Comic Book Pop Culture Phenomenon

With more than 100 movies shown and TV shows airing currently, slated to be released, and presently being developed, there’s simply no debate that comics took center stage in pop culture.

Before 2008, when Iron Man and The Dark Knight were introduced to the silver screen kicking off the comics in pop culture surge, comic book movies stuck mainly to the most popular comic book heroes (Batman, Superman, X-Men, Spider-Man, etc.) and mostly appeared in animated TV series. Iron Man and The Dark Knight altered everything, resulting in an unprecedented boost of pop culture centered on comics.

While some of the most popular movies and TV series are based on the superhero genre, other movies like Kingsman, Red, and The Losers have all found their way to theaters around the world.

Now there’s been a surge of Japanese comics-manga-that have continued to create their way into mainstream pop culture. From the continuation of the popular Dragon Ball Z to American movies motivated by manga like Ghost in the Shell, it’s crystal clear that comics from all corners of the globe have grown to be more common than anyone anticipated back in the first days of the market.

Apart from comics, one of the most popular shows on TV is from the comic book world. AMC’s The Walking Dead proceeds to break viewing records and attract millions of viewers each week, while DC and Marvel churns out multiple critically-acclaimed series linked to their superhero properties.

Now famous celebrities have broken into the comic book industry to capitalize on that popularity. Film director Kevin Smith, known for directing such movies as Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma, has gone on to write many comic books for DC and Marvel and now hosts the popular show Comic Book Men which is filmed in his own comic book shop; Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers) continues his well-known series Astonishing X-Men and Runaways, which is now being brought to television on Hulu; actresses Rashida Jones (Angie Tribeca, Parks & Recreation) and Alyssa Milano (Charmed, Melrose Place) have each released comics from the major players in comics.

Also famous novelists like Stephen King (Dark Tower) and other great writers have expanded their writing skills to comics, creating compelling stories that are fascinating and thrilling for fans of both mediums.

So now you can see that the nerds and geeks aren’t the only ones interested in the comic book genre. Now comic books are now part of the main stream entertainment and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.