February 20th, 2014
While we’re on the subject, the first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer is out. (i09 has a frame-by-frame breakdown of it here.) As previously noted, I am not down with the cross-polination of sci-fi and superheroes. In the same way that I don’t cotton on to mysticism and superheroes–no Dr. Strange or Dr. Fate; no Specter or Zatana–I like sci-fi, or superheroes, but I prefer my genres silo-ed. If there must be aliens, then plop them on earth and leave them there, Kal-El style. Send a great superhero team like the X-Men or the Teen Titans into space, and I tuned out. In particular, the Guardians of the Galaxy comics did nothing for me as a kid. Zero. Left me totally cold.
And yet . . .
This Guardians of the Galaxy project like it has such a perfectly-pitched tone. Something like Raiders meets Star Wars. And it strikes me that what the world needs right now is a great comic space-opera. I am in.
As the kids say, I suspect it will make all of the money.
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Is this like the bizarre appeal of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?
Dr. J. February 20, 2014 at 11:43 pm
I must respectfully disagree with you with regard to segregating superheroes, sci-fi and magic. When integrated effectively, a diverse universe makes for compelling story telling. For example, the Young Justice TV show incorporated superheros, and magic (in the form of Dr. Fate, Captain Marvel, and Klarion the Witch Boy) very effectively. Indeed the villains, The Light, were comprised of 7 powerful villains with disparate spheres of influence. Lex Luthor, Ra’s al Ghul, The Brain, Ocean Master, Queen Bee, Vandal Savage and Klarion the Witch Boy. Magic was not overdone. Similarly, in the second season, The Reach and other sci-fi elements of the DC universe were skillfully woven in to the story.
The Kree, Skrull and Shi’ar Empires have been done very nicely in multiple Marvel story lines.
Superman comics, on the other hand, have been a little ham-handed with the scifi. With all of the tech that has littered Metropolis, it’s remarkable the comic Americas are not far more advanced than they are.
Similarly, Magic is usually a magic reset button in most comics. TheX-Men have had their share of Magik, and it’s not always gone so well.
I’ve always seen magic and scifi as things that are natural parts of a comic universe, but given the potential to go off the skids, good writing has to prevail.