Evolve Batman, EVOLVE! Dammit!

[ielle77]

both of my cousins have young boys who insist on sleeping in their batman pjs every night. The best part is that when Danny himself was a boy he did the same thing (luckily NOT the same pair of pjs lol)

Another relative has a daughter who won't sleep without her wonder woman pillow. She has powerpuff girl's stuff too.

I'd say the old school heroes are safe and right at home alongside the new stuff.

Batman's made it since the 30's, he'll keep going.

[smygba]

But they don't thnk about Batman in the same way as a comic fan do they? If they know him from Tv shows or something, they have a far more simpler and new Batman in relative terms.

[ielle77]

yes but it has to start somewhere. I first fell in love with spiderman (whom i've since decided is eh... okay, but only in comic form... but i digress) thanks to my cousin's electric car stunt track that had spiderman themed cars.

I loved wonder woman because of the tv show when i was a child.

BUT that was how i got my mother to buy me my first comic. I was in the grocery store (back when you had corner mom and pop stores) and saw wonder woman, recognized her THANKS TO THE SHOW and insisted that i got it.

I now own the 1979 trilogy of Diana losing her crown and a new wonder woman taking on the real world, only to die and be replaced with diana, only to have an alien show up to punish the "new wonder woman" for being wicked... a few days too late (thus trying to torture Diana who did NOTHING)

I'm quite proud of my first purchase and my humble beginnings into the comic world (i was about 6, the comic was kinda old when i bought it, at least four years... i honestly have NO idea why it was still for sale there OTHER than it was a ma & pop place)

SOOO long story LONGER, kids pick up comics at any age and cartoons, games, pillows, toys all of these are gateways to lead them into the comics world.

Someday i'm sure Dan's kids will be reading Batman. Who knows with as much as those kid's draw, they might become comic artists lol

[fatmancomics]

EXCELLENT EXAMPLE! And that's why the younger heroes could never take over. Because kids today, like us get hooked on the heroes of old based on outside influences and, with a few exceptions here and there, the comic book companies stick with their cash cows when it comes to licensed merchandise.

[sdowner]

Same here. It was the animated batman series that got me into the whole comics arena. Plus, there's a bit of Bruce Timm in my drawing style as well.

[ielle77]

yes, very much i noticed that myself. Very batman animated series. Good job btw

[smygba]

EXCELLENT EXAMPLE! And that's why the younger heroes could never take over. Because kids today, like us get hooked on the heroes of old based on outside influences and, with a few exceptions here and there, the comic book companies stick with their cash cows when it comes to licensed merchandise.

They could always provide those kids with new cartoons!

[ielle77]

well, they occasionally do... like cartoon network's justice league, Batman Beyond, Teen Titans and running Superman and Batman the animated series on Boomerang.

Also GI JOE has a new version on fox (which i'm.. eh... about)
and Spiderman as far as i know is still going strong in cartoons.

Even X-men had a new show set when they were teenagers running for a while.

So, basically our standard hereos are out there, you just have to look for them.

Each one of these things are gateways for the kids to get into comics. The thing is they just have to stumble into a comic book shop, which in certain areas of the country, is hard to do (although most all barnes n nobles have a comic section, but it's not very expansive)

You won't get cartoons of the crow, spawn (though there was one at one time), LXG, V for Vendetta, Y the last man, and Transmetropolitan because they're all too adult for kids, BUT they're perfect to suck them in when they become teens and 20somethings and feel they want to move on from your stock heroes. It's all just a matter of exposure, that's all.

[Mr.Hades]

I guess what i'm gripping about is that I wanna read more about an old, grumpy Batman that was portrayed in 'Dark Knight Returns'. He was Frank Miller's pre-runner to Marv without a doubt.

Well, as long as comicbooks are still around if/when I have kids, I will be happy to let them read them. I read lots of books now and I can honestly say that I doubt I would be, if I had not read as much comics as I did when I was younger.

[fatmancomics]

[QUOTE=ielle77]well, they occasionally do... like cartoon network's justice league, Batman Beyond, Teen Titans and running Superman and Batman the animated series on Boomerang.

Also GI JOE has a new version on fox (which i'm.. eh... about)
and Spiderman as far as i know is still going strong in cartoons.

Even X-men had a new show set when they were teenagers running for a while.

So, basically our standard hereos are out there, you just have to look for them.

QUOTE]

Right, but the complaint was about new heroes not being allowed to take over. New cartoons of the old heroes is still the old heroes. I don't mind it. I like to see what they can come up with each time they do another adaptation. I liked X-Men Evolution way better than the original X-men cartoon and Evolution didn't stick as close to the comics as the original did. I also liked Teen Titans and Justice League even more than the few comics of both titles that I had read. But then you have adaptations like the Batman. Compared to the original 90s Batman Animated Series I think it sucks but I can also understand that they're catering to the kiddies of today who have been overloaded with Pokemon and Yugi-Oh culture while the original BAS was, first,catering to those of us who had been bombarded with the Batman movies of the 90s and, later, to us fanboys. Don't get me wrong, I like anime as well but I just prefer good anime (which is a relative term).
But we're starting to sidetrack. In the end, I think the point is proven that Batman has evolved not just in the comics but also in all the other media he's been portrayed in. But you just can't stray too far from the formula or you end up destroying the character and, while it may be fun to see alternate versions of him for a short while (like the surly old man training a replacement), you lose your fanbase if you make such versions permanent.