Super heros are back in style

[freebird]

It is a very exciting year if you like science fiction. I am loving the plethora of movies about super heroes that are out or coming out: The Green Hornet, Captain America, X Men, Thor, Cowboys & Aliens and even TV shows like The Cape.

Why all of a sudden are we seeing this trend? I think it is because of the world chaos that seems to be slowly building. The economy is not good, various government bodies are in turmoil, and the world is watching Egypt and Libya very closely. During rough times like these we want to loose our selves in a different world where some caped, spandex-ed, and or masked hero will come in and make it all better (with awesome special effects also).

Any one have any other thoughts on this? Is it just me?

 

[JimF]

Superheros are hot right now, that's for sure. The current state of SFX is such that even on a weekly TV show budget superhuman feats can easily be included. Add to that, the large built in audience for superhero/comic books and greenlighting these properties is a no-brainer for network/movie execs.

What I am more interested in, is there a market for original text (not graphic) novels for an original superhero tale? For some time I've been kicking around a idea for a novel based on based on superheros of my own creation. The idea has been at the forefront of my imagination for some time, I'm trying to decide if I should put the effort into writing it or work on something else.


Jim

 

[KatG]

1) Superheroes have never been out of style.

2) The rash of superhero movies are a combination of the major comics publishers having gotten much more organized to try to create massive film franchises (especially Marvel,) and the desire overseas for big budget, high action and special effects with recognizable actors and characters. Those movies make the most globally, so even though it seems like an extraordinary number of superhero pics for the American market, it's now pretty much like the horror genre, with much more legs internationally than the horror pictures. Plus the merchandising is way easier.

 

[Sparrow]

It is a very exciting year if you like science fiction. I am loving the plethora of movies about super heroes that are out or coming out: The Green Hornet, Captain America, X Men, Thor, Cowboys & Aliens and even TV shows like The Cape.

For some of us it's just crap piled atop more crap.
I just don't get the whole superhero thing. I wasn't into it when I was a kid so I sure in the heck can't see it now. Captain America?.. what's wrong, are they running out of superheroes. If they want to turn Cadillacs & Dinosaurs into a hollywood blockbuster that might be worth watching, but Captain America and Thor?

Why all of a sudden are we seeing this trend? I think it is because of the world chaos that seems to be slowly building. The economy is not good, various government bodies are in turmoil, and the world is watching Egypt and Libya very closely. During rough times like these we want to loose our selves in a different world where some caped, spandex-ed, and or masked hero will come in and make it all better (with awesome special effects also).

These aren't rough times.

 

[odo]

For some of us it's just crap piled atop more crap.
I just don't get the whole superhero thing. I wasn't into it when I was a kid so I sure in the heck can't see it now. Captain America?.. what's wrong, are they running out of superheroes. If they want to turn Cadillacs & Dinosaurs into a hollywood blockbuster that might be worth watching, but Captain America and Thor?

I don't especially like superhero comics and I'm certainly not a Captain America fan, but Brubaker's run is really, really good.

 

[JimF]

The live-action superhero genre has been alive and well in TV and Movies since well before the current crop Big Budget movies that started with Tim Burton's Batman in 1989

There were Live action batman, superman, captian Marvel and Captian America serials in the 40's, Superman on TV the 50's. Batman in TV and a live action theatrical movie in the 60's.

Captian Marvel, Wonder Woman, The Hulk, Spiderman, Captian America, Dr. Stange, The Thing (from Fantastic 4), The Flash, Daredevil (in a 1989 Hulk TV Movie), The Fantastic 4 (1994) and more were all in live-action TV or low budget movies. Hollywood has used comic book superheros for some time, only thanks to modern SFX are they so prominant.

 

[KatG]

LOL, we jumped all over that, didn't we freebird? Welcome! Oddly enough, what actually does seem to be the current two popular things at the moment is alien SF -- contact on Earth or alien invasion of Earth -- and fantasy stories retelling fairy tales. (I'm most interested in the action movie with Jeremy Renner and Gema Arteton playing a grown up Hansel and Gretal going after the witch who tried to eat them and other baddies.) The superheroes have largely failed to catch well on t.v. after Heroes started so well and then faceplanted. But Wonder Woman is coming to U.S. t.v. so we'll see. The alien SF hasn't done so well on t.v. either, but I suspect we'll see more of it, and more SF in general. Terra Nova is going to be a big, kitschy deal. Don't know if the fairy tales will come to t.v., as they aren't as sustainable for serial stories.

My suspicion is that Marvel is over-doing it and that Warner remains rather clueless about what to do. But as long as they can continue to make good money overseas, it's an easy sort of fun action pic to make. What will be kind of interesting is what happens with Green Lantern. The movie is a bit miscast, but it does concern an entire alien league of defenders, so that's a little more SF than most superheroes go.

Update: I was apparently wrong, fairy tales are possibly coming to t.v. at least in the U.S. -- one network has ordered a pilot for Grim, based on the Grimm Brothers somehow, and another a pilot called Once Upon a Time about a woman who ends up in a magical town.

 

[Lordwalker]

Superheros are hot right now, that's for sure. The current state of SFX is such that even on a weekly TV show budget superhuman feats can easily be included. Add to that, the large built in audience for superhero/comic books and greenlighting these properties is a no-brainer for network/movie execs.

What I am more interested in, is there a market for original text (not graphic) novels for an original superhero tale? For some time I've been kicking around a idea for a novel based on based on superheros of my own creation. The idea has been at the forefront of my imagination for some time, I'm trying to decide if I should put the effort into writing it or work on something else.


Jim

To answer your question: Yes. I would be interested in something like that. I have seen several comic story arcs put into novel form but haven't been interested in picking those up. I would be much more interested in a talented author creating something new in novel form or taking a character, like the batman, and writing an original story. To my knowledge, this has only been done a couple of times. Andrew Vachss did a batman and Kevn J. Anderson did a Superman. I won't read Kevin J. Anderson.

 

[lolrus]

It's a sub genre that I enjoy a great deal. Found a few recently and am taking them at 1 every other month. There aren't enough of them around just yet and I don't want to read em all up in one go.

If you can get hold of "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman it is a treasure, grab it and enjoy. Also, "Devils Cape" by Bob Rogers is excellent. For a steampunk hero, try "Ghost of Manhatten" by George Mann, cracker.

 

[odo]

If you can get hold of "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman it is a treasure, grab it and enjoy.

I agree. It's an excellent book.

 

[freebird]

Wow. I really started something here!

Super heros may not be for everyone. But there are so many characters to choose from. Some people might think Captain America is lame. But don't say anything bad about Bat Man! The diversity of characters is so exciting, it opens up the possibility of new characters too.

For example: I am reading a book right now called Super Born (www.superborn.net). It is about a super chick with super powers of course. I tend to like the super ladies!

 

[Ash]

If you can get hold of "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman it is a treasure, grab it and enjoy

I also thought this was a fine book. Does anyone know what he is up to these days? I was hoping for a few more.

 

[Smitty]

Yeah, but to me super heros are not science fiction. In my worldview they are fantasy. I never read comic books much so the genre is lost on me although I have enjoyed some of the movies.

 

[freebird]

Science fiction and fantasy can be blurred.

Well Smitty, super heroes could be considered fantasy, but I think some are also science fiction. Especially Batman - he has great weapons. And the movies have great special effects.

Have you guy heard about The Avengers movie? They start filming in Cleveland in April. Detroit lost out! Very exciting new for Cleveland! http://www.movieweb.com/news/the-avengers-moves-to-cleveland

 

[Erfael]

I'm sure they're in Cleveland because Joss Whedon is directing and Cleveland is the site of the 2nd US Hellmouth.

 

[phil_geo]

Most people who think superheroes are lame have not read the comics and they assume they are for kids. Anyone who has read The Dark Knight Returns knows what comics can be. Captain America has had some really nice runs, and depending on which one they choose for the movie it could be a teen movie (and what's wrong with that?) or an adult movie.

There are definitely more superhero movies and TV shows in the past 3 years than in any three year period before that, and that can be attributed to 2 movies from 2008: Ironman and The Dark Knight. The success of these movies led to greenlights on many project that would otherwise have not been approved.

The movie Kickass this year was a fantastic example of an above average superhero movie. I thought it should have been nominated for best picture.

 

[DurzoBlint]

Rumor has it that The Cape is so bad that the final episode for the season will not be on tv but only available on line.

 

[Erfael]

Yes. Reviews were so bad that I didn't even bother checking it out. I don't understand why or how things that bad come to market when there are people who do amazing work who can't get a show to air...

 

[hippokrene]

1) Superheroes have never been out of style.

That's right. They're like little black dresses and rock-n-roll.

If you can get hold of "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman it is a treasure, grab it and enjoy.

I wasn't impressed. It was obviously meant to be a satire of the superhero genre but it came off as someone whose knowledge of that genre began the Adam West Batman show and ended with Superfriends.

 

[hippokrene]

Most people who think superheroes are lame have not read the comics and they assume they are for kids.

Or maybe they have read the comics and refuse to believe adults would voluntarily subject themselves to such material.

Sure, there's some extraordinarily good superhero comics but it's a genre where 95% of the stories and characters are the product of two companies. And I say companies because the artists and writers are work-for-hire.

Can you imagine what science fiction would be like if authors weren't allowed to come up with anything new but had to write stories set in 60+ year old settings with 60+ year old characters? Imagine going to your local bookstore and library and the only science fiction books were the ones with 'Star Wars' or 'Star Trek' in the title.

You might be able to find a great Star Trek or Star Wars book, but you'll never see a 1984, Ender's Game, Dune, or I, Robot.

Anyone who has read The Dark Knight Returns knows what comics can be.

Sadly, the Dark Knight Returns is not so much what comics *can be* but what they *are*.

Not Sandman, The Watchmen, Sin City, Prometha, GCPD, Kabuki: Circle of Blood, Bone, Y the Last Man, Fables, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, etc. These are all mature, nuanced books that are about more than people in spandex beating the crap out of other people in spandex.

Alternatively, the climax of the Dark Knight Returns? Batman kicks Superman's ass.