I'm actually glad that my favorite characters are owned by giant corporations. I remember when I was in high school, or maybe junior high, reading an issue of Spawn in which Cerebus the Aardvark guest-starred. The plot was that all the famous mainstream superheroes, including above all Superman, were locked in a dungeon, and even when he had been given all their powers combined, Spawn could not get them out. Cerebus explained that it was because their original creators no longer owned the rights to the characters, if they ever had, but that the two of them, Spawn and Cerebus, were free, because their creators had retained the rights.
Exactly the opposite is true. We have seen, and will see, many different versions of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and so forth, precisely because they are controlled by big corporations that can assign different creative teams and can publish them in a variety of media, and which, above all, are all but immortal. Superman has survived for eighty years because he is owned by a corporation. I doubt that Cerebus and Spawn will even be remembered eighty years after their premiere.
And less face it, isn't it all to the good that Star Wars is now safe in the hands of the Disney Corporation, so that George Lucas can't keep ruining it?
"All but immortal"? Popular superhero franchises exist in a state of undeath for decades at a time, cheapening any value the original held. Though there are cases of superhero characters not getting into their groove until long after their creation (The Dark Knight Returns was published 47 years after Batman's first appearance), capes would be better off from a literary standpoint if they'd STOP being immortal.
But if the thing you want is toys and pop culture? Hell yeah, let em go on forever.
To the first anonymous, if you seriously think that Episode VII was worse than the prequels ("I don't like sand"?), then there's really nothing more to be said.
For the second anonymous, if you seriously think that these characters were published for decades without "getting into their groove", I do have something to say. Just because you didn't like the various versions of the characters that existed for generations before you were born matters almost as little as the fact that you may not like the versions that will exist for generations after you are dead. There have been and will be many different versions of these characters that have existed and will exist for generations, with each generation having its own version. Some will prefer one, others will prefer another. Each generation may regret seeing its version being replaced by the next, but that is a healthy thing. Far from undeath, this process is what keeps these characters alive for generations to come. But if you just want your favorite version, frozen in aspic forever? You can have that? Just reread your favorite comics and ignore the ones you don't like.
The problem is that the giant mass media corporations got it right the first time, then wrong every time after that. Take Transformers. If the giant mass media corporations had given us 30 more years of what they gave us in 1984-1986, we’d be happy consumers.
Ehh, I agree it's been hit and miss (more of the latter than the former I guess), but lots of people liked Beast Wars (I can't remember squat about it, but remember liking it as a kid, so... YMMV), Animated was enjoyable (though cancelled about a season too soon), and Prime was absolutely phenomenal. Granted, the most recent iteration reeks of cash grab (A couple episodes ago Optimus literally said something that equivocates to "the Primes taught me a technique that allows Hasbro to milk more money from the same molds by using different colored plastic."
You know, I was a huge fan of the original Transformers in the eighties, but I have to tell you, the original TV cartoons really don't hold up very well on rewatching. If they had done as you wanted, the franchise never would have lasted thirty years. The original fans would have outgrown it, and new generations would have found it dated and silly. I get that you prefer the version that you loved as a child, but the franchise has to move on to cater to a new generation of children.
I'm actually glad that my favorite characters are owned by giant corporations. I remember when I was in high school, or maybe junior high, reading an issue of Spawn in which Cerebus the Aardvark guest-starred. The plot was that all the famous mainstream superheroes, including above all Superman, were locked in a dungeon, and even when he had been given all their powers combined, Spawn could not get them out. Cerebus explained that it was because their original creators no longer owned the rights to the characters, if they ever had, but that the two of them, Spawn and Cerebus, were free, because their creators had retained the rights.
ReplyDeleteExactly the opposite is true. We have seen, and will see, many different versions of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and so forth, precisely because they are controlled by big corporations that can assign different creative teams and can publish them in a variety of media, and which, above all, are all but immortal. Superman has survived for eighty years because he is owned by a corporation. I doubt that Cerebus and Spawn will even be remembered eighty years after their premiere.
And less face it, isn't it all to the good that Star Wars is now safe in the hands of the Disney Corporation, so that George Lucas can't keep ruining it?
Considering that Episode VII was worse than the prequels, I'd have to disagree.
Delete"All but immortal"? Popular superhero franchises exist in a state of undeath for decades at a time, cheapening any value the original held. Though there are cases of superhero characters not getting into their groove until long after their creation (The Dark Knight Returns was published 47 years after Batman's first appearance), capes would be better off from a literary standpoint if they'd STOP being immortal.
DeleteBut if the thing you want is toys and pop culture? Hell yeah, let em go on forever.
To the first anonymous, if you seriously think that Episode VII was worse than the prequels ("I don't like sand"?), then there's really nothing more to be said.
DeleteFor the second anonymous, if you seriously think that these characters were published for decades without "getting into their groove", I do have something to say. Just because you didn't like the various versions of the characters that existed for generations before you were born matters almost as little as the fact that you may not like the versions that will exist for generations after you are dead. There have been and will be many different versions of these characters that have existed and will exist for generations, with each generation having its own version. Some will prefer one, others will prefer another. Each generation may regret seeing its version being replaced by the next, but that is a healthy thing. Far from undeath, this process is what keeps these characters alive for generations to come. But if you just want your favorite version, frozen in aspic forever? You can have that? Just reread your favorite comics and ignore the ones you don't like.
The problem is that the giant mass media corporations got it right the first time, then wrong every time after that. Take Transformers. If the giant mass media corporations had given us 30 more years of what they gave us in 1984-1986, we’d be happy consumers.
ReplyDeleteEhh, I agree it's been hit and miss (more of the latter than the former I guess), but lots of people liked Beast Wars (I can't remember squat about it, but remember liking it as a kid, so... YMMV), Animated was enjoyable (though cancelled about a season too soon), and Prime was absolutely phenomenal. Granted, the most recent iteration reeks of cash grab (A couple episodes ago Optimus literally said something that equivocates to "the Primes taught me a technique that allows Hasbro to milk more money from the same molds by using different colored plastic."
DeleteYou know, I was a huge fan of the original Transformers in the eighties, but I have to tell you, the original TV cartoons really don't hold up very well on rewatching. If they had done as you wanted, the franchise never would have lasted thirty years. The original fans would have outgrown it, and new generations would have found it dated and silly. I get that you prefer the version that you loved as a child, but the franchise has to move on to cater to a new generation of children.
DeleteAll my childhood heroes that weren't owned by giant mass media corporations got bought out by giant mass media corporations.
ReplyDelete