The Superman/Batman Movie: An Exercise in "Me Too"

From The Independent:

It is the news for which superhero fans have always longed: Superman and Batman are to appear together in the same film for the first time. 

At San Diego’s annual Comic-Con this weekend, the Man of Steel director Zack Snyder revealed that DC Comics’ best-known heroes will meet on the big screen – and will be fighting each other. 

“Let’s face it, it’s beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest superheroes in the world,” said Snyder, who will direct the as-yet unnamed film, scheduled for release in summer 2015.

A  lot of geeks just shat themselves over the weekend.  Me? I think it's a little early for this kind of movie. Superman/Clark Kent needs more character development first. We've only seen a few seconds of Clark Kent the reporter and none of his life in Metropolis yet. This movie should be after the next Superman movie - that is, after we care a little more.

Nevermind the fact that the Batman character was left completely up in the air at the end of the last Dark Knight film. That means we need more character development there, too.

Too much, too soon.

DC is so busy trying to catch up to Marvel and the Avengers that it's lost sight of real story development and its characters. It's squandering a decade - perhaps two - of superhero movies for a quick buck.

Superman vs. The Hulk

1000 percent pure awesome.

Avengers - How it Should Have Ended

Jumping the Gay Shark

From the DailyMail:

DC Comics plans to reintroduce a character as gay in a future issue, it has been revealed.  

Senior VP Sales Bob Wayne said DiDio’s view ‘had evolved’, comparing the shift to Barack Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex marriage.  

DiDio did not specify which character would ‘come out’ or in which issue it would be featured. 

But Courtney Simmons, DC Entertainment’s senior vice president of publicity, told ABC News that it would be soon. 

'One of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June,' Simmons told the network.

Crap like this... and like this... are the reason I stopped collecting comics. All the blatant political stuff just stole all the joy and fun from it.

You Got Your Peanuts in My Twitter!

From Peanutweeter, courtesy of Matt.

Garfield Is So Not Funny That's Just Not Funny

From Reuters:

The creator of the widely syndicated comic "Garfield" has apologized for a strip that ran on Veterans Day that some critics saw as making fun of the holiday honoring those who served in the U.S. military.

Although some others said they doubted creator had such intentions or that they didn't read the strip the way the critics did, Davis issued a statement apologizing.

"Please accept my apologies for any offense today's Garfield may have created. It was unintentional and regrettable," the statement said.

I'll tell you what's regrettable... that Garfield and other such "classic" comics are still published. Garfield hasn't been funny in almost 20 years. Crap comics like this take up valuable space that could go to comic strips that are actually funny. Garfield was one of my major influences when I was developing my artistic style, but as a comic strip, it should've been retired a looooong time ago.

And by the way (and just to stir the pot), I feel the same way about Peanuts.

The Graphic Novel, Explained

Today, for Dude's Day, we're going to see the new movie, Red, which is apparently based on a graphic novel.

Lauren Parker asked me today why they call it a graphic novel. "Aren't they giving it more importance that it deserves?" she asked.

Having read many, many graphic novels in my time, I know that a graphic novel is just like a comic book, but often on better paper, with better color, a self-contained storyline (usually) and usually quite a bit longer than your average comic book. And the characters often get to curse in a graphic novel.

I explained that it's called a graphic novel because it's made up of graphics in book form (not that it's more graphic in nature than an ordinary comic book, as is a common misconception). It didn't occur to me until I was almost home that she was taking issue with the use of the word "novel."

But what I find interesting is that for her, the word "novel" denotes a higher level of quality than just an average paperback book. A novel has substance. Tom Sawyer is a novel. Of Mice and Men is a novel. I doubt that she would consider a harlequin romance book to be a novel. And to call a lowly comic book a "novel" seems to be some kind of an insult.

But I think that the word "novel" in graphic novel really just refers to its length. If a short story is analogous to a comic book, then a novel would be akin to a graphic novel. Originally graphic novels were quite a bit longer. Think Elfquest. But over time they have gotten shorter. There are some really horrible "novels" out there and I've read some genuinely crummy graphic novels, as well.

So, Lauren, rest assured that we harbor no illusions that just because we're going to see a movie based on a graphic novel that it speaks to its substance at all. We known that in all reality, will probably suck. What we're really after is the kids pack at then theater with popcorn, drink AND candy without having to share with any grubby, stinking kids.

I Forgot How Much I Love Foxtrot

People I Want to Meet: Bill Watterson

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Daring Fireball):

It's always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with the strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now "grieving" for "Calvin and Hobbes" would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I'd be agreeing with them.

I think some of the reason "Calvin and Hobbes" still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it.

But since my "rock star" days, the public attention has faded a lot. In Pop Culture Time, the 1990s were eons ago. There are occasional flare-ups of weirdness, but mostly I just go about my quiet life and do my best to ignore the rest. I'm proud of the strip, enormously grateful for its success, and truly flattered that people still read it, but I wrote "Calvin and Hobbes" in my 30s, and I'm many miles from there.

Wow. You know, I never realized that Watterson was only in his 30s when he drew Calvin & Hobbes. Actually, I've never even thought about it. His writing was always so wise and insightful. Also striking is that it's been time-and-a-half as long since the strip ended as the entire run of the strip. Amazing. I can still remember reading the final Sunday like it was yesterday.

I can't wait to share Calvin & Hobbes with my kids, which reminds me of this (which Watterson did not create, but could have):

Superman: The Man of Tomorrow

Did you know that Superman's original origin, as pitched to Flash Gordon artist Russell Keaton in 1935, was that of a time-traveling baby sent back from the future just as Earth exploded?

Me neither, at least until reading this letter from Superman creator Jerome Seigel.

Imagine how different the Superman mythos (and our culture today) would be if Superman's origin hadn't been as an alien from Krypton?

Fascinating.

Gatorade: A Case Study on How to Confuse Your Customers

From AdAge:

Gatorade is looking to innovate itself out of a sales slump and will spend some $30 million on product and packaging development to do so. The granddaddy of the sports-drink category is pushing forward with plans to introduce "G Series," a grouping of three product categories, while giving another facelift to its core product lines.

As part of the new product introduction, the core Thirst Quencher and G2 lines will also receive another facelift, the second in just over a year. Mr. d'Amore said the new packaging would be "more functional." The redesigned graphics will more prominently feature a low-calorie message for the G2 brand, which will have its calories reduced to 20 per 8-ounce serving, from 25. A spokesman declined to comment on the redesign of the Thirst Quencher products beyond saying that the brand is committed to G, the logo it introduced last year.

Then why change it? Gatorade, as well as its parent company Pepsi, just seems to be floundering around trying any stunt or change that will bring it sales in the short term. Pepsi reminds me of the comic book market in the '90s, when everything suddenly became about foil embossed holographic #0 die-cut covers. Everything was really, really flashy. Image comics was the worst about it. Oh, it sold boatloads of comics at first - until the novelty wore off. Pretty soon things settled back down to regular covers with story-driven issues inside. People were lured by the flash for awhile, but what people want is good, quality storylines and characters to read with their expendible money. And the same can be said of soft drinks. People are more concerned with dependable, consistent quality over the long run than a flash in the pan.

Just focus on the quality of the product, Pepsi, not gimmicks. And please develop a long-term strategy for your products that is built on the actual product rather than fads and marketing slight of hand. You're only confusing, well, everyone. And that leads to lower sales. People like the tried and true, especially in brand names they know and grew up with.

Gatorade has said this year's marketing efforts are on track, but sales and market share both fell in the first half, when the "What Is G?" marketing campaign was most prominent in the marketplace. In the first half of this year, volume dropped 18%, according to Beverage Digest, while market share dipped four points to 75%. Year-to-date volume is down 14% for the brand.

The reason both sales and market share have both fallen is because Gatorade is competing too heavily with itself and watering down the market. Al Ries said it best: "Then there’s Gatorade Tiger, with three flavors. Gatorade A.M. with two flavors. Gatorade Endurance Formula with three flavors. Gatorade Energy Bar with two flavors. Gatorade Nutrition Shake with three flavors. Gatorade Thirst Quencher with seven flavors. And Gatorade G2 with three flavors. Total: 23 flavors or varieties of Gatorade.

23 flavors? That's ridiculous. I'm assuming that includes the Gatorade Rain line. Or have they discontinued that? See what I mean? You can't just say "go get some Gatorade" anymore. It almost takes a college degree to figure out which Gatorade you want. Let me help them out: When I buy Gatorade for cycling, I still buy original Gatorade in either lemon/lime, orange or fruit punch flavors (just for variety). When I was mascotting, it was the same thing. I prefer the taste of Gatorade over Powerade, but I still stuck to those basic three flavors in the original formula. I tried the rain and the dew and the Tiger, but they didn't have the same effect that straight-up Gatorade did. And let me assure you that if there are any athletes out there who know about and value good hydration - it's mascots.

That's it. It's just that simple. Less is more. Wake up, Pepsi, and focus on why people drink your products and less on what will drive sales in the next quarter. Sales are going to slump, especially in a recession. But if you build a brand that people can depend on, the sales will be there for the long haul. Ask Coca-Cola.

Disney to acquire Marvel for $4 billion in cash and stock

From MarketWatch:

"Walt Disney Co. said on Monday it has reached a deal to acquire comic book titan Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in stock and cash, in a move that underscores the company's desire to have strong box-office franchises with appeal to families."

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm not really a Marvel guy, but I've always liked the raw grittyness of Marvel characters. I wonder if Disney will still let Wolverine be Wolverine and for the characters to have such dark aspects.

But my first thought when I read this was that Universal has a theme park built around Marvel characters just miles from Walt Disney World in Orlando. I wonder how that's going to shake out.

This doesn't feel like a natural fit.