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Why Marvel’s New ‘Spider-Man’ Will Surprise You Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before!

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The new Spider-Man reboot will be very different from its predecessors, according to writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The duo recently teased several details about the upcoming movie’s plot, confirming that fans shouldn’t expect just another retelling of the hero’s origin story.

The movie is still in the “extremely early” stages, but it’s slowly starting to take shape. As expected, the film will focus on a young Peter Parker (played by British actor Tom Holland) who is struggling to figure out how to deal with his abilities, while also facing plenty of high school issues. This time around though, audiences won’t be seeing the all-too-familiar story of how Peter got his powers.

“I think that everybody feels like we know he got bit by a spider and know that Uncle Ben died and we probably don’t need to revisit that,” Goldstein told Grantland’s Andy Greenwal in a new interview, captured in the video above.

Instead, the film will focus on capturing Peter as a real high school student, who is struggling equally with navigating his teenage life and his superhero identity. “We want to explore that. Just because you get superpowers doesn’t make you into a sophisticated, successful adult,” Goldstein stated. “He’s still a kid and he’s clumsy and he’s a geek and he’s a bit of an outcast and in many ways the superpowers amplify that and exacerbate his trying to fit in.”

This new emphasis on Peter’s high school experience – and not just his superhero one – is what made finding a younger star like Holland so important. “It’ll be a fun departure from the Peter Parker that you’ve seen where now, he is truly a kid,” Daley explained. “And I think the stakes are increased in that his struggle through high school is very real and isn’t just a sort of side note. It matters now.”
The high school-oriented focus fits in with previous talk that the upcoming reboot will boast a John Hughes-like tone. Hughes directed ’80s teenage-themed classics like Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club that are known for being both emotionally heartfelt and filled with comedic moments. As Marvel head Kevin Feige suggested in the past, the Spider-Man reboot will look to mimic that same feel.

“It’s the soap opera in high school, and those supporting characters, that are interesting,” Feige said in an interview earlier this summer. “Not that we can make a John Hughes movie – only John Hughes could – but we’re inspired by him, and merging that with the superhero genre in a way we haven’t done before excites us.”

Daley and Goldstein’s recent revelations expand on that theme, making it clear that this Spider-Man film won’t be anything like the ones we’ve seen over the last decade. Whether their film will be successful in giving the franchise a much-needed refresher remains to be seen.

As for Holland, he’s expected to make his debut as Peter Parker in next year’s Captain America: Civil War. Though details about his cameo haven’t been revealed, the actor has reportedly already shot his scenes for the movie.

The first solo Spider-Man movie with Holland is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 28, 2017.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK – Still going ahead

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Warner Bros. is reportedly moving ahead with the long-teased “Justice League Dark” film under the guidance of producer Scott Rudin.

According to The Tracking Board, the project is no considered a priority by the studio, which hopes to begin production next year.

Featuring some of DC Comics’ supernatural heroes, like John Constantine, Deadman, Zatanna and Swamp Thing, “Justice League Dark” had been in development by Guillermo del Toro since 2012. However, the director left the long-simmering project over the summer, later explaining that Warner Bros.’ scheduled conflicted with his own plans for “Pacific Rim 2” (which has since been bumped from the Universal Pictures calendar).

“Warners liked the script, they were very enthusiastic and wanted to green-light it but they wanted it to coincide with the shoot of ‘Pacific Rim 2,’” del Toro said in July. “I was put in a very difficult place facing a difficult choice, and I chose to do ‘Pacific Rim 2.’”

He’ll reportedly remain on board as a producer.

Although script details have been closely guarded — as much as del Toro talked about the film, it was only in relation to characters — The Tracking Board suggests the story may involve a series of ancient books stolen by a madman who wants to destroy humanity. Constantine then seeks out heroes specializing in the supernatural to help save the world.

Rudin has a long list of film credits dating back to the early 1980s, including “Sleepy Hollow,” “No Country for Old Men,” “The Social Network,” “True Grit” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Cloudscape reveals public-comics spots; Lego Dimensions looks crazy

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LAST WEEK I TOLD you about Cloudscape Comics’ Comics in Transit project, which sees one-page comics by various creators (like Steve Rolston’s “Copenhagen”, shown above) displayed in bus shelters around Vancouver. This week, I happily point you in the direction of the Cloudscape blog, which has posted the dates and locations for the works on display.

The local collective is also running a contest related to its public-art initiative. Tweet a photo of yourself in front of one the comic pages and include #comicsintransit in your tweet, and you’ll be entered in a draw to win the full Cloudscape comics library.

IF YOU THOUGHT The Lego Movie was just about the most giddily delirious pop-culture mashup imaginable, prepare to have your head blown clean off by this ad for the new Lego Dimensions game. It’s a toys-to-life game, and while I am obviously too old and out-of-touch to have any idea what that means, I can tell you that it’s due out September 27 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.

Lego Dimensions features characters from all across the spectrum of Lego’s licensed properties, including Lord of the Rings, DC Super Heroes, Back to the Future, The Simpsons, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, and Jurassic World (Star Wars is conspicuous in its absence), as well as Lego’s own Ninjago and Legends of Chima. The plot? Oh, you know, the usual: villain makes plans for world domination, heroes must band together to stop him. Plus the startling revelation that the Batman fromThe Lego Movie and the Batman from previous Lego video games are actually two different characters. There can be only one! Or maybe there can be two, I dunno.

You’ll hear some familiar voices. No, Will Arnett does not reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne (although he will do so in The Lego Batman Movie, currently in pre-production by Animal Logic, whose Vancouver office should be opening any day now). But, suggesting that this is no low-budget production, you will hear Dan Aykroyd as his Ghostbusters character, Dr. Raymond Stantz; The Simpsons‘ Hank Azaria (Chief Wiggum), Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson and Krusty the Clown), and Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson); Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly (Back to the Future); and Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle (The Lego Movie).

For more videos, visit the Lego Dimensions homepage.

AND WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING trailers for things, check out these two promoting some upcoming titles from Titan Comics. Garth Ennis’s WWII-set Johnny Red (with art by Keith Burns) and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s sci-fi epic Showman Killer (with art by Nicolas Fructus) are both slated for November release. Speaking of sci-fi epics, if you haven’t seenJodorowsky’s Dune yet, for the love of God, go watch it on Netflix right now. I’m serious. Go watch it now, and then come back and read the rest of this column.

LEGO Artist Debuts 18-Foot Batmobile Ahead Of DC Comics Art Exhibit

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LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya and DC Entertainment have revealed an 18-foot long LEGO Batmobile sculpture, which will be part of the upcoming The Art of Brick: DC Comics art exhibit at Sydney, Australia’s Powerhouse Museum in November.

“This is a dream project,” Sawaya tells Entertainment Weekly. “This is the Batmobile! What other vehicle is so iconic?”

The design for this particular Batmobile was conceived of by iconic Batman artist and DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee.

“For the Batmobile in particular, I collaborated with [DC co-publisher] Jim Lee, who was so gracious to actually draw live at a panel at Comic Con for a design of a new Batmobile while we were taking suggestions from the audience,” Sawaya explains. “So as that was how this all started. I used his drawing as a bit of a blueprint to come up with the actual Lego structure and then created this Batmobile brick by brick.”

The Batmobile is just one of several DC Comics LEGO sculptures that will debut at the exhibit. Sawaya has done plenty of other pop culture relevant sculptures, and even had his life-size T-Rex and Oscar sculptures appear at the 2015 Academy Awards.

Check out the LEGO Batmobile in the gallery below.

Why Gotham is getting better!

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The new season of comic book-based television has begun, and one of the first shows to return to the airwaves is Fox’s “Gotham.” A modest ratings hit for Fox, the show never quite lived up to fan expectations, and remained in the shadows cast by “Arrow,” “The Flash” and “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, not to mention “The Walking Dead” and Netflix’s “Daredevil.” However, after just two episodes, after just two episodes, Season 2, billed as “Rise of the Villains,” has built some seriously positive buzz, even from some corners of the Internet that were a little less than thrilled with the first season.

In a mere two installments, “Gotham” has raised the stakes in Bruce Wayne’s city in a big way. Fans have seen more mayhem, madness and seismic changes in the season’s opening chapters than in the entire first half of last season, leaving viewers with a series that has considerably upped its game. And while there have already been a number of improvements over last season, we’ve pinpointed what we believe are the five biggest changes that have made “Gotham” the TV show Batfans have been begging for.

A Focus on the Icons

Last season, “Gotham” was a bit of a potpourri of ideas. While fans were treated to the origins of a young Bruce Wayne, James Gordon and the myriad future iconic villains of Gotham City, all this was juxtaposed with long story arcs involving non-comic book characters like Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith) and the ill-fated nightclub singer Liza. In addition to those, long form arcs involving minor comic book characters like Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni we given the spotlight, often to the detriment of the characters people were tuning in to see.

This season, the series seems to be built with a sharper focus on bringing fans the origins of Gotham City’s most important citizens and criminals to create a more cohesive and focused narrative without the clutter. Instead of breaking things down into a series of jigsaw puzzle vignettes, slowly and methodically fitting one piece into another as the big picture takes shape, the season has treated fans to bold and brash storylines starring the current incarnation of characters who will — or may — become the larger than life icons we know and love.

“CSI: Gotham” No More

One of the biggest growing pains the first season of “Gotham” went through was the series’ shaky sense of identity. Was it a tribute to the myths of the Batman universe, or was it a blow by blow police procedural with some Bat-flair pinned to its lapel? At times it felt more of the latter, the villain-of-the-week aspect of the series seemingly tacked on out of an obligation to pay heed to the characters’ genre tropes. Thus far the new season of “Gotham” has dropped its traditional case/freak-of-the-week approach to storytelling, opting instead to focus on intense action and character exploration.

Jerome

As the psychopathic killer Jerome Valeska, Cameron Monaghan channels the scene chewing showmanship of Cesar Romero, the thuggish swagger of Jack Nicholson and the coiled ruthlessness of Heath Ledger, amalgamating it all into his own unique vision of Gotham’s greatest villain. But is Jerome truly the Joker, or is he merely a feint, a sleight of hand to draw fan attention away from the real Crown Prince of Crime? Jerome’s character arc has brought a sense of unpredictability and a shocking level of sudden violence to the series, resulting in some of the most intriguing storytelling we’ve seen since the series debuted. And, with “Gotham” creator Bruno Heller promising a payoff to Jerome’s story this season, along with a definitive Joker origin, fans don’t have to worry that they’re wasting time following a dead-end storyline.

Rise of the Villains

The new consortium of villainy that freed the Arkham inmates has raised the stakes as much as Jerome has. Are they the Court of Owls? Are they the League of Shadows/Assassins? Or are they something completely different? Whatever the case, this group and its megalomaniacal leader Theo Galavan (brilliantly played by character actor extraordinaire James Frain) have made fans realize that as bad as things were in Gotham City following the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, as bad as things were when Fish Mooney, Sal Maroni and Carmine Falcone were tearing Gotham apart, things have gotten much more worse.

Add to this new, evil crew the continued, frightening evolution of Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma, Jerome’s ascendance and Barbara Kean’s transformation, and you have a series that has become a quality meditation on the darker denizens of Gotham City. With the promised arrival of Mr. Freeze, Clayface and more, things could go from horrible to unimaginable for Gordon and the G.C.P.D. sooner rather than later.

 

Filed Under: TV

Upcoming comic book movies, and when to expect them

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Ever since Bryan Singer’s X-Men movie jump-started the comic book movie trend in 2000 (building on the stellar work of Richard Donner and Tim Burton in the decades prior), Fox, Sony, Warner Bros., Disney and Marvel Studios have all been repeatedly cashing-in on the resurgent popularity of capes, cowls and anything ending in ‘Man’.

Now, the sheer size of the comic book movie-making world has reached a critical mass. There are now seven such films (at least) slated for every year between 2016 and 2019. There’s also a few confirmed for 2020 already, and plenty of other spandex-clad projects scattered around without dates (we’ll stick them at the end of this enormous article).

Without further ado, then, here’s your guide to when each of these comic book properties – including the Avengers, Superman, Deadpool, Batman and many many more – will make it to the big screen…

2016

What’s it about? Deadpool is one of the newest Marvel comics characters to take off in a big way. He first appeared in 1991, and quickly won minds and hearts as a snarky, certifiably insane, wise-cracking ‘merc with a mouth’ who constantly breaks the fourth wall.

Previously on film, Deadpool appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Ryan Reynolds. Although the film was far from a fan favourite, Reynolds will get another bite of the anti-hero cherry here.

Not much of the plot is known, but it’s rumoured that Deadpool himself will be self-aware, ragging on his poor portrayal in the Wolvie prequel throughout. We also know it’s going to be R-rated, playing into Wade Wilson’s potty mouth status. Read why we’re hoping this could be a game-changing comic book movie here. The first trailer landed at SDCC 2015 to a huge reaction.

Who’s involved? Ryan Reynolds will star. Newcomer Brianna Hildebrand plays his partner in crime, Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Tim Miller will make his directorial debut, and that Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (who co-wrote Zombieland together) have worked on the script.

When’s it coming out? 12 February 2016 in both the UK and the USA.

 

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

What’s it about? Ah, a film that needs no introduction. But heck, we’re going to give it one anyway. Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice is a film so pre-discussed that even the semantics of the title have been rigorously analysed.

Once a simple Man Of Steel sequel, this flick will see Batman (Ben Affleck) in a bust-up with Superman (Henry Cavill) in Warner Bros/DC’s first step towards shared-universe mega-bucks.

Subverting the usual worry that sequels are too villain-packed, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is quite clearly the big bad here, with Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) all popping up on the heroic side of the fence, as well as the two title characters.

Who’s involved? As well as that stellar cast, members of the team from Man Of Steel seem to be back too. We know that Zack Snyder will return as director, with the story idea being a collaboration between him and David S Goyer. From this, the full script was written by Argo scribe Chris Terrio.

When’s it coming out? 25 March 2016 in both the UK and the USA.

Captain America: Civil War

What’s it about? Here’s a film that Marvel has so much confidence in that it refused to budge when it looked like Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice wanted to nab its date.

In the comics, Civil War is a sprawling crossover arc from 2006, which saw Tony Stark go toe-to-toe with Cap over a government bill aimed at forcing superheroes to register with the powers that be, reveal their identities and essentially become part of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The film? Well, we had a more detailed look at it here. Short version – it looks like Captain America: Civil War will take elements from the books (namely the Cap v Stark show-down and issues with the government), but perhaps steer away from an all-properties-inclusive mammoth crossover. Either way, it’s likely to be a huge turning point for the Marvel cinematic universe.

Who’s involved? Robert Downey Jnr and Chris Evans will return, and probably a few other familiar Marvel cinematic universe faces. We will also get the Marvel cinematic universe debut of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). On the directorial side, Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s dynamite duo – the Russo brothers – will return. On scripting duties are their fellow Winter Soldier alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Interestingly, this is rumoured to be the film where Spider-Man will make his MCU debut. We await confirmation or denial on that, which we will pass on. If he does appear, he’ll be played by Tom Holland of Wolf Hall.

When’s it coming out? 29 April 2016 in the UK, 6 May 2016 in the USA.

 

X-Men: Apocalypse

What’s it about? Well, with the franchise-fixing double-bill of X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days Of Future Past ameding a vast amount of damage previously thwarting the X-Men movie universe by introducing a new cast and undoing a lot of things, X-Men: Apocalypse looks set to step forward on very confident footing.

We will witness the First Class cast gracing the 1980s, so we’re hoping for truly gratuitous amounts of hairspray. In this new decade, Xavier’s pupils will face off against Apocalypse – an ancient and immortal mutant hell-bent on destruction. If you stayed through the Days Of Future Past credits, you would have got a sneak peak of this film’s big bad and his powers.

We’ve been told this is considered the closing chapter of a trilogy, so we’d expect some big emotional beats. The film begins shooting in April 2015, so expect more casting announcements soon.

Who’s involved? The main players from the First Class crew are all expected to return, with Quicksilver also believed to be re-joining the gang for another run-around. Hugh Jackman isn’t confirmed, but seems a likely inclusion given the ending to the last X-Men film.

One of the godfathers of the modern comic book movie – Bryan Singer – will again return once more to the franchise he built back in 2000. Simon Kinberg will again script, in collaboration with Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty (who both worked with Singer on X-2 and Superman Returns).

When’s it coming out? 19 May 2016 UK/ 27 May 2016 USA.

 

Suicide Squad

What’s it about? The Suicide Squad is a faction of villains from the DC universe that’s coerced (through not very friendly means) into doing missions for the US government. Fans of Arrow have seen an incarnation of this team recently, but don’t expect the same cast or characters for the movie.

Sharp-shooter Deadshot will be played by Will Smith. Harley Quinn will be portrayed by Margot Robbie. Jared Leto’s Joker will also appear. Batman appears briefly in the first trailer. We’ve also heard rumours that Warner Bros. are trying to snare Jesse Eisenberg for another performance as Lex Luthor for this one.

You can read more about the Joker’s role in Suicide Squad here, or see our detailed preview of the film here.

Who’s involved? David Ayer (who most recently helmed Brad Pitt tank movie Fury) is set to direct. The huge cast also includes Joel Kinnaman of RoboCop reboot fame.

When’s it coming out? 5 August 2016, in the USA, is all we know. Well, other than the 4 August 2016 Danish release date.

 

Doctor Strange

What’s it about? Following on from a cheeky namedrop in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this standalone film will see Marvel induct Stephen Strange to the Marvel cinematic universe. He’s a surgeon, and a bit of a dick, who becomes a master of the mystic arts soon after losing his ability to work in a car accident.

We discussed a potential source of comic book inspiration for this one here, but there’s years of material to choose from. A sidekick called Wong features regularly, and happens to be a bit of a bad-ass.

Most importantly though, this movie will open up possibilities for parallel worlds and strange magical lands in Marvel Studio’s interconnected universe, which should be very interesting indeed.

Who’s involved? Scott Derrickson of Deliver Us From Evil and Sinister fame will direct. Mr Benedict Cumberbatch is confirmed to be starring.

Interestingly, Rosario Dawson has played Night Nurse (a sometime ally of Strange) in Marvel’s Netflix universe, though it’s unclear if she’ll feature in the film world too.

When’s it coming out? 6 November 2016 in the USA is all we know on this one so far.

 

Captain America: Civil War – what to expect

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The film that made Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice blink and change its release date, Captain America: Civil War, is all set to be one of Marvel’s biggest movies ever. Indeed, it’s got the biggest cast of any non-Avengers Marvel movie ever seen.

You’ll see Chris Evans’ Cap and Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man at the centre of a feud that includes Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, Don Cheadle’s War Machine, Paul Bettany’s The Vision, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier and Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, as well as two newcomers in the shape of Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

With all of those folks crammed into a film that promises to be both a Winter Soldier sequel and as superhero showdown on an epic scale, there’s sure to be a lot going on in Civil War. Here’s our primer, then – everything you need to expect…
Good question – just why are the Avengers, established brothers and sisters in arms, at each other’s throats? Well, there are plenty of clues out there regarding that one. The biggest of these come from the comics, namely Mark Millar’s Civil War run that has inspired the film.

In the comics, a reality TV show about a group of young superheroes – the New Warriors – goes badly wrong. This leads to the supervillain Nitro causing an explosion in Stamford, Connecticut, that claims 600 lives – including an entire elementary school.

Naturally, the government cracks down on unsupervised superheroics following this tragedy and demands that the vigilantes of the Marvel universe unmask themselves and submit for training and surveillance from the government. This decision splits the superhero community in two, with some heroes (led by Tony Stark) making a stand against secret identities while others (led by Steve Rogers) believe that heroes should be allowed privacy. Fisticuffs ensue.

In the film, we’ll likely see similar beats play out but with different names and places subbed in. The post credits sting from Ant-Man suggests that Cap and Falcon will be leading the underground resistance to the government controls.

Cap is trying to hide Bucky, with Ant-Man’s help, from the outside world. Perhaps, then, Bucky will be involved in the film’s equivalent of the Stamford incident, causing damage in the public eye and forcing the government into action. Steve Rogers mentions the ‘accords,’ and that they might not allow Tony Stark to help. ‘Accords’ sounds like a government group – with Iron Man on their side – to us.

The inciting incident – whether caused by Bucky or not – will split the Avengers down the middle, with two teams forming. Here’s some concept art that reveals who might be teaming with who…

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the-walking-dead

As the fall television season kicks into high gear, TV shows based on comic books are becoming more and more common. But do they have any effect on the sales of comic books in stores?

“Yes, of course!” said Bret Park, owner of Ssalesfish Comics in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, echoing the answers we heard from comic book retailers across the country.

In fact, retailers said the TV shows seem to bring in more sustained customers than comic book movies of the last few years. And not surprisingly, retailers said the biggest boost in sales has been the result of The Walking Dead TV show — a sales trend so prevalent in comic book stores that the title is consistently a top-seller on national lists.
“Whenever The Walking Dead returns to air — even five years in — sales take a spike,” said Mike Wellman, owner of The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach and Culver City, California.

“Every time a new season [of The Walking Dead] starts, I tend to pick up a few new followers of the comics and novels,” said Charlie Harris of Charlie’s Comic Books in Tucson, Arizona. “[It] shows the most growth as a TV tie-in, keeping the title in the top five selling titles.”

The biggest challenge in keeping those customers around? Educating them about the serial nature of comic books — and some aren’t too happy that there’s a whole month to wait between issues.

“Often times people who enjoy the superhero shows will come and buy an issue and are somewhat befuddled that there are more issues to buy later,” said Adam Casey, manager at Ssalesfish.

“Sometimes it takes some work to get [new customers from the TV shows] to stay customers, but I welcome the challenge,” Park added.

Besides The Walking Dead, retailers said there are several other TV shows that bring new customers into stores — from The Flash to Gotham to Daredevil to the iZombie series.

“Arrow and Flash have brought in new customers (or lapsed readers in some cases) and DC was kind enough to have books for us to sell to them such as Flash Season Zero and Arrow Season 2.5,” Park said. “I have had some luck ‘converting’ buyers of the digital-first titles to Green Arrow and Flash ‘New 52’ trade paperback buyers. When that happens, I feel successful. When someone says the comics are better than the shows, I feel validated.”

For fans of Gotham, retailers pointed customers to Gotham Central. When asked about the Daredevil show, retailers sold everything from classic era Frank Miller trades to the modern comic book series. “Thankfully after the Netflix show, Daredevil kind of sold himself,” Park said.

Sales of iZombie trades have also been going up substantially, retailers said.

Back issue bin prices have also gone up for the original printings of comics that preceded the TV shows. Not only are early issues of The Walking Dead worth big money, but the original iZombie issues are pretty much sold out.

“There is a strong trend of back issue customers buying back issues with characters that are announced as TV showproperties,” Park said. “This type of collecting has always baffled me, but I run the type of store that has or finds whatever folks are looking for so there is no judgment on my part.”

Several retailers also emphasized the success of comic books that continue the stories from TV shows that have ended, or fill in stories between seasons. And when customers come into the store for those TV-based comics, retailers can often lead them to learn there are other comic books that inspired TV shows.

“It’s often the non-comic readers who come to the shop with friends and suddenly realize that many of their favorite programs have deeper stories in the comics, or canceled series that continue in comics such as Smallville, Jericho, Buffy, X-Files, etcetera,” Harris said. “But many of these leave with the first Walking Dead omnibus and then become regular customers.”

Despite the success, all the retailers had wish lists for what could be done by Marvel, DC and other publishers to help sell more comics to TV and film fans — from advertising during shows to just a better dissemination of information about the source material, such as the frequent references to The Walking Dead comic book during The Talking Dead after-show.

“I think that the general public who sees comics as mostly people in tights punching one another will come to see the diversity of the medium,” Harris said, “especially if the film industry informs their audiences that non-superhero titles like From Hell and the Road to Perdition are derived from their comic book origins.”

“I would like to see commercials for the comic book at the midway break of the show,” Park said. “So if anyone reading this can make that happen — do it I don’t mean an ad for digital comics either; I mean an ad for real comic books sold at real comic book stores for people watching these shows on real TVs.”

http://www.londonundergroundcomics.com/37-2

The best place to start your comic book collection – ebay

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comics_710

For me ebay is one of the best places to go online to start your comic book collection just because of the sheer range of comic available.

 

Collecting Special Edition Comics

First edition comics for any character are rare, but valuable. These editions are essential when completing a collection of a series. Special autographed comics are also valued highly by comic enthusiasts.

 

Storing a Collection of Comics

Comics require special attention if owners would like to retain their value and keep them in good condition. Collectors should store comics in a cool, dry place to avoid water damage or humidity. Some collectors frame their comics or put them in special comic boxes or bags. Whether in boxes or on display, owners should avoid exposing comics to sunlight, which causes fading. Rare comics may be best kept in a locked, airtight box. Rips and tears tend to lower the value of a comic, so owners should be careful when reading their collection.

How to get started

Rather than divulging yourself into a comic book universe (or maybe many), focus on one character or a team (X-Men, JLA) only. Even independent developers have large universes. Pick one of the most popular characters or teams from one publisher that relate to you the most and stick with them. This way, you can track that certain character or team without losing yourself within the comic’s universe. Also, take genres into consideration. Looking for a bit of sci-fi? Check out Dark Horse and have a look at their take on Star Wars. For example, if you choose Wonder Woman as your prime candidate and during that time, the more recent issues of Wonder Woman would be a good place to start. Once you are familiar with such a character, you may lose interest in them. Remember, this is only so you can get yourself started in comics, but they may also become your favourite character. Once you being with that certain character(s), there may be cross-overs. Using Wonder Woman as an example again, you might want to start with the runs by writers such as Greg Rucka and Gail Simone. If you want something a little further back, try the Wonder Woman Chronicles trades, or her Showcase Presents volumes.

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One daunting issue concerning new collectors is the high issue numbers of long-time ongoing series’. When you want to read a book about a particular character you may feel like you are coming in too late when current issues are being published with issue numbers in the 400’s, 500’s, or more. Do not be afraid of high issue numbers. Comic writers will periodically give users “jumping-off” points at certain issue numbers (often at the 50’s or 100’s) to start a series. Larger series’ are also divided into different “story-archs” which serve as logical partitions of the larger series, typically lasting between 2 and 6 issues. These smaller subplots interconnect to form the larger idea. Regardless of where you start out in a book, these divisions can give you the feel for a new book. If you are concerned about catching up on the back-story you have missed (after all, some of these series’ have been going on for decades) you can look for used books to fill in the gaps later, and read encyclopedia articles from ComicVine to give you an idea of what you have missed in a character or team’s history.

Another way to catch up without picking up individual issues is to collect Trade Paper Backs (sometimes referred to simply as “trades” or TPBs). Trade Paper Backs are reprinted collections of issues (generally by story-arch or series, but sometimes by general theme), and can be purchased new or used at a variety of stores. If you are more interested in reading books, and less interested in the physical (paper) copies digital comics are rapidly becoming an interesting alternative. Some major companies such as Marvel are now putting digital copies of their books online. Some of these books can be viewed for free, and others can be purchased or subscribed to digitally.

 

with any hobby, collecting comic books can be expensive. Sometimes, your local comic book store might have a sale on for some really old comics. Get it while you can, because this can be great to growing your collection. However, don’t buy everything that’s on sale. Just focus on your focused character. This will allow you to add more depth to learning about the history of your chosen character. This also allows you for something extra to read when you’ve read everything on your pull list.

 

Also be on the lookout for cheap comics elsewhere. Some places where great deals on comics in a variety of ages and conditions are yard sales, swap meets, and flea markets/malls. Be careful not to spend too much at these places because they are also great places to get ripped off. If you are still new to comics and do not understand the subtleties of comic book grading, or do not have an idea of what comics from different ages are worth you may get suckered into a “great deal” that turns out to be not so great. Such salesman may not be bad people. They may have little more idea than you of what their books are worth. If you are collecting for your own personal enjoyment you can hardly go wrong spending a dollar or less on comics. Sometimes you can find them as cheap as a quarter a piece. As mentioned earlier second hand auction sites on the internet can be used to help build a collection for chap, however be careful. There are many dangers (primarily being ripped off) associated with internet auctions, so use these sites at your own risk.

Attend a comic book convention

Attend a comic convention, such as ComicCon. Doing so will allow you to interact with other comic book lovers and maybe allow you to make a friend or two sharing the same favourite of a character as you. You also will often have the opportunity to meet the writers and artists behind your favorite books in person, often getting a signature or sketch while you are there. Attending ComicCons also allow you to buy plenty of issues missed on your chosen character and browsing through all the booths are enjoyable. Also, you may also get some news on new and up coming comic storylines and new movies that are being made. ComicCons may not always visit your city, but that doesn’t mean it will stop you from attending smaller ones.

=One more thing – enjoy it!

Don’t take this hobby too seriously, unless that’s what you want. Comic books should be enjoyed by everyone and each character should be respected. Voicing your opinion may induce some interesting discussions, but in reality, they are created to be read. For example, some comic readers use it as a means of escape. Also, don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know much about your favourite character. Comic books are meant to be a world of discovery. Starting from where you are and enjoying yourself with his hobby is all you need. If someone knows about Spider-Man’s webbing chemicals more than you, then let them. Bottom line is, enjoy the comics as they are and if you wish to continue into something even further (like knowing everything about Spider-Man’s webbing chemicals) then you are welcome to do that too.

What Makes Comics So Popular With Adults?

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comics_710Comic books have been around for quite some time now, and the number of comic book fans number in millions. There are so many types of comic books that you can choose from if you want to have your own collection.

Superheroes are some of the most featured characters in comics, but there are some that are inspired by ordinary characters in extraordinary situations. If you want to purchase comic books for your child, it would be best to consider the content before doing so.

There are some comic books that are age appropriate, and there are others that can be read by everyone. For example, some comic books feature comedic characters, and these are great for young children.

There are also comic books that contain violence and explicit content, and it would be wise to stay away from these if you have young children.

Believe it or not, comic books are also great investments. Many comic book collectors keep their comics in mint condition especially the ones that they think will increase in value over the years. Some limited edition comic books cost thousands of dollars in the market, more if they are considered as rare copies.

If you are in the mood to start your own collection you may want to start with the more popular versions. You can also look for collector’s items on the internet if you fancy having a copy of the rare ones. However, for the comic books to increase in value, make sure that you take care of them.

To really understand how big comic books are amoung adults you only have to visit some of the many exciting comic book conventions that are held around the country from London through to Devon and up to Scotland.  Thousands of adults and fans dress up and turn up to these conventions every year, the biggest in the world is the Comic Con which is held every summer in San Diego.