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patentdragonFollowing yesterday's introspective, something a bit more lively - namely the "shocking news" that:
Marvel Comics introduces mixed-race Spider-Man
I'll be continuing this post after tonight's Ultima Online session, and Torchwood. I'd suggest, Dear Reader, that you make use of the intervening time to read some of the comments on the BBC News item - and ask yourself how this compares to the news that Lawrence "Morpheus/CSI Ray Langston" Fishburne is going to be playing Perry White in the new Superman movie...
There's a tornerdo brewing...
Okay - now where was I?
So, in the pages of Marvel's "Ultimate" comics, Peter "Spider-Man" Parker died. Soon, his heroic mantle is to be taken up by another. Half-Hispanic, half African-American - all controversial...!
Why?
Comic companies have been sorely pressed by the advent of the intercyberweb, and titles that used to sell a hundred thousand plus copies a month now sell maybe a tenth of that, if they're lucky. Marvel's movies have helped offset that to some extent, but the downturn is still a problem, and anything that sells more comics is welcome. Remember the death of Captain America...?
The core purpose behind "The Death of Spider-Man" is much the same, as is the introduction of the new character. This isn't to fill some Political Correctness "quota" - and actually, they haven't killed off the character you probably loved as a child. The "real" Peter Parker is alive and well, occasionally web-slinging alongside The Avengers and what's left of the Fantastic Four.
Remember how I mentioned the "Ultimate" comics? The "parallel universe" set up so that Marvel could produce new stories about familiar characters without the burden of decades of back-story and convoluted plot-lines developed, and sometimes abandoned, over the years. The Ultimate titles were intended to be a "way in" for those attracted to the characters by the first wave of Marvel movies, featuring the X-Men and... yep, you guessed it - Spider-Man.
These comics have been something of a testing ground for grittier concepts, and different takes on a variety of characters. Take Colonel Nick Fury of SHIELD, for example - in the "real" Marvel universe, Fury is more of a Bruce Willis type, whilst Ultimate Fury is, well...
...Samuel L. Jackson - and there's no denying it. Yes, the guest star in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America - and major player in next year's Avengers...
(Personally, I like him. And I'm a fan of "mainstream" Fury.)
Plainly, the "outrage" comes from people who have no real idea of the underlying intricacies, or maybe they're just out to vent their plainly racist spleens at the slightest presumed "provocation". Is this whole things "newsworthy"? The poorly-informed BBC seem to think so - but it's strange how the casting of Fishburne, an undoubtedly fine actor, particularly in CSI, in the role of Perry White - Clark (Superman) Kent's boss - hasn't caused the slightest ripple. That is an example of taking an existing white character, and casting an actor of colour instead (which may not be such a bad idea), unlike what Marvel have done by thrusting poor Miles Morales into the spotlight...
(Guess it's not as easy to explain as it seemed when I started.)
It seems that Marvel can't win, whatever they do to try and quite simply survive in such a cut-throat business. Some of the comments following the BBC item seem to present the ideal solution - "create more new black characters" - but that's doomed to failure, as new characters don't come with a pre-generated readership, and those readers can tire very quickly of what's new, as can be seen in the drop-off of sales for almost every brand new character launching in their own title.
Being part of an existing "franchise" is the only way to survive, it seems - just look at the excellent Avengers Academy, in which existing heroes teach the "next generation" how to survive in the superhero world... whilst trying to steer the youngsters away from the predicted course that may just turn them into villains. Rather than sticking someone new in someone else's costume, the writers and artists created characters from whole cloth, with their own personalities, and problems, and sadly, that doesn't happen every time.
This new Spider-Man could be the start of something interesting. If he's not hounded out of existence by misguided "outrage".
It's getting late, and it's getting hotter in here. My ability to focus is wilting. I hope I cleared up a few things...
Marvel Comics introduces mixed-race Spider-Man
I'll be continuing this post after tonight's Ultima Online session, and Torchwood. I'd suggest, Dear Reader, that you make use of the intervening time to read some of the comments on the BBC News item - and ask yourself how this compares to the news that Lawrence "Morpheus/CSI Ray Langston" Fishburne is going to be playing Perry White in the new Superman movie...
There's a tornerdo brewing...
...to be continued.
Okay - now where was I?
So, in the pages of Marvel's "Ultimate" comics, Peter "Spider-Man" Parker died. Soon, his heroic mantle is to be taken up by another. Half-Hispanic, half African-American - all controversial...!
Why?
Comic companies have been sorely pressed by the advent of the intercyberweb, and titles that used to sell a hundred thousand plus copies a month now sell maybe a tenth of that, if they're lucky. Marvel's movies have helped offset that to some extent, but the downturn is still a problem, and anything that sells more comics is welcome. Remember the death of Captain America...?
The core purpose behind "The Death of Spider-Man" is much the same, as is the introduction of the new character. This isn't to fill some Political Correctness "quota" - and actually, they haven't killed off the character you probably loved as a child. The "real" Peter Parker is alive and well, occasionally web-slinging alongside The Avengers and what's left of the Fantastic Four.
Remember how I mentioned the "Ultimate" comics? The "parallel universe" set up so that Marvel could produce new stories about familiar characters without the burden of decades of back-story and convoluted plot-lines developed, and sometimes abandoned, over the years. The Ultimate titles were intended to be a "way in" for those attracted to the characters by the first wave of Marvel movies, featuring the X-Men and... yep, you guessed it - Spider-Man.
These comics have been something of a testing ground for grittier concepts, and different takes on a variety of characters. Take Colonel Nick Fury of SHIELD, for example - in the "real" Marvel universe, Fury is more of a Bruce Willis type, whilst Ultimate Fury is, well...
...Samuel L. Jackson - and there's no denying it. Yes, the guest star in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America - and major player in next year's Avengers...
(Personally, I like him. And I'm a fan of "mainstream" Fury.)
Plainly, the "outrage" comes from people who have no real idea of the underlying intricacies, or maybe they're just out to vent their plainly racist spleens at the slightest presumed "provocation". Is this whole things "newsworthy"? The poorly-informed BBC seem to think so - but it's strange how the casting of Fishburne, an undoubtedly fine actor, particularly in CSI, in the role of Perry White - Clark (Superman) Kent's boss - hasn't caused the slightest ripple. That is an example of taking an existing white character, and casting an actor of colour instead (which may not be such a bad idea), unlike what Marvel have done by thrusting poor Miles Morales into the spotlight...
(Guess it's not as easy to explain as it seemed when I started.)
It seems that Marvel can't win, whatever they do to try and quite simply survive in such a cut-throat business. Some of the comments following the BBC item seem to present the ideal solution - "create more new black characters" - but that's doomed to failure, as new characters don't come with a pre-generated readership, and those readers can tire very quickly of what's new, as can be seen in the drop-off of sales for almost every brand new character launching in their own title.
Being part of an existing "franchise" is the only way to survive, it seems - just look at the excellent Avengers Academy, in which existing heroes teach the "next generation" how to survive in the superhero world... whilst trying to steer the youngsters away from the predicted course that may just turn them into villains. Rather than sticking someone new in someone else's costume, the writers and artists created characters from whole cloth, with their own personalities, and problems, and sadly, that doesn't happen every time.
This new Spider-Man could be the start of something interesting. If he's not hounded out of existence by misguided "outrage".
It's getting late, and it's getting hotter in here. My ability to focus is wilting. I hope I cleared up a few things...
