Comic books make real life more fun for fans

Comic book characters have become real-world components for people of all ages in our culture – in literature, on television, and up on the silver screen.

“Deadpool” opened Valentine’s Day weekend with an estimated $150 million in ticket sales, the highest ever premiere for an R-rated movie. Cinematic premieres this spring comprise “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” on March 25, “Captain America: Civil War” May 6, “X-Men: Apocalypse” May 27, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” June 3.

Anyone who scans TV listings will have many choices, including “Supergirl” in its first season; “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “iZombie,” and “Gotham” (returning Monday), each in their second seasons; and “Arrow” and “The Walking Dead,” already in their fourth and sixth seasons, respectively.

In print, comic books reign in a universe led by Disney’s Marvel and Warner Bros’ DC Comics, with many other avenues depending on age group.

Clifton Boyer, director of Horry County Memorial Library, said its branches have been adding graphic novels – “the official term used by libraries and the real serious people” – since he joined the library system in 2009, and the collection numbers 2,857 titles. He said “Manga” has been popular in libraries since the late 1990s, which he saw help open the door for the genre’s popularity with teens in libraries.

“The biggest thing we have done with graphic novels,” Boyer said, “is add them to our ebook selection in our Hoopla Cloud Library resource. From my own experience and from what I still hear from staff, they are circulated among adults more than the teens. They do have appeal for our teen users, but we find adults tracking these collections down in our libraries.”

Boyer also sees a circulation correlative with graphic novels because “the demographic they are most popular with are the same kind of people who use the Internet more than a public library.”

“I hope that making them available online through 3M,” Boyer said, “will help us capture these 20- and 30-year-olds who are graphic novel fans and allow them to see the library as a resource that can meet many different needs.”

With his interest in history, Boyer praised a graphic novel he read “that was an actual trapper’s journal from the 18th century.”

“It led me to other historical graphic novels,” he said, “such as one about World War I pilots and another about the Arab-Israeli conflict. There really is some interesting work being done with these novels.”

Heather Pelham, public services librarian for Georgetown County Library, called its graphic novel, anime, and Manga groupings “a team effort.”

Donald Dennis, the system’s teen technology librarian, added, “We have used anime, Manga, and other graphic novel styles in our teen art classes, and we offer free anime viewings on Saturdays at the Waccamaw Neck branch in Litchfield Beach.”

A children’s librarian for three years at that site, Amy King, said interest in graphic novels continues to build just like its collection, and especially in circulation at the main branch in Georgetown. Thinking also of youngsters who might not like reading “traditional books,” King said the selection of graphic novels for their demographic presents “a great way” to get them into the library to see the array of resources and find other outlets to feed a lifetime love of reading.

King said that Manga books, from Japan, are read from right to left – instead of left to right, as in English – also giving youth a taste of the learning process in another culture.

Complimenting Stephanie Frey, a colleague in Waccamaw Library’s teen services and known for being so well read on Manga, King said, “I always know when I have a hit.”

King named “Smile and Sisters” resonates with “the middle school set,” and that “The Baby-Sitters Club,” from the 1980s and ’90s, has been “refreshed for a new generation.”

The “Civil War” series, King said, are not like “old comic books,” but more in a traditional book format, with several comic books packed in one edition, but that the process also has worked the other direction with other titles as well, with graphic novels developed from larger volumes.

Either way, King said, seeing children consumed by reading always excites library staff.

‘Chic to be geek’ in this ‘golden age’

Standing inside Coastal Comics, the store they own on the northern tip of Surfside Beach with Bill Black, Drew and Lindsay Johnson each spoke of an appeal that carries through generations. Symbols of Captain America, Superman, Green Lantern, and The Flash each occupy their own window pane in front.

Drew Johnson said just in the past decade, comic book characters have “overtaken the mainstream” in entertainment media. He called this era “the golden age, if you’re a comic book fan,” because technology “has finally caught up” with all the potential and worlds to take comic book themes in new channels. A phone call he received also triggered a “Star Wars” ringtone.

“It’s chic to be geek,” he said of a pastime maybe once seen in more “outcast, nerd” circles, and with stories geared to individuals as young as 3-4 years old,with themes made for anyone in any age bracket.

“You read a comic book,” he said – remembering one of the first he ever read, “Wolverine” – “and you feel like a kid again. Even in this digital age, people want a book in hand.”

Watch “The Flash,” Drew Johnson said of the second-year TV series, “and you’re watching a comic book unfold.”

His wife of 11 years this May, Lindsay Johnson, said the catalog of comic books boast many great stories and characters. She also observed how in the revival continuing for “Wonder Woman” – who has a cameo in “Batman v. Superman,” and her own film slated to hit screens in June 2017 – the heroine is “curvy and not a stick figure.”

The Johnsons said their regular customers “run the gamut” in career fields, from a local disc jockey on the radio, to law enforcement.

Their second annual “Comic Con” will be Nov. 5-6 at Sea Mist Oceanfront Resort in Myrtle Beach. The 2015 event drew about 2,000 partons, Drew Johnson said, and with the 2016 affair, again with an accent on comic book writers and artists, and booked for autumn’s busy shoulder travel season, and coinciding with “Doctor Strange,” opening Nov. 4 in theaters.

Characters lead ‘a perfect storm’

In downtown Myrtle Beach, at Palmetto Studios’ Corsair Comics, business partners Robin Roberts and Steve Haines concurred that comic books consume their own piece of pop culture, especially through “a large percentage” of TV series, such as “Lucifer” and “The X-Files,” basing their plots on comic book characters.

“It’s a perfect storm,” said Roberts, thinking of the allure he found in childhood, thanks to his judging books by their cover.

“I would spin the rack at in the local convenience store,” he said of picking titles by the excitement their art generated for his eyes.

The hobby, with its art and stories, attracted the teen in Haines, who has spent 18 years selling comic books and memorabilia, which cover walls and fills cases storewide.

In this 21st century, youth will download free access to comics, then stop by to shop for related comic books, Haines said, as Roberts added how “it all ties together,” in the print and video realms. Seeing customers who first bought wares from him almost two decades ago, Haines marvels at seeing them bring their own children by today to browse.

Roberts, who with Haines co-hosts “Nerd Bar Live” – airing 11 p.m. every other Sunday on WFXB-TV 43 – said comic books in these modern times remain a great way for makers to try out a story, then based on the public’s embrance, gauge demand for a script for a possible TV show or movie.

Haines noted how the comic book world also has opened for female readers and viewers, not only with superheroines, but with creators and writers from that gender, for more overall relatable experiences by fans and other avenues for “positive empowerment.”

Ask Roberts and Haines to name some of their favorite comic book characters, and learn a little bit why these fictional stars shine for these men. Roberts said Iron Man earned his loyalty through his imperfections, because he boasts no mutant power, he’s smart, and he copes with his own struggles. Haines said he likes “The Crow,” who “started as a dark hero” and has a unique role in helping other individuals cope with loss.

The guys also have planned their ninth annual “XCon World” – which goes beyond comics, also highlighting stars and personnel from films, games, TV, anime, horror, and science fiction, and will again benefit the the Boys & Girls Club of the Grand Strand – for May 20-22 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. The special guest celebrity list continues growing, including at last count, three each from AMC’s The Walking Dead” and SyFy’s “Face-Off.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Comic books make real life more fun for fans."