We are one day away from the opening of the Incredible Hulk movie. If you don't mind spoilers you can read an early review here.
What does this movie mean to comic book collectors? I discuss this question on my blog and I wanted to make some points here because I think it's important for comic book fans everywhere.
The New Marvel Universe
It appears there are two reasons Marvel reset the Incredible Hulk franchise. The first movie seemed to be almost universally hated by fans, so this is a chance for redemption. But this movie also places the character in a larger "universe" that Marvel, now that they have brought their characters back in-house, seems to be setting up.
When Marvel announced the next few movies they have in the works, the picture of the big-screen future of our favorite characters became much clearer. We have Captain America, Thor and the Avengers all slated for the big screen, as well as the follow up movies to Iron Man and others.
This new Universe is important because it's a complete transfer of characters to a new medium. I wrote about the future of comic book values a few months ago, and in my opinion there are certain books that will retain their value based on the power of the characters.
Characters are the key, they speak to universal problems, and the medium doesn’t really matter. Marvel and other companies have put their characters in comic books, graphic novels, children’s television cartoons, animated features, movies, and we are now in the infancy of online comic books. But it's always the characters and their unique problems that drive the story and sales.
Kids may not read comic books as much as previous generations, but they still relate to the characters and their issues. The message is being transfered through different media. Because of this I think certain key comic books will continue to do well. The new fans will seek out their first appearances and origins, whether the were first introduced on the big screen or a video game. In my opinion the limited supply will keep prices up.
It's a very exciting future for comic book fans. Marvel has opened up a whole new Universe based on the past, but moving into the future. Smart move and I'm looking forward to watching the results!
- Sean
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
4 comments:
Many of my friends and colleagues are excited over the crossovers. And I'm glad that Marvel "reset" the Hulk into something more palatable to comic book fans.
Here's a good Rundown of the character from another blog I came across.
The Incredible Hulk SMASH box office. Landing at #1, it accounted for 1/3 of all ticket sales this weekend. It raked-in $3 million less than Ang Lee's version, but was overwhelmingly better reviewed by fans and critics.
this new Hulk is a lot more fun than the first one with Eric Bana; plus Ed Norton is in his element, doing the "split personality" role
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