Even though it's more than two years away, I am unnecessarily excited about the Avengers movie. So much so that whenever I see any news surrounding the film (ZOMG, pictures of Chris Hemsworth in the Thor Costume leaked; Holy Buffy -- Joss Whedon is directing it; Chris Evans as Cap? Really? I guess that could work...), my trousers get a little, um, well... I'll leave that to your imagination. It's inevitable for me to get excited about seeing some of my favorite characters on the big screen fighting it out, but for all of the glitz and all of the glamor, where do comics fall into the mix?


Right now I follow three blogs and two magazines about comics and numerous Twitter accounts from artists, writers and reviewers, but, and maybe not surprisingly, most of these are seeming to shift more from “What's going on in comics this month” to “Let's talk to Robert Downey Jr. on the red carpet about how heavy the Iron Man suit was.” It's disappointing. For example, I have become a big fan of MTV's Splash Page which brings me a daily dose of costumed crusaders, but more often than not the articles surround which heroes are going to be at my local multiplex Friday rather than which are showing up at the comic shop on Wednesday. The same is going for Wizard Magazine which used to be an invaluable resource on the happenings in the industry and is now a hub for the latest in all things movie news. Personally, as excited as I was about Iron Man 2 coming out, I cared much more about seeing what info was out there about last week's conclusion to Marvel's Siege.

This focus on films over books is not new. Many Americans often chose to watch movies over reading books -- it's nothing new and I'm a prime example (for instance, I've never read the Lord of the Rings and hadn't read Fight Club until about a year and a half ago). I suppose it's difficult as I see where the industry is heading. With higher prices and diminishing sales, not to mention the huge industry that is popping up with iComics, I'm feeling concerned that in the next few years publishers won't be looking as favorably on those properties which cannot score a movie deal. And I don't just see it for the big guns like Marvel, DC or Dark Horse, but even the little guys. I can't even tell you how many creators I have seen at comic cons who have said those three words: “It's being optioned.” It's scary to think of how the medium could exist if all people care about is getting Angelina Jolie to sport a cat suit rather than how interesting the character was when she was drawn in 2-D. And while I'm excited that some comics like Scott Pilgrim and Kick-Ass maybe be getting more exposure, I fear for the books which aren't being optioned and deserve readers much more, and for the creators who feel they may need to cheapen their product to make it more attractive to producers.


As usual, I'm being fairly cynical and I know that many fans and shop owners see the increase in comic-based movies as a possible chance for a boost in sales or interest, but I have to be honest -- I've not seen it. For all of the hype surrounding Iron Man 2, which opened earlier this month, and the Avengers, I don't see a huge increase in comics readers and fans. True, I have bought more issues of Iron Man in the last two years than I have in my entire life, but the fact of the matter is, I'm not seeing the new blood that we so desperately need. My hope is that in the future the comics companies will recognize books that are good for what they display on the page and not worry if they can make money in Hollywood because I don't know that I could live in a world where our biggest concern is how cool a character will look on the big screen and not how interesting he can be in the context of 32 pages.

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