that a dime was a lot of money at one time
(steak & eggs cost 35 cents). This presented the image that comic books were just for kids. It
also made the product increasingly less viable for retail merchants to stock. Why take up the
same shelf space, when a higher priced magazine would do more nicely. Again the perceived
value of the comic book was loosing credibility.

Then as the 1950s rolled around, an individual by the name of Dr. Frederick Wertham, published
a book entitled "Seduction of the Innocents". Through the use of unscientific research and
assumptions, he stated that all the nation's ills were directly related to kids reading comic books
(ah hmm, what?). Central to his thesis, was the misassumption that comic books were strictly for
kids. The more adult material, it was irrationally assumed, was aimed at our sweet, naïve
innocent children. Yes, we do have to protect our children, but it still bothers me to no end, that
certain self-righteous individuals believe their lot in life is to make the rest of the planet adhere
to their own personal beliefs. If this were the case, then our great country would have never been
founded.

With this wildly irrational attack on the comic book industry and many congressional leaders
jumping on the bandwagon, comic books were gaining a bad reputation. The comic book
industry publishers at this point, could have banded together and declared that comic books, like
movies, were not "just for kids". It should have been stated that the wide range of comic book
genres represented was target to as wide a range of readers. All but one of the publishers
(William Gaines, publisher of EC Comics) buckled under to this Congressional Investigation and
the Comic Code Authority was created. This governed the content of comic books and ensured
that for the next 15 years or so, the literary content would not rise much above that of pablum for
the mind. Therefore another slide into incredibility for the comic book industry took place.

Can the comic book industry be saved? Very possibly, but when the individuals in charge of the
saving are as eager as ever to make the same mistakes all over again, what will the outcome be?
They don't even appear to be cleaver enough to make new mistakes.

About the Author

Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to take up residency on the Internet. He is
the owner and editor of several websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood
passions; www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com . You can visit here to keep up to date on
the world of comic books and comic book collecting. Feel free to sign up for my comic book ezine.

...