Tag: comic books

Joe Simon and the Great American Hero

Posted on December 19, 2011

Photo by Kendall Whitehouse

Before Captain America was the star of last summer’s blockbuster movie, he was a comic book superhero. The man who co-created the character over 70 years ago, comic book writer and artist Joe Simon, passed away this past Wednesday in New York.

Two months earlier, Simon spoke at New York Comic Con, a convention for fans of comic books and popular culture. It was three days after Simon’s 98th birthday, and as he entered the meeting room at the Javits Center, the enthusiastic crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to the comic hero creator.

The cover of the first issue of Captain America shows the character and his side-kick Bucky fighting Nazis, with the Captain himself socking Adolf Hitler on the jaw. Looking at the illustration now, it’s easy to write it off as typical American wartime propaganda.

But look closely at the issue date. Newsstand comics were routinely dated two or three months later than their actual publication date (so issues that lingered on the shelves unsold wouldn’t appear to be outdated). With a cover date of March 1941, that first issue of Captain America was likely created in late 1940 or early 1941. The U.S. entry into the Second World War was nearly a year in the future.

When Simon and partner Jack Kirby were looking for a villain for their new comic book, they didn’t have to venture into the realm of fantasy – there was horror enough arising in Europe. Concluding that the best comics were the ones with the best villains, Simon thought, “Let’s get a real live villain.” Hitler was the obvious choice. As Simon wrote in his autobiography, Joe Simon: My Life in Comics, “We knew what was happening in Europe, and were outraged by the Nazis – totally outraged. We thought it was a good time for a patriotic hero.” And thus Captain America was created to go up against the rising Nazi threat.

Simon and Kirby did give Captain America a fantastical opponent — the Red Skull, the idea for which came to Simon as he watched hot fudge dripping down the ice cream on a sundae. Simon was struck by how the pattern of the fudge looked like arms and legs, and he began to imagine a new villain – one who oozed all over the place and could be called Hot Fudge. He quickly rejected that idea. He then realized the cherry on top of the sundae resembled a skull and thought, “Red Skull … that sounds good.” And Captain America’s arch-villain was born.

In creating Captain America, Simon sought to devise something different from the spate of superhero characters that appeared following the success of Superman in 1938. “Comics used to be right out of a mold,” he told the audience at New York Comic Con.  At industry leader DC Comics, Simon said, “You put all the ingredients in a cake, shake it, twist it around — and out would come a DC comic…. We came out with something different. Jack Kirby’s great artwork was totally different from anything that DC was putting out.”

Simon went on to create other remarkable heroes and villains, many in conjunction with Kirby. The team developed the Sandman, the Blue Bolt, the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, Manhunter and many others. The pair also worked in a wide range of genres beyond superheroes, including titles focused on crime, war, romance, western adventure, horror and humor.

Throughout his long career, Simon worked with many of the major figures in the industry. Stan Lee, the longtime Marvel Comics writer and editor – and one of the best known and most influential people in the industry – began his career working with Simon as, in Simon’s words, his “assistant and gopher.” Speaking at New York Comic Con, Simon said, “[Stan Lee] is a good guy. I like Stan.” He then jokingly added, “I made him what he is today.”

Simon was one of a number of early comic book creators who later fought for the rights to their earlier work. As Captain America continued to generate revenue through comic books and other forms of popular entertainment, Simon sought to reclaim the copyright to the character. His legal battle with Marvel over Captain America was eventually settled out of court.

Throughout his career Simon seemed intrigued by what makes someone a hero. It was a fascination that began early in his life.

At New York Comic Con, Simon relayed the story of an old veteran from the Civil War who visited his school when he was eight or nine years old. The man proudly held an old 35-star U.S. flag and burst into song, “Ah, the old flag never touched the ground, boys. The dear old flag was never down….” He shook the hand of each student declaring, “Shake the hand that shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln!”

A key moment in the tale was Simon’s account of the difference in the reaction of the teacher and the students to the old soldier. As the man rambled on, at one point the teacher, standing behind him, twirled her finger around while pointing at her head. In her view, the old man was a bit loony.  Simon and the young students, however, saw something different. “None of us agreed with her,” Simon told the Comic Con audience. “We thought this guy was a great, great American hero.”

It was clearly a story that made an impact on Simon. It serves as the preface to his autobiography published in 2011, in which Simon wrote, “I would always remember the odd little fighting man as I continued in my life-long quest for the great American Hero. Eventually I would find him … and more.”

The version of the story Simon spun at New York Comic Con was long and rambling, often skipping around from point to point. But, even if his narrative did meander, his memory of the event — after close to a century — was clear and sharp. To the admiring audience, he must have seemed much like the character in his own story: aged — even a bit doddering – yet still an icon of an earlier era of heroism.

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The Serious Legacy of Jerry Robinson, Creator of Batman’s Joker

Posted on December 12, 2011

Photo by Kendall Whitehouse

Jerry Robinson, 89, creator of Batman’s iconic Joker and other characters, passed away last Wednesday. Robinson’s work enthralled at least three generations of comic book lovers, and will continue to do so in the future. Less widely known, however, are his contributions in elevating comic book art to a respectable profession, training future generations of artists and helping those in his trade to share in the profits their creations generate from movies and merchandise, says Wharton’s director of new media Kendall Whitehouse.

In his seven-decade career, Robinson “was witness to — and an active participant in — the entire history of the superhero in comic books and popular culture,” Whitehouse wrote in his blog. He credits Robinson with being “a key player in making [comic book art] a professional field.” His comments were echoed by Batman movie producer Michael Uslan, who, according to a CNN report, said that Robinson “elevated comic books as art and fought for respectability for all his fellow artists.”

Robinson joined what would later become DC Comics (now DC Entertainment) in 1939 at age 17 as an assistant to Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, and is generally credited as the creator of the Joker in 1940. Back then, work as a comic book artist “wasn’t considered a serious profession,” Whitehouse notes. “This was an industry that was looked down upon, and comic books were viewed as trivial, and somewhat disreputable, entertainment for children.”

Decades later, the characters Robinson created or helped to shape through his work were featured in movies including in the 1989 box office hit Batman and 2008 top-grosser The Dark Knight. “Batman as a brand has stood the test of time, and it is amazing how it has evolved,” says Whitehouse. The newest Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, is scheduled for release next summer. Over the years, the Joker has been interpreted in many ways: as a prankish, funny character or as a powerful and menacing villain.

The comic book industry, too, has evolved. Robinson was instrumental in fighting for artists’ rights and working to secure for comic book creators a share in the profits they helped generate, says Whitehouse. He recalls how Robinson helped negotiate with Warner Communications to compensate Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who reportedly sold the rights to that character for $130. Years later, when the big-budget Superman film was being shot, Siegel and Shuster were “essentially destitute,” Whitehouse notes. “Robinson, along with follow artist Neal Adams, led a campaign to shame Warner Communications into providing them a small stipend and giving them credit for the creation of what was by then a source of many millions in revenue.”

One of Robinson’s biggest contributions was in training future generations of artists and helping create institutions for such work. He was an early faculty member at the School of Visual Arts in New York. There, he taught, among others, artist Steve Ditko, who went on to co-create the characters of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, says Whitehouse.

Whitehouse recalls asking Robinson once if he was still in touch with Ditko. “‘Not very often,’ he indicated. But he quickly added, ‘I taught him.’ He was clearly very proud of that contribution.”

See also: Movie Producer Michael Uslan on Superheroes, Comic Books and Why Hollywood Doesn’t Get It

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Comic-Con: Revenge of the Nerds

Posted on July 26, 2011

Photo by Kendall Whitehouse

San Diego Comic-Con ended its four-and-a-half day run this past Sunday. If asked to summarize Comic-Con in a single phrase, a good choice might be “revenge of the nerds.” San Diego Comic-Con is where popular culture fans of all stripes assemble to revel in their love of comic books and related science fiction and fantasy themed movies, television shows and literature. The event is also evidence of the increasing power of fan culture in Hollywood and beyond.

Many of the Hollywood elite travel to San Diego each July to promote their wares and pay homage to their fanbases. Steven Spielberg was one of several high-profile filmmakers at this year’s Comic-Con to lavish praise on the audience and thank them for supporting his work.

In a special Comic-Con edition of The Hollywood Reporter, “Lost” co-creator and executive producer Damon Lindelof penned a clever piece exploring the trends underpinning this annual trek of the powerful from Hollywood. After first establishing his credentials (“I am a card-carrying dork. And I mean that literally. I have a card in my wallet. And it says, ‘dork.’”) Lindelof then addresses the issue of whether “the suits” (the powerful yet clueless execs from Hollywood) have ruined the Con. After outlining the foibles that confirm their non-geekness (“Do they care about actual comic books? No way. Do they adorn themselves in Klingon battle garb? They do not. Do they often refer to vampires as ‘Draculas’? God help them, yes.”) Lindelof underscores what he believes is really going on: The studios are deeply beholden to the fans that swarm Comic-Con: “Multibillion-dollar corporations are coming to San Diego so that we can put the stamp of approval on their latest movies and TV shows. That’s right: They’re looking to us — the very same people arguing over whether Ewoks live on Endor or its forest moon — to tell them what’s cool and what they should spend all that money making.”

Beyond the weight of sheer numbers, however, a more profound change may be underway in Hollywood: The nerds are taking over the corridors of power.

Monday’s New York Times profiled Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, described as “one of the most powerful people in movies.” The success of the movie franchises based on Marvel’s comic book characters — in contrast to some of those based on characters from Warner Brothers’ DC Comics — is attributed in part to Feige’s abiding fandom.

The Times quotes Joss Whedon, the writer/director of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” and director of the forthcoming film based on Marvel’s comic book series The Avengers, as saying, “Kevin is just a huge nerd. Possibly more than I am.” That’s high praise coming from Whedon, a man whose geek cred is unassailable. [For more on Whedon's views on Hollywood and geekdom, see the previous interview with Whedon in Knowledge@Wharton, "Joss Whedon's Plan to Monetize Internet Content (Watch Out, Hollywood)."]

While being cognizant of the need to reach a broader audience than just the hardcore fans, Feige believes in staying close to the original source material. As he put it, “If you actually open the comics, there is a lot of depth there.”

The importance of remaining true to original material when translating a comic book to the big screen was a refrain heard throughout Comic-Con. Dave Gibbons, illustrator of the highly praised Watchmen graphic novel, noted that even the colors in Zack Snyder’s film version of the tale reflect the palette of the original comic book series. Gibbons also lamented that the success of Watchmen seemed to foster the belief that to do well, a comic book must follow the same gritty revisionist view of comic book heroes that characterized Watchmen. “Don’t just do dark and gritty superheroes. Come up with something new,” Gibbons exhorted.

Photo by Kendall Whitehouse

In his presentation at Comic-Con, The Dark Knight executive producer Michael Uslan echoed the same sentiments regarding movie adaptations of comic books. In a recent interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Uslan described a meeting with a studio production executive who staunchly asserted, “The lesson of The Dark Knight is that all comic book movies must be contemporary, dark, gritty and violent.” Uslan — himself a lifelong comic book fan — vehemently disagreed and responded, “No, the lesson of The Dark Knight is if you respect the integrity of the character and have a filmmaker who’s passionate about it, with a vision for it, who can execute it, then that’s what you do. Otherwise, you guys will be on a kick to do The Dark Ant-Man, The Dark Flash and Casper the Unfriendly Ghost. And all you will do is continue to violate the characters.”

In order to respect the material, however, you first need to understand it. Or even love it. That may be the real secret to Hollywood success in the realm of superheroes and comic book adaptations. And, if nothing else, Hollywood loves success.

In his piece in The Hollywood Reporter, Lindelof speculates that perhaps the nerds have now successfully infiltrated the ranks of the Hollywood elite. “Is it possible that some of the studio and network decision-makers are not just human beings but — gasp! — geeks, too?” He concludes that, indeed, they are: “Yes, my friends: We are the Body Snatchers. We are the V lizards. We have taken over the planet, and we did it from within.”

Perhaps the geeks shall inherit the earth after all. If so, Comic-Con is the beachhead for that transformation.

The author of this post, Kendall Whitehouse, is new media editor at Wharton and contributing editor for technology and media at Knowledge@Wharton. He attended San Diego Comic-Con last week.

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Comic-Con and the Rise of Nerd Culture

Posted on July 19, 2011

Fans in costume as Batman, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy at WonderCon 2011 in San Francisco. Photo by Kendall Whitehouse.

Popular culture has always had its devoted fans. In the years between World War I and World War II, movie buffs devoured Hollywood fan magazines. In the 1960s, the rise of youth culture fueled the growth of rock ‘n’ roll along with the rise of an independent cinema infused with a counterculture spirit.

This week, more than 125,000 fans of comic books, cult TV shows, and science fiction and fantasy films will descend on San Diego for the event of the year in nerd culture: San Diego Comic-Con.

Many of those attending Comic-Con sport costumes to celebrate their favorite superhero (or villain). They might be fans of Rorschach (the deranged vigilante from the Watchmen comic book series) or Browncoats (followers of Joss Whedon’s defunct TV series “Firefly”), or any of numerous other characters both famous and obscure. For many attendees, the more arcane the better: It’s more meaningful when their attire speaks to a small, cultish group and bestows membership in a special society.

In the book “Comic Book Nation”, author Bradford W. Wright points out that it was in the 1970s that comic book fan culture evolved from a hodgepodge of individual efforts to become “a cottage industry in and of itself” with the rise of Comic-Cons and professionally-produced “fanzines.” Wright sees this as a reflection of the unsettled cultural climate. He writes: “The upheavals of the 1960s and early 1970s destroyed much of the social and cultural framework upon which American assumptions had long rested. The Cold War consensus lay in tatters. Cynicism, skepticism, and outright hostility towards authority of all kinds undermined respect for the government, corporations and other centers of power.”

Sound familiar? The same could be said of the polarized political environment and divisive culture wars of our own time. So it is perhaps not surprising that comic books, science fiction and the entire realm of “nerd culture” is on the rise.

The 10 highest grossing movies of all time include the science fiction film “Avatar”, the Batman saga “The Dark Knight” and two Harry Potter titles. This past weekend, the final entry in the Harry Potter movie franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″, toppled box office records. On television, shows celebrating geek culture like “Big Bang Theory” consistently draw loyal audiences. Fans are already camped out to get a choice seat for the opening session in the San Diego Convention Center’s cavernous Hall H: The Comic-Con panel on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,” on Thursday at 11:15 AM. Science fiction and fantasy themes are increasingly prevalent throughout popular entertainment. The nerd culture underground is going mainstream.

We’ve seen this before, of course. The rebellious rock-n-roll music of the late 1960s became “classic rock” and now plays, Muzak-like, as background music in luxury automobile dealerships. Once edgy indie filmmakers now get deals with major studios to mount big budget productions.

Yet this, in turn, creates the opportunity for a new generation of cult phenomena to surface. After all, it was the broad adoption of classic rock ‘n’ roll that spawned the explosion of punk rock in the 1980s, and the grunge movement in the 1990s.

Underground movements continually evolve, exploring the edges of art to create something new and unusual. As fringe culture becomes mainstream, artists and fans seek out alternate creative avenues and give rise to a new avant-garde. At Comic-Con, in the smaller meeting rooms, away from the blockbuster panels in Hall H and the other the huge auditoriums, the next pop culture trends are likely to emerge.

The author of this post, Kendall Whitehouse, is new media editor at Wharton and contributing editor for technology and media at Knowledge@Wharton.

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