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“Would you like to see The Avengers motion picture with me….in like…40 years?”
by beau Smith
I was in grade school in the 1960s when marvel Comics unleashed the first issue of The Avengers. If you would’ve told me then that in my lifetime I would see The Avengers not only on the motion picture screen, but as the greatest opening box office motion picture ever, my pointy little head would’ve exploded.
Avengers motion picture poster
It’s taken the technology of film making over 40 years to catch up with what comic books have been able to do considering that the 1930s, but after seeing The Avengers movie, it was well worth the wait. Not only has the technology advanced to where it can pull off the action and incredibly heroics and make it look realistic, but a lot more importantly, the respect for comic books and comic book characters has come to where it needed to be.
Coming soon, The Dark Knight Rises
Hats are tipped to writer/director Joss Whedon, Christopher Nolan, and Jon Favreau because they worked hard, very hard, to capture and enhance the characters that have been printed in comic books for decades. Their respect is what makes films like Iron Man, Batman, and now The Avengers genuinely shine. The saying is true, “Anybody can eat a pie, but it takes a cook to make it.” There has to be a true caring for a director/writer to be able to translate something best in its own form and bring it to another level of entertainment. As a comic book writer and reader, I am so very pleased of these above pointed out men for the care they have taken to not only make the best motion picture they could, but to also respect an art form that has not always been given the credit scores it so richly deserves.
There have been others in the film industry who have merely manufactured comic book films, nearly tossed them out and let them lie. You can see and feel the lack of respect and interest, that’s always been a shame. Don’t get me wrong, comic books have done their share of tossing stuff out there as well, especially in these days of 24/7 Internet celebrity status. When a designer and a publisher really believe in a character, a series, and story, it shows just like it does with films. When that happens, we all win.
Iron man motion picture poster
As a writer and a reader, my hope is that film success stories like The Avengers, Batman, and Iron man will spark even a lot more comic book based motion pictures from all points of the range, from the well known titles of marvel and DC Comics, to the smaller publishers where so lots of great characters and stories dwell. The landscape in comic books is really wide, from mainstream superheroes to edgier, quirky stories whose print runs are as large as those of Captain America or Superman. The film making system has a huge field of properties to check out and possibly choose from. I think this is a great opportunity not only for motion picture goers, but comic books as well. It gives comic books a way to finally branch out to a broader reading audience and young readers who will grow into lifetime readers and hand that reading pleasure down to their kids. (Did I mention that it also gives writers like me a chance to option their characters to the silver screen?)
Avengers #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
I was getting what little hair I have cut the other day and the lady that cuts my hair commented on how she went with her kid to see The Avengers movie. She let me know that she had never read a comic book in her life. She had no idea who any of these characters were and yet….she loved the motion picture and saw it twice. Her kid gave her a couple of Avengers comic books and she read them…and loved them. She told me it was like someone opened up her eyes to something that had been in front of her face forever, yet she never saw. She was stoked and even peppered me with all kinds of questions about what it’s like to write and create comic books. Not only did comic books now have her respect, but even I rode off the fumes and had a little a lot more respect. (And a great haircut I might add.)
This is a small story, but if multiplied over and over you can see the massive growth it could have for comic books. It’s basic and can happen. I’m not saying it will happen overnight, but it’s been gradually happening and there is a difference being made. All we can do on the comic book end is keep making compelling stories and characters, keep telling other people about comic books, and increase the respect that our art form deserves. We make printed happiness and enjoyment in comic books, share it with someone you care about or someone you don’t even know. Avenge comic books!
BEAUvengers Assemble!
Beau Smith
The flying Fist Ranch
www.flyingfistranch.com