July 2014 – OnMedea

Comics have nothing to do with Comic-Con anymore and they haven’t for many years – so just stop.

It’s just about what is popular in culture. They could call it “Pop-U-Con” as well.

Sure, there are comic book elements to the show: Batman movies, Batman TV shows (“Gotham” which may feature a very young Batman – or not), Batman games, Batman slot machines, etc.)

Also, people dress up as Batman – which makes it a comic book convention, right?

And, yes, people get comic book artists to sign their shit.

Their Mad Magazines from 1973.

Their 1977 Spider-man issue which featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

It just goes on and on

And that’s great for a comic book convention. That’s what you would expect.

But now people also dress up as characters from “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Good Wife.”

And this year, the “50 Shades of Grey” movie has a a’first-look’!

At this point we have left comic book land.

Seriously, look at all these TV panels – there are six comic book related TV shows and probably about 40 TV show panels which have nothing to do with comic books or comic book culture.

And no one seems to care.

Just as no one seems to care that “House of Cards” and “Orange Is The New Black” aren’t TV shows – but yet they get nominated for Emmys and no one seems to care.

Comic-Con is not a comic book show, it’s a popularity show.

Popular things (like cheerleaders) and comic book fanatics are like peas in a pod, right?

I can’t even imagine what someone like “Comic Book Guy” from The Simpsons would ask the “50 Shades of Grey” panel.

Seriously, comic book geeks need to start something new that is far far away from the movie studio PR machines.

I fear that no one really cares that Hollywood has commandeered this convention for their own selfish reasons – and that is the biggest drag of all.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

And that is not sarcastic.

Today, on “The View“ it was announced that the Marvel character “Thor” will now be a woman in the comic books.

This is NOT the real God that people actually worshiped a thousand years ago or so (Manka Bros. is a producing an event series based on his life).

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the movie character of Thor will change to a woman – but it is an absolutely genius move on Marvel’s part being that it was announced one week before Comic-Con.

Marvel now has stolen a bit of thunder from others who are seeking publicity. This will be the number one subject discussed (most likely in a negative way based on early message boards posts I’ve read).

DC Comics will now have to answer questions about which characters they may change to a woman – or what do they think of Marvel’s move. It’s just a no win for them as they get things rolling with several comic book properties that are about to launch (5 TV shows in the fall).

The Internet is already blowing up with this story and it’s all pretty silly.

The only people who should actually care if Thor is a male or female are those who still worship the Norse Gods (and you gotta love those Norse Pagans hanging on to a dream) as their Gods. In the actual religion, Thor is most likely a guy.

In a comic book, you could even change the gender of Jesus and Mohammed and no one should care.

IT’S A COMIC BOOK!

(Though I would probably hesitate to do that Mohammed if I were a publisher who wanted to stay alive.)

So, congratulations Marvel.

For better or worse, you own Comic-Con 2014.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

P.S. – And now you’ve announced that “Captain America” will be black – another master stroke!

Month: July 2014

Why Don’t They Just Call It ‘Viral-Con’