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Post by rberman on Mar 11, 2019 9:23:46 GMT -5
I've always felt that adults who aren't/weren't active comic fans would be hard pressed to name a dozen superhero characters without some prompting. Also that most that they name would have been created before 1968. My kids' twentysomething babysitter can't name Luke Skywalker, so... Few fictional icons survive into a second generation. There was a time when every kid in America wanted an Orphan Annie decoder ring, and every boy wanted a Davy Crockett coonskin cap. But culture moved on, as it always does. |
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Post by brutalis on Mar 11, 2019 9:55:08 GMT -5
I've always felt that adults who aren't/weren't active comic fans would be hard pressed to name a dozen superhero characters without some prompting. Also that most that they name would have been created before 1968. My kids' twentysomething babysitter can't name Luke Skywalker, so... Few fictional icons survive into a second generation. There was a time when every kid in America wanted an Orphan Annie decoder ring, and every boy wanted a Davy Crockett coonskin cap. But culture moved on, as it always does. Not to mention wanting the Lone Ranger Mask, a Red Ryder BB Gun or a horse named Trigger or a dog named Rin Tin Tin. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 11, 2019 10:00:54 GMT -5
All fictional characters have to be kept alive with projects so that they don’t vanish with the years. I was quite surprised to see Sherlock Holmes in three different places actively being shown to today’s audience.
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Post by zaku on Mar 11, 2019 12:01:36 GMT -5
I've always felt that adults who aren't/weren't active comic fans would be hard pressed to name a dozen superhero characters without some prompting. Also that most that they name would have been created before 1968. My kids' twentysomething babysitter can't name Luke Skywalker, so... Change babysitter, like, NOW!  |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220 
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Post by Confessor on Mar 11, 2019 12:23:52 GMT -5
The idea that Spider-Woman, Firestar, Storm, or Jubilee -- hell, even Invisible Woman -- are in any way "well known" to the non-comic reading populace is laughable.
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Post by rberman on Mar 11, 2019 12:28:26 GMT -5
My kids' twentysomething babysitter can't name Luke Skywalker, so... Change babysitter, like, NOW! We adopted a more educational solution. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2019 12:34:07 GMT -5
One thing I remember from the 80s and female Marvel heroes....Hardee's had a kids meal that had 3-D panels in the box and you could slide a comic through the box and see it in 3D. Spider Woman and Firestar were both featured. I believe this pre-dated Firestar's comic appearances and she was on the Spiderman cartoon. As a child I both knew who they were--and my mom did too as she was aware of the shows I watched and comics I read. Quite possibly one of the very few marketing tie-ins featuring Firestar?
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Post by tarkintino on Mar 11, 2019 13:55:40 GMT -5
One thing I remember from the 80s and female Marvel heroes....Hardee's had a kids meal that had 3-D panels in the box and you could slide a comic through the box and see it in 3D. Spider Woman and Firestar were both featured. I believe this pre-dated Firestar's comic appearances and she was on the Spiderman cartoon. As a child I both knew who they were--and my mom did too as she was aware of the shows I watched and comics I read. Quite possibly one of the very few marketing tie-ins featuring Firestar? What year was the Hardee's promotional? I ask because to coincide with the debut of the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon, this one-shot...  ...was published in December of 1981, making it the first ancillary market material based on/involving the character. |
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Post by MDG on Mar 11, 2019 14:20:59 GMT -5
I just want to mention that this discussion is an example of something that's always bugged me about the way people talk about comic books, namely that a character has "made it" when people know them from something besides comic books.
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Post by tarkintino on Mar 11, 2019 14:42:03 GMT -5
I just want to mention that this discussion is an example of something that's always bugged me about the way people talk about comic books, namely that a character has "made it" when people know them from something besides comic books. I guess you can look at it a couple of ways: some superhero characters were breakout successes before any other medium's adaptation (e.g., Superman or Batman), and publishers love that (and sales figures), but they've been licensing their characters since the dawn of what we think of as superhero comics, because they knew there was the potential for greater exposure--which is "making it" when you grow beyond the specialty or niche audience. In the end, it means more dollars coming through the door, so if adaptation were the only way for that to happen, I don't believe there's anything wrong with recognizing that a character has "made it" when recognized by the general population. |
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Post by zaku on Mar 11, 2019 14:54:41 GMT -5
I just want to mention that this discussion is an example of something that's always bugged me about the way people talk about comic books, namely that a character has "made it" when people know them from something besides comic books. I guess you can look at it a couple of ways: some superhero characters were breakout successes before any other medium's adaptation (e.g., Superman or Batman), and publishers love that (and sales figures) I don't know about that. Weren't Batman titles in the '70s on the verge of cancellation, and the sales of Superman ones just abysmal before the Byrne's relaunch? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2019 15:10:59 GMT -5
I've always felt that adults who aren't/weren't active comic fans would be hard pressed to name a dozen superhero characters without some prompting. Also that most that they name would have been created before 1968. And it would be more like oh that guy that catches on fire and stretchy guy, the guy made of rocks, Superman, Batman, and... -M |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2019 16:28:06 GMT -5
I guess you can look at it a couple of ways: some superhero characters were breakout successes before any other medium's adaptation (e.g., Superman or Batman), and publishers love that (and sales figures) I don't know about that. Weren't Batman titles in the '70s on the verge of cancellation, and the sales of Superman ones just abysmal before the Byrne's relaunch? Back in the 70's and early 80's both DC & Marvel published their lower selling titles every other month and their best selling titles monthly. A (very) quick look at sales on Detective/Batman and Action/Superman from 1978-1982 showed Superman selling almost 1.5X what Batman was selling. Action was a monthly and 'Tec was every other month at times during that span. Superman stayed DC's best selling character until the late 80's when it switched to Batman. In fact Superman outsold Spider-Man until the late 70's.
Over at Marvel Daredevil was selling at 110,000 copies pre Frank Miller and was published every other month. Shortly into Miller's run sales jumped to 180,000 and the title became monthly.
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Post by badwolf on Mar 11, 2019 16:56:35 GMT -5
One of the reasons I was more attracted to Marvel as a kid was that their characters were a bit more obscure. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman weren't interesting to me. They were everywhere. Yawn.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2019 7:41:34 GMT -5
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