#152: People Who Still Think Being A Geek Is A Bad Thing!

Sadly, these people still walk among us, even in 2012.

They think being a fan boy or girl is somehow linked to a person’s social standing or worth; as if an individual who stands in line for hours – or even days – to get into a convention is any different than someone who lines up for concert tickets or to get into a Coach store.

Personally, I have more respect for the young lady who spends her cash on a convention ticket that will lead to lifelong memories than the vapid, soulless wench who spends $300 of Daddy’s money on a purse!

Nevertheless, the terms “geek” and fan boy’ will forever be linked to individuals who..

• Refuse to leave Mom’s basement. What if she’s a really great cook?
• Have never had a real date that didn’t charge them.
• Just can’t seem to purchase t-shirts without a licensed character adorning the front or back.
• Refuse to immerse themselves in the ordinary.

Well, I’ll tell you something, folks, The Hook is proud to call himself a fan boy – even at 42! In those four decades, I have…

• Lived on my own. But I’ll take a meal from Mom anytime!
• Never paid for “romance”.
• Purchased run-of-the-mill clothing as well as superhero themed apparel. I just wear the Flash t-shirts underneath!
• Lived a life of balance; I just take the family with me to the comic conventions. The wife loves to meet actors who portray vampires!

I mentioned the year for a reason folks; in 2012 fan boys have achieved the following…

• They’ve created a venue that sells over 130,000 tickets six months in advance of opening. The San Diego Comic-Con International has become the place to be for Hollywood execs searching for the next big franchise or to launch new projects. 
  

  Image via Wikipedia

  
  

• The young geeks who have left Mom’s basement are the new wave of filmmakers whose projects bring in big bucks for Tinsel Town.
• These same fan boys and girls are no longer dependent upon hookers for dates. Although they can now afford the really classy ones!
• Comics and sci-fi projects have influenced pop culture and even fashion for years now. Yes, even fashion!
• It’s now cool for a musician or screenwriter to say they’re working on the next Batman or Spiderman flick!
  

  Image via Wikipedia

  And finally….

• Actors actually WANT to be cast in superhero films! They lead to franchises which ensure a steady paycheck for years. What’s not to  like?

ON A PERSONAL NOTE…

June 9. 2012 10 A.M – 7 P.M.
Scotiabank Convention Centre
Niagara Falls. Ontario. Canada

For full details, click here, fan boys and girls!

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#170: Companies That Don’t Do THIS Often Enough…

Let’s face it, in these trying – to say the least – economic times most of us are trying to do more with much less, right?

Not Big Business.

Oh sure, they cry poor all…  the… time, but the reality is a different story entirely.

• Major players still make billions from brand loyalty and the public’s obsession with “Keeping up with the Joneses”. Or is it the Kardashians these days?
• Upper management still accepts ridiculously huge bonuses and stock options – no matter what shape the company is in.
• If the bottom line is in  jeopardy, the first cuts are made at ground level. The “little guy” can afford the cut, right?
• Big Business has one goal: advance the profit margin at all costs. A “slow year” will simply not be accepted!

So where am I going with this? I want to show you how one powerhouse corporation is giving back. I wanted to establish just how extraordinary it is for a North American company to do so when most of them seem driven to protect their own necks at all costs.

Take a look at this and then we’ll talk.

 Here’s part of the official press release from DC. I know it’s “Corporate America dreck”, but at least they’re trying. This is proof  you can direct your marketing campaigns in a direction that’s beneficial to others – if you really try.

 

 DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES “WE CAN BE HEROES,”
AN UNPRECEDENTED GIVING CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT
THE HUNGER CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

 Featuring Iconic Justice League Characters, Multilayered Campaign
To Leverage All Time Warner Advertising Platforms
Generating Significant Awareness of the Crisis

Multi-Million-Dollar Commitment Will Support
Three Aid Groups Working in Africa:
Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps

The current hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.is all too real: the region is suffering its worst drought and famine in over 60 years, with 13 million in need of critical assistance and 250,000 facing starvation in Somalia alone. 

 

From the  DC press release, We Can Be Heroes will be supported via promotional exposure across all of Time Warner’s divisional advertising platforms (Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, Time Inc., HBO), generating millions of consumer impressions and creating crucially needed awareness of this crisis worldwide.  Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps will equally share a corporate donation of at least $2 million over the next two years comprised of cash donations, employee matching funds and consumer matching funds. 

 

 A key launch element of We Can Be Heroes is the campaign’s website, WeCanBeHeroes.org.  Here, consumers can make donations which DC Entertainment will match 100 percent (up to $1 million in donations), purchase specially branded merchandise, with 50 percent of the purchase price going to fight the hunger crisis via We Can Be Heroes,  sign up for newsletters and updates, and join the We Can Be Heroes online community.  The site will also feature information on each of the partner organizations and updates on current conditions in the Horn of Africa. 

 

 

 For fanboys this is an opportunity to score some cool swag while actually contributing something of value to the world – all from the comfort of their parents’ basement.

 

 

 

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#176: DC Comics “New Coke” Approach To Their Logo!

 

First they overhauled their entire universe and launched the “New 52″.

This has actually worked out – so far – and sales are very  healthy so enough said.

Now however, they’ve redesigned their company logo and set off a division in their fan base.

I can see what they’re going for here; there’s a Watchmen inspired logo and  Green Lantern emerald power logo but the rest have me stumped. Still, it’s their company, they can do what they like with their logo. I just hope they don’t pull a “New Coke” and piss off their fans before returning to the status quo a few months later.

Image via Wikipedia

 

 Take a close look at the DC logos below: you can see a smooth evolution between designs through the years, something that is now missing. The new looks suggest the “D” is peeling back from the funky “C”.

Some observers are suggesting the new logos are symbolic of a regime change at the comic book giant, I hope this isn’t the case; company politics shouldn’t spill over to the finished product… ever. Parent company Warner Bros. may be sending a message to their #1 competitor, Marvel Comics owners Disney.

If the boys in suits want Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse want to duke it out, fine. Just keep it in the funny pages, won’t you, boys?

Other observers are suggesting someone simply fell asleep at the switch and forgot that a comic book company’s logo should reflect their fun and creative attitude.

Personally, I love this one…

 

 

 

 

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#16: When You Try To Channel Your Inner Hero!

When my brother-in-law was a wee lad he decided to strike terror into the criminal element by adopting a new masked identity.

Actually, he didn’t have a mask. Or for that matter, a utility belt or any of the required conventions of the superhero mythos, so he made some adjustments…

• He donned  his best cape – a light blue flannel blanket.
• He scaled the highest building - his dresser.
• He extended his grappling hook – reached for the chandelier…
• And he swung out across the city to fight for justice!

And he nearly died when confronted with the inescapable laws of gravity which plague all “real superheroes”.

He then realized Adam West was a fraud.

I don’t have access to exact figures, but it’s safe to say most adults at one time or another in their childhood decided to take the superhero fantasy one step further and become homegrown versions of Superman or Wonder Woman. I know a lot of adults are still indulging that fantasy.

Bat-Image by Wikipedia!

But I digress.

There is a certain measure of fearlessness that accompanies childhood; we’ve all been invincible for an all-too brief period, and it’s a great sensation. It’s a shame we can’t capture that feeling and relive it from time to time.

Wait a minute… some of us do that every weekend, don’t we? It’s called a bender.

#22: “Terrible” Halloween Costumes!

We all wore one of these at least once over the span of our childhood.

• The masks were that low-end plastic that scratched your face to ribbons if it cracked.
• There was one thin rubber string that snapped before the night ended, guaranteed.
• Breathing was optional, so one tiny hole was provided for your mouth. Your breath shot back and caused you to sweat to death in about fifteen seconds!
• Vision was equally optional, hence the poorly designed eye holes.
• The capper was the garbage bag that served as the top!

Halloween horrors! retroCrush.com

It’s a wonder we went out at all in these things! But I guess if everyone is suffering, we don’t realize just how bad off we are. Until we grow up and break out the family photo album.

These days, the costumes have improved in quality but not cost; a half- decent licensed outfit will set you back at least $40.

Halloween is for kids, but they’re not the ones paying for it.

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#33: The Ever-Widening Generation Gap!

Image via Wikipedia

“That’s not Batman!” – The Hook’s daughter, Glee Girl.

To a twelve-year-old, Adam West is not the Caped Crusader but a throwback to a strange, mystifying era. On a lark, we decided to “treat” Sarah to her first-ever viewing of the classic 1960s Batman television series.

I really should have taped her reaction to the…

• Theme song.  “Who wrote this? Hippies?
•  Costume .  “He’s the Dark Knight, not the Grey Goofball!”
• Crazy villains.  “The Mad Hatter? And he actually steals hats?”
• Villainous female sidekicks:  “Look at her dress! It looks like she has two pylons under there!”

Image via Wikipedia

The funny thing is, Glee Girl has already seen various Batmen in her life – Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale – but they were contemporary enough for her young mind to accept. Ask her to travel to the 1980s or earlier, and you’ll get a series of reactions ranging from “That’s not too bad, I guess.” to “That’s so weird!”, or “Seriously?”

The chasm between generations has always existed, but it feels like this current generation has failed to carve out a pop culture legacy that will truly last the test of time. Of course, the Adam West series is considered sacrilegious to hardcore Bat-fans, but it struck a chord at the time and almost everyone from that era holds some memory of the show and its unique style.

I wonder, in forty years time, will the same be said of Gossip Girl?

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#79: When “They” Mess With Your Favorite Film Franchise!

By “They”, I mean the douchebags-in-suits who run what is laughingly still referred to as Hollywood these days .

Films, and by extension, filmmakers, had artistic integrity in the “good old days” and it shone through in the finished celluloid product. These days, the studios hire over-priced consultants to tell them what’s “hip with the young people”, and they force directors and screenwriters follow suit.

Take the furor over latest Catwoman costume worn by Anne Hathaway in the upcoming Batman flick, The Dark Knight Rises. People are completely pissed off by the exclusion of the sultry thief’s trademark cat ears, and we can only hope the studio listens.

NBC’s failed Wonder Woman pilot was supposedly sunk by the alterations to the Amazon Princess’ iconic costume and origin. Even Halle Berry‘s horrible Catwoman flick would have been better if her costume was more traditional. It probably still would have tanked, but a better outfit would have helped!

Legions of Star Wars fans waited sixteen years for their Lord and master George Lucas to deliver unto them a new masterpeice.

What they got was kicked in the nads by The Phantom Menace! Of course, they still gave Lucas all their money and continue to do so, but the point is still valid. People are incredibly loyal to film franchises and studios often exploit this fact to increase their bottom line.

Peter Jackson’s upcoming duo of Hobbit films should prove to be an intersting study in studio/fanboy relations. I only hope Jackson shows his fans more respect than Lucas ever did.

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DC Comics Wants To Change New Comic Book Day Forever!

Superman’s creators are bored and have decided to kill him.

Again.

This time around though, they’re taking out their entire universe! Don’t worry, the DCU will be resurrected and rebooted into a different yet recognizable form. And if all goes according to the company’s plan, your local comic book outlet will undergo some changes as well.

In addition to over 50 new #1 titles in September, DC will be unveiling same-day digital publishing which many believe will signal the death kneel of the comic book store as we know it.

Or will it?

Will Store Like This Soon Vanish?

According to some retailers, readers will still have to physically travel to a store to download their titles! The retailer will have a series of cards or codes the customer will have to pay for before swiping or downloading.

Confused? Join the club.

The coming months will hopefully bring some enlightenment, but until then, there is going to be a lot of fanboy head scratching going on.

 THE NEW JLA: HEROES FOR A DIGITAL AGE?

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A Potential Misstep Of Super Proportions – The DC Universe Will Be Reborn In September!

Image via Wikipedia

But as what exactly?

To the uninitiated,  in fanboy-speak, a reboot of the DC Comics family of titles, (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, etc.) essentially means over 50 established titles will undergo a revamp of their oft-rewritten 76 year-plus history of shared continuity.

In other words, the names and faces will stay the same, but when it comes to just about everything else after August 31st, all bets are off.

With  over 50 new #1 issues, a Geoff Johns-Jim Lee (they’re HUGELY popular comic writers/artists)  Justice League, and a plan to fully embrace “same-day” digital distribution (The first major publisher to do so) the Warner Bros. owned company is taking a MAJOR gamble with their market share.

Or are they?

DC is one of the “Big Two”, (Disney-owned Marvel Comics being the other, ‘natch!) and their fans are nothing if not loyal. Not to mention they’re backed by a monster company who won’t let their Golden Goose fail.

I use the term because in addition to monthly comic book titles, DC’s characters appear in novels, video games, clothing and literally thousands of other products.

Warner Bros can’t afford let the DCU reboot fail. Even the timing of the announcement has been calculated to coincide with the release of the second issue of Flashpoint, the DC mini-series focussing on a world on the brink of destruction, the result of  a timeline-altering villain.

The biggest change so far? Dr. Thomas Wayne survives the famour robbery  and becomes Batman to avenge the murder of his wife and son!

 

Now that readers know just what the final outcome of Flashpoint will be, sales should fly higher than you-know-who! Of course, if readers decide to resent DC for tinkering with established continuity once again, this reboot will become the comic book equivalent of New Coke!

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Terrible Flashback Fridays: “Family Fun” – Superhero Style!

Image via Wikipedia

I recently revisited the 1970s and the “terrible” comics they produced, and it stirred up all the nostalgia that’s been sitting in the cockles of my heart. Or maybe it’s been in the sub-cockle area, I’m not sure. .

Where the hell was I?

Oh yeah, ’70s comics. We loved them even though they don’t measure up to today’s standards. One thing that DC Comics seemed to be obsessed with at one point was the notion of “Family” comics. There was The Batman Family , The Superman Family and wait for it, The Tarzan Family!

Oh, and before I forget, The Super-Team Family was published bi-monthly from 1975 to 1978.

What can I say? There were key parties going on – one spouse would put a key in a hat or bowl and pick a key at random and have sex with the corresponding  spouse! I’m serious!

People were smoking a lot of weed and drinking in crazy amounts. No wonder comic creators weren’t exactly producing top-notch material.

The term “family” was used very loosely of course, and referred to the  cast of characters associated with Superman, Batman and (sigh) Tarzan. I don’t know what the excuse for Super-Team Family was. Probably some bad dip at a key party.

As for The Batman Family, it featured solo and team-up stories starring Batgirl and Robin in addition to reprints of Golden Age stories. Many issues of Batman Family featured Batman supporting characters such as Alfred, Vicki Vale, the Elongated Man, Man-Bat, The Huntress, and Ace the Bat-Hound!

Yes, a dog wearing a mask ran around (He obviously couldn’t drive, that would be silly!) and fought crime. Crimes by cats plunged in Gotham City.

The Superman Family experienced the most longevity of the Family titles ( April/May 1974 – Sept. 1982) and was actually the result of the amalgamation of  Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane and Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, along with the first series of Supergirl comics.        

Image via Wikipedia

I bet most of you didn’t even know Jimmy and Lois had their own books, did you?

The Jimmy Olsen title (October 1954 until March 1974!)  actually featured the most important work ever done by  Jack Kirby, one of the greatest writers/artists to ever grace the pages of comic books.

So what have we learned? The 1970s have left history with many hidden, yet deeply flawed gems. Myself included.

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