Comicbook Adaptations: Which kind is more Important?

[ParaChomp]

Never been able to get a solid ongoing thread about comicbooks. Guess the source material isn't that popular on these forums. Their adaptations however are another story and have boomed a lot of discussion as they've gotten a lot of attention here.

Lately things haven't gone so well, Marvel's current animated have gotten massive amounts of negative reception while Man of Steel has gotten a large amount of negative reception from the top critics and people are furious that Young Justice got cancelled for Teen Titans comedy based revival. This isn't the place to discuss that though so go bicker on a different forum.

It did get me thinking though, which adaptation is more important to comicbook companies in the long-run; those on the big screen or the small screen? Now there are a lot of factors to consider but out of curiosity, what's your opinion on this? Be sure to give good reasoning to your opinion.

If you moderators think this thread is better suited for the Miscellaneous Poll section by all means move it there.

 

[BCVM22]

"Comic books" is two words. Not a promising start.

Marvel's current animated productions are still on the air despite the whining. That should tell you something.

Man of Steel has made nearly $600 million worldwide, and judging by the sequel that was greenlit faster than a speeding bullet (see what I did there?), Warner Bros. cares far more about that than they do some bad reviews, and in this case that's what they should be looking at.

The people that were "furious that Young Justice got cancelled for Teen Titans comedy based revival" have either accepted that they have no say in the matter and moved on or are grousing much quieter than they once were; I hope no one was actually furious, these are just television shows.

The picture you're trying to paint here is much darker than the actual reality, to the point of inaccuracy. If anything it's a fantastic time for comic book adaptations. Marvel has set a golden standard with how they've handled their film slate, and oh look, here come four more films over the next two years. DC, god bless them, they're trying, and that's the important thing - them trying to get characters like Wonder Woman and the Flash and a larger Justice League project on to the big screen is better than them not trying at all.

Modern television adaptations are going to be nebulous by their very nature, particularly the Disney/Marvel animated ones that are on a cable channel (Disney XD) that isn't in quite as many homes. The days where a Batman: The Animated Series or an X-Men can run on FOX Kids for a decade are, very simply, over. What both sides are currently running right now - Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble; Teen Titans Go!, Beware the Batman - are a reflection of this reality. These shows will run their course over the next few years, and likely through no fault of their own, end their runs and be replaced by something new. It's the modern reality of the medium.

Again, your thread is based on a flawed premise. You're simply not painting an accurate picture of the current reality.

 

[Rave]

Depends on the medium. Viewership and the objective/subjective quality of a series' substantial value do have an impact as to how a series actually pans out. But I mean, it all depends on various variables. Film is an art, sometimes you'll have "good" or "bad" art. Some will sell, some won't. And of course, depending on the projected path a series has taken, it'll depend if it's because a series is very long that it needs to be viewed in a small budgeted episodic fashion, or it can all be shoved into a highly budgeted film that lasts for a good 2 hours. Take your pick.

"Comic books" is two words. Not a promising start.

Your grammar isn't so hot either captain pretentious.

The people that were "furious that Young Justice got cancelled for Teen Titans comedy based revival" have either accepted that they have no say in the matter and moved on or are grousing much quieter than they once were; I hope no one was actually furious, these are just television shows.

You're right, they're just TV shows. Albeit, media, it's all garbage when you get right down to it. But it's still amazing how such a silly device manages to shape the culture of our society in one form or another.

TV Shows are used as an extension of the amount of time it takes for a series to finish off, when an hour and a half to 3 hour movie can't be able to fit all of the story into it's limited timeframe.
There's such a thing as a tradeoff between the two.

Some shows end because of lack of viewership or lack of production. I'm pretty sure some people do have a right to get upset over a series ending that was actually legitimately "good." Even if they did invest their money into supporting it.

Modern television adaptations are going to be nebulous by their very nature, particularly the Disney/Marvel animated ones that are on a cable channel (Disney XD) that isn't in quite as many homes. The days where a Batman: The Animated Series or an X-Men can run on FOX Kids for a decade are, very simply, over. What both sides are currently running right now - Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble; Teen Titans Go!, Beware the Batman - are a reflection of this reality. These shows will run their course over the next few years, and likely through no fault of their own, end their runs and be replaced by something new. It's the modern reality of the medium.

You're just talking about the transition of modern to post modern adaptations of these mediums. Big fucking deal.

Again, your thread is based on a flawed premise. You're simply not painting an accurate picture of the current reality.

You don't sound so very accurate either, pot calling the kettle black.

 

[BCVM22]

Your grammar isn't so hot either captain pretentious.

I thought the quotes made it pretty clear, the manner in which I was treating the two words.

Captain Pretentious is my alter-ego. Keep that to yourself - secret identity and all that.

TV Shows are used as an extension of the amount of time it takes for a series to finish off, when an hour and a half to 3 hour movie can't be able to fit all of the story into it's limited timeframe.
There's such a thing as a tradeoff between the two.

That's largely a different issue entirely, though - nothing these days is conceived as something that could be one or the other. As Young Justice was being conceived, no one in the office was sitting around wondering, "do we do this as a movie or a series?", particularly given the live-action/animation gulf. No one at Sony was thinking, "should we do Amazing Spider-Man as a film franchise or an animated series?"

I'm pretty sure some people do have a right to get upset over a series ending that was actually legitimately "good."

Upset? I suppose so. Something you like ended. Take 5 minutes to mourn the loss and move on. But don't for a second perpetrate the lie that would be claiming that's all that goes on. You, vaunted Internetter that you are, know full well it's never that simple, regardless of the fact that it should be.

Even if they did invest their money into supporting it.

That's the best part - no one here invested a cent in Young Justice, nor could they have nor should they have. That might be an actual legitimate reason to be angry over a show ending, if it was your money keeping it running.

You're just talking about the transition of modern to post modern adaptations of these mediums.

Because it's a relevant facet of the topic, one that informs the current realities of the medium, ostensibly what's being discussed here. Unless, of course, I'm mistaken and the real goal is to simply hurl insults and profanities (ha! One italicized letter! Good on you, sir) at one another.

You don't sound so very accurate either, pot calling the kettle black.

Accurate enough, I'm pretty sure. Your concern is always appreciated though.

 

[Rave]

I thought the quotes made it pretty clear, the manner in which I was treating the two words.

Captain Pretentious is my alter-ego. Keep that to yourself - secret identity and all that.

Whoops, sorry bout that. Didn't mean to expose you.

That's largely a different issue entirely, though - nothing these days is conceived as something that could be one or the other. As Young Justice was being conceived, no one in the office was sitting around wondering, "do we do this as a movie or a series?", particularly given the live-action/animation gulf. No one at Sony was thinking, "should we do Amazing Spider-Man as a film franchise or an animated series?"

Really man... it all really depends. Someone had to have conjured up the concept and fiddled around with it for a while before taking it to see whether or not it would work on what form of medium it would benefit best from. Stuff like this takes alot of crazy planning and risk taking really. It's so arduously painstaking. This medium is both a science and an art. There's alot of trial and error being done with stuff like this all the time. So much red tape and the like...

Upset? I suppose so. Something you like ended. Take 5 minutes to mourn the loss and move on. But don't for a second perpetrate the lie that would be claiming that's all that goes on. You, vaunted Internetter that you are, know full well it's never that simple, regardless of the fact that it should be.

You're right. There are far too many confounding and intervening variables that come along the way and make a mess of things in contrast to what was initially planned before conception. But sometimes, some things last as long as they were properly scheduled when to die off. That's just how it goes.

Teen Titans was a good example. Granted, it could've gone on longer, but I feel that it lasted as good and well as it did for it's time, but fact is fact, it had to go. Stuff like this happens all the time with every single freaking TV show you see on the air from the 60's up till now. It's all really the same damn thing really. Nothing's changed.

But I mean, let's look at it in a more positive light. Like the series Firefly, it ended earlier than expected, but got a movie to top it off and end it. Sure, they were both kinda way ahead of their time and all, but I mean, come on, some things actually have such a good quality to them, that people's money and increased sales actually do make a difference in whether or not they'll get a final bit stretch for it or not.

That's the best part - no one here invested a cent in Young Justice, nor could they have nor should they have. That might be an actual legitimate reason to be angry over a show ending, if it was your money keeping it running.

Define "no one." Granted, I'm pretty sure the sales of the DVDs, action figures and all that junk combined were probably piss poor at best, but at least some sales were made, mostly cuz either the consumer knew what they were getting, or they weren't. In which the latter, I kinda feel sorry for the kids for allowing their perception of what they will once think was cool at that time to trick them into buying something they probably wish they never got from their younger version of their selves. But hey, what can I say? That's business for ya.

At a business paradigm, this thing didn't make enough money at all, to allow it to be able to survive, because it didn't gain enough support from all those hoped for increased sales from all the consumer ads that aired alongside with it and so forth. You need blood to keep something alive.

The people really do speak up when it comes to knowing what's a good quality series though, but that doesn't mean the people who don't appreciated it should be left out really.

I didn't think it was all that great, but I can be able to appreciate it for what it was, because I've seen alot of other series kinda like it, and it was different and stood out in it's own way for it's time, but not enough for me to say it's something that would keep me personally as a fan and a consumer, nor would I call it in anyway "timeless."

Maybe it's cuz I'm just becoming old, daft and detached from this materialist world and all, or I'm just becoming way too aware of what's going on that my attention isn't focused on such petty things like this anymore by keeping myself from getting trapped in this consumerist society? Who knows?

Because it's a relevant facet of the topic, one that informs the current realities of the medium, ostensibly what's being discussed here.

Oh no, nothing wrong with that. It's kinda a bit of a given already. We kinda don't need a longwinded lecture about the plain obvious really (as hypocritical as it is of me to say), when it could've just been simply explained in fewer simpler words. Mind you though, making yourself coming off as sounding "smarter" is actually quite counter productive to your original intent really. Sad to say.

Unless, of course, I'm mistaken and the real goal is to simply hurl insults and profanities (ha! One italicized letter! Good on you, sir) at one another.

I dunno man, I kinda thought I was just following suit with you in this thread and the customs of this forum's culture really.

Accurate enough, I'm pretty sure. Your concern is always appreciated though.

In your mind probably. But I'm glad that you feel reassured though.

 

[Vernikova]

It depends. In terms of revenue and overall exposure, I don't doubt that movies would be more beneficial to the company. With international releases and a wider variety of advertising, it'd be much more beneficial than a simple television series. I think this scales from how well known the series is in the first place though. Things like Batman, Superman, etc are already well known so the audience would already know about those characters and be more open to seeing the movie.

For lesser known series, a television show is no doubt better. It's less of a risk compared to creating a movie and you already have a place for it to air if you have a good relationship with a broadcast company (DC with Turner, Marvel with Disney). Teen Titans would be a great example of this. I don't think it was known to too many fans until the television series came out and was one of Cartoon Network's most popular shows at the time. It never got a movie on the big screen but it became well-received enough to get a for-tv movie and a second series years after it ended.

Of course, there are some other factors that could be taken into account relating to specific series but I'm trying to answer this question in a general sense. I would say that a television series would be more beneficial for lesser known comics but if the series gains enough popularity and acclaim the higher pay off is in movies.

 

[DjangoCribbs]

OP, are we talking strictly Marvel and DC here or anything that could be considered a comic book that has been adapted? I'd love to talk about Akira and The Walking Dead but I don't want to cause anyone else to have a heart attack about being off-topic...

 

[ParaChomp]

"Comic books" is two words. Not a promising start.

Stan Lee disagrees...

Again, your thread is based on a flawed premise. You're simply not painting an accurate picture of the current reality.

I thought all the recent change and reception would be something to ride on. Don't remind me of the fact that it worked horribly, I already know...

OP, are we talking strictly Marvel and DC here or anything that could be considered a comic book that has been adapted? I'd love to talk about Akira and The Walking Dead but I don't want to cause anyone else to have a heart attack about being off-topic...

Anything goes.

 

[Pokemaniac24]

If I had to choose, I would probably go with movies because they reach more of a mainstream audience whereas a lot of these superhero shows airing on CN and other channels don't get as much views considering not as many people watch TV anymore. I mean Iron Man became a household name because of the RDJ movies, which is something that I don't think any Iron Man TV show could have done no matter how top-notch the quality was. That star power that Live Action movie stars could bring in is huge. RDJ again is an example of someone with star power to carry a movie and has really helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe.