R.I.P. Comic Books

BY JORDAN FRAZIER
SC Staff Writer    

Remember the nostalgia of being different in the late 80’s and early 90’s by having your own comic book? Those days are long forgotten in the memories of Valhalla.

Since the millennium, comic books have been adapted into films, like 2002’s “Spiderman” and 2005’s “Batman Begins.” With “The Avengers” coming out in the summer of 2012, and more superhero films on the way, both DC and Marvel must ask a simple question. Are comic books dead – and did the audience kill them?

The Disney Corporation has maintained a great film empire over the years by giving moviegoers a hyper-reality in which they can venture into creating a false consciousness. People have grown up creating ideological assumptions based on Disney’s fairytale versions of royalty that come from times past.

For teenagers, dreams have come in the form of comic books by Marvel and DC. Since Marvel was sold to Disney in 2009, spectacular films have been created; however, these comic book adaptions have been a mixed bag.

The quality of superhero films in the Marvel cinema universe, along with all of the merchandizing of Marvel products, have been watered down for the consumer. This is not a bad thing, but let’s dig a little deeper to see how superhero films are a part of a breakdown of traditional comics.

When Disney bought Marvel, they created a commercialized version of comic books for the general public. The hyped comic book adaptions are more mainstream and lose the one thing that made them unique – Geeks.

With the development of shows like The Big Bang Theory and the remake of movies like 21 Jump Street, geeks have become more popular. By becoming mainstream, geeks who only used to like comic books have become products of commercialism by liking the watered down products of the Disney Corporation.

They are no longer social outsider, and they have lost their authentic selves; instead they have chosen to be a part of Disney’s hyper-reality. Through buying t-shirts, movies, and toys promoted by Disney, they help promote the sale of unauthentic products. These cool “geeks” should no longer be considered geeks.

Because of Disney’s products, the Marvel Comic films have their own ideological assumptions. All of the heroes in Marvel are vigilantes that could be looked at in an adult way, but are presented like cartoons that lack human flaws due to their stereotypical archetypes. They are geared more for kids and teenagers, with clear-cut heroes and villains, which is why the people have killed off comics.

Death by selling out cannot be recovered. All the progress made by comic books, from their inception to the present, has been laid to rest, undone by film. Hopefully someone understands how comic books have been used up. I proclaim comic books dead. We killed them.

Email Jordan at:
jfrazier@live.esu.edu