Comic book movies do well, but comic books don't. Why?

Question

The X-men movies, Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, and others have made huge box office. 300 and Ghost Rider recently had big opening weekends. And yet, comic book sales are the lowest they've ever been.

So why is it that someone is willing to watch Spider-Man 2 but not willing to buy a Spider-Man comic?

Answer 1

I agree with previous answers - comics are still stigmatized that only basement dwelling, with parents living, socially inept men -- aka nerds -- read them because they could never give up their childish things -- altho most of the comics out there now are in no way suitable for kids.

But movies, well, they get you out of the house, you have to be with other people to see them, and they are targetted to the wider audience, so there is the perception that watching these doesn't make you a nerd. Heck, with Spider-Man grossing as much as it did, everyone became a Spidey fan with that -- and you can't have a world full of nerds. A jock can't be a nerd - that's a paradox wrapped in a riddle!

Answer 2

The answer is simple the adults that are going to these movies have waited a lifetime for good ones to come out there have been other attempts at making comic book movies but the technology wasn't there at the time and the movies totally sucked, with the exception of the Superman movie from the late 70's . Now with all the CGI that they put into movies they are more entertaining and look great, but sadly the next generation of kids would rather play a Spider-man game than read the book.

Answer 3

I think there are probably a lot of reasons. For one, people usually go to movies with other people, and the other person might not necessarily want to see the movie, so that could double the interest right there. Then, if you think about families going to movies, that's even more people. And really, books that are made into movies have the same problem. The movies are accessed by many more people than the books ever were. I think it's also a matter of who's in a movie, who directed a movie, etc. That holds a lot of weight for people. Also, some people like to sit through an hour and a half movie rather than reading an entire series of comics. Movies are made to appeal to a variety of people. They add things for more laughs, actions, drama, romance, etc. Plus, there are previews upon previews for months before a film opens. How many adds do you see for comic books? It's a mixture of a lot of things.

Answer 4

Because I believe that the society we live in wants a quick fix for everything. People rather go to McDonalds and get a fast burger than go to a nice restaurant. People would rather wait and watch a movie than read the book. I find it sad though because I believe that today's comics are the best that the comic world has seen. The artwork is awesome, the stories are awesome and everything in a whole is more mature themed.
Secondly to the guy who pointed out how the price of comics are ludicrous these days fails to see how the quality of today's books are compared to those of yester-year.

Answer 5

There's a stigma, unfortunately, that comic books are for the "geeks" and the "dorks" and the "nerds" of the world. Those that society deems socially unacceptable, and because the comics are generally unavailable in a mainstream outlet (save a few bookstores now and again, thankfully) and generally only available these days in a specialty store, people won't go out of their way to read something that isn't accepted by most people.

It got a bad rap decades ago as being "for kids" and things like that, and the industry, despite the success in Hollywood, still hasn't recovered from that, I think.

Answer 6

I think it comes down to, lazily sitting in a chair and watching something happen, or excercising your brain by actually reading the comic and letting the action happen in your imagination. I would agree, there is a stigma attached to comic books, but there are plenty of other movies based on books that many have seen but few have read. The Bourne Identity, Jaws and many others are easier to watch, even though generally speaking the books are better. How many do you think have read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy vs how many have seen the movies?

Answer 7

Many reasons....

One ,,,speculators. They messed up the whole comic book market in the 90's. Look it up...

Two...social stigma. Comics were really looked down upon in the early days because they were supposedly corrupting children. Nowadays, your a dork or nerd or geek if you read comics. Its totally okay to watch something at the movies, but reading certainly is'nt okay <>

Three...realism. Just like video games, people are looking for the better looking product and i think movies shut down comics totally in this department.

Answer 8

Because movies are a mainstream medium which everyone participates in, while comic books are a niche, fan-supported medium. Everyone goes to see movies, but only comics fans buy comics, and seeing an enjoyable film is generally not enough on its own to turn someone into a comics fan.

Answer 9

To be seen buying a comic is often viewed as "dorky" in society. It's much more socially accepted to watch an X-Men movie because stuff gets blown up. Plus now comics are turning into graphic novels, so instead of buy them one by one, you can get them all at once.

Answer 10

I think because no one bothers to read comics anymore, tv and movies have become the new thing. Plus people that do buy the movies arnt real fans of super heros or else they would be reading the comics.

Its pretty sad really......