Monday, February 17, 2014

Marvel vs. DC

Silly, uninformed me. I thought Marvel had the upper-hand in the Super Hero franchises. But not in Cartoonland. And not according to the People Who Count*.

... While Marvel Animation seems content to cater mainly to younger fans with programs such as Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man and The Super Hero Squad Show, the DC animated universe offers everything from Bruce Timm and Paul Dini’s highly influential Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League to stunning feature-length adaptations of Frank Miller’s classic The Dark Knight Returns and Geoff Johns’ acclaimed Flashpoint storyline. ...

Producer James Tucker recently announced that DC intends to release three straight-to-DVD animated features every year. Two of them will take place within the same continuity and the third will either be an original story with DC characters or an adaptation of a pre-existing work. ...

DC is also making significant inroads with other mediums, including live-action TV. The CW’s Arrow has proven itself a surprise hit with an increasingly rabid fanbase — giving the series a distinct advantage over Marvel’s disappointing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC. ...

I know college-age comic book fans that were outraged over how Iron Man 3 toyed with one of hteseries' major villains. (This outrage didn't seem to reduce the box office.) But here we are again with young twenty-somethings saying the DC super hero universe, at least in animation, is superior to the Marvel version.

Could bode well, at least in animation, for DC. And less well for Marvel. (Although there's no sign of damage on the live-action side.)

* The key demographic.

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