Thursday, June 19, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

WHERE THE ACTION IS: Good Guys Win

Superheroes' real power may be in attracting an audience

Click image for enlargement. Aaron Hunter, 7, has his photo taken with Batman during a recent event conducted as part of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District's superhero-themed summer reading program. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

When the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District needed a theme for its summer reading program, the answer came like a blue-and-red streak flashing across the sky.

Superheroes.

And why not? Americans, both young and old, always have been suckers for costume-clad guys and girls with -- to borrow a phrase from the old Superman TV series -- powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.

On Friday, American moviegoers will have yet another chance to indulge in their superhero mania when "The Hulk," based on the Marvel Comics character, hits the big screen.

Comic fans and industry observers say "The Hulk" is another sign not only that comics aren't just for kids, but that those multicolored pages are home to some impressive storytelling.

The superhero theme for the library district's summer reading program was a natural, says Debbie McGuire, the library district's youth services coordinator.

Superheroes are appealing to boys and girls, she notes. "The other thing is, we've always had a strong demand for cartooning and drawing books in our collection, and we've found that interest growing more and more."

Besides, McGuire adds, "we knew `The Hulk' (movie) was coming out, too. So that was also a good marketing idea."

As part of the program, costumed superheroes -- currently, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and Wonder Woman -- will visit library branches throughout the summer and pose for photos with kids.

McGuire says 90 to more than 150 kids and teenagers typically show up to each session.

What's the appeal? Maybe, McGuire says, it's because children often feel powerless. "It's very appealing to see somebody who's just able to be in charge and do things -- good things -- in a powerful way."

Adults find comic book superheroes appealing for much the same reason.

"What is it about Tarzan or Sherlock Holmes or James Bond that appeals to people?" asks Tim Karter, owner of Dreamwell Comics, 5706 W. Charleston Blvd. "It's a fantasy character -- usually a hero that's larger than life -- that can see justice done or do what the average person gets frustrated doing from day to day.

"It's always been conventional wisdom to think that comics are power fantasies for adolescent boys because they don't have power in society," Karter continues. "So, they relate to Superman, who gets to beat up the bad guys and fly and keep a secret identity."

But, he adds, "if you read Tom Clancy (novels), it's as much of a fantasy as Batman."

Yet, the most compelling comic book superheroes also are, in some ways, "just like you," says Rob Worley, who operates Comics2Film.com, a Web site that tracks big-screen and TV adaptations of comic books.

A good comic book superhero story, like any good story, satisfies our need to escape, says David Gabriel, executive director of the New York City Comic Book Museum. It also offers us the satisfaction of seeing a superhero "overcome insurmountable odds."

Superhero stories can be traced back at least to the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology. However, Gabriel considers Superman America's first comic book superhero.

Superman made his debut in 1938, although, Gabriel says, "he was borrowed from a lot of different sources -- Tarzan and others, too."

Other comic book superheroes -- among them, Batman in 1939 and Captain America in 1941, and The Hulk and Spider-Man in 1962 -- quickly followed. And while the comic book superhero's fortunes have risen and fallen several times in the decades since World War II, they're currently flying high.

In particular, says Ralph Mathieu, owner of Alternate Reality Comics, 4800 S. Maryland Parkway, "Marvel comics -- the X-Men and Spider-Man -- and Batman are doing really well these days."

Karter says healthy sales of superhero comics stem, in part, from the box-office success of recent movies based on Marvel's Spider-Man and X-Men characters.

Just as important, he continues, is that superhero comic books have become more sophisticated and are appealing to an older audience.

The 1978 "Superman" film starring Christopher Reeve generally is considered the first successful modern-era, big-budget, big-screen adaptation of a superhero comic book.

The movie did well at the box office, spawned three successively less-successful sequels and was "fantastic," Gabriel says, noting it helped to pave the way for such comic-booklike movies as "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

"Batman," released in 1989, was "the next big thing" in comic books-turned-movies, Gabriel continues, and arrived when "also in comic books we were seeing this whole new wave of dark characters and really well-crafted, well-written stories."

The movie -- which reflected what Gabriel describes as the gritty hyper-realism being seen in comic books at the time -- also spawned three increasingly less-successful sequels.

Other comics have become the basis for movies in recent years, including "X-Men," released in 2000. Then, last year, came "Spider-Man."

A "Spider-Man" sequel is planned for release next year. The "X-Men" sequel already is out. "Daredevil" opened earlier this year. "The Hulk" opens Friday. And a "Fantastic Four" film, based on another Marvel Comics property, is in the works.

Gabriel suspects the current popularity of both superhero comic books and comic book superhero movies may be related to stressful times.

"I think that 9-11 ... did a lot for the superhero aspect of the comic book industry, the same way World War II did for boosting Superman and Batman and those characters," he explains.

"Just the times we're living in, we look at heroes in a different light. And I think it's just another resurgence of the superhero."

Worley suspects it might be about "the need to have clear-cut heroes like a Spider-Man, who's definitely on one side or the other."

But bringing a comic book superhero to the movie screen can be tricky. What makes for a successful page-to-film adaptation?

First, Mathieu says, is a good story.

"I think you have to play it fairly straight," Karter adds. "You have to take it seriously, as something that's plausible."

It could be to a filmmaker's advantage to advance -- even re-imagine -- a comic book superhero's story, but certainly risky to go too far.

For instance, Worley calls director Tim Burton's grittier cinematic take on Batman -- a literal night-and-day contrast from the campy 1960s TV show -- a milestone in comic book movie adaptations.

Burton "figured it out and crafted a world the character can live in and not seem silly," Worley says.

The final films in the Batman series weren't as successful because they didn't maintain that standard, Worley says, and the Batman franchise lost its luster.

A comic book superhero -- like any fictional leading man or woman -- must be interesting. Gabriel says: "I think, personally, it is the alter ego of the character that makes the story work.

"I think that (Batman's) Bruce Wayne and (Superman's) Clark Kent aren't that interesting, even though those characters have been around many years," he says. "I don't think there's ever been a story about either of those two guys that's been that amazing."

In contrast, Gabriel notes: "I think the character of (Spider-Man's) Peter Parker is fascinating. I mean, it's much easier to relate to this young kid living with his aunt and uncle, and not an alien child living on earth or the son of millionaire parents."