The Four Color Media Monitor

Rodney Anderson, running back for the Cincinatti Bengals, was interviewed at their website about his reading hobby when he's not on the sports field, along with his fandom for Star Wars. It's an interesting and impressive look back at his pop culture fandom, but I think his view of how the films influence people's perceptions of the comics is flawed:

A recent generation of NFL players have embraced the characters and storytelling that captured fans' imaginations over the years in comics, anime and video games. Bengals defensive lineman Carl Lawson has said that Dragon Ball Z was actually part of his inspiration to play football in the first place.

“I think with the success of the movies it changed people’s perceptions,” said Rodney Anderson. “Before people wouldn’t read the comics unless you had true interest in it. For me, I feel like the movies do the comic books justice, as long as they are done right.”

Well I'm sorry to say, but as even store managers have confirmed, Hollywood's not changing perceptions. Certainly not enough to buy a lot of the modern output they're trying to sell. Why, the anti-Comicsgate advocates and SJWs are practically ruining everything, turning fans back into outcasts again, and it goes without saying that kind of negativity can rub off on moviegoers to boot, which is bad even for their image.

I think it's great football players are proud of being comics fans and glad to have a collection, but looking at everything through a rose-colored lens won't save the medium. In the end, when the industry collapses, everything's going to look like a joke.

Labels: dc comics, manga and anime, marvel comics, sales