Good gawd.... it's been more than a month since my last post. I make no excuses for my sudden disappearance save to say it's been a tumultuous 30 odd days on the work front with massive change and a dramatic effect on my day to day existence as a consequence.
Today's post however is inspired by what I consider a disappointing piece of news that I picked up on Twitter, via Alyssa Milano (who's gracing our DSTV screens once again in re-runs of Who's the Boss on Series Channel on Thursday nights!)...
Their announcement came out in that matter of fact way... with details of share deals and buyout structures and the strategic importance of being entertainments leading players, blah blah, blah - whatever!
What's the problem? They're not so different one might think.... both appear to be aimed at kids and both seem relatively innocuous. Somehow though, I think Marvels clever social commentaries and the 'liberated view' of challenging moral questions will silently disappear into a softer more dare I say it - 'conservative' form of entertainment.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of both. Some of the greatest animated features the world has ever seen have been crafted by the Disney creative. And being a sucker for digital animation, the Pixar association in particular made me revel in the revival of the Disney brand in the 90's.
But whilst Disney has always presented wholesome family fare, Marvel's appeal was that is was packed with fantastic serialised superhero stories loaded with Kapow!! There's the certain peril of cities or worlds, loads of action, flying, fighting! And then there's the stories of women and men concealing their secret identities and being unable to find and keep a hold of true love due to that. There's the angst of being different but rising above potential ridicule and ostracisation to save the day.
Will Marvel comics retain that edge that's made it so appealing to me and millions of others at it's core. Or are some of those things that attracted me to the world of superheros be lost forever?
If some of their star writers start bailing, know that the writing is on the proverbial wall.
I wait with bated breath.
