There is no denying how successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been. There’s also no denying that comic books have changed since the success of the MCU. Many fans have assumed that many changes to characters, designs, and even stories has come at the direction of Disney to use the books as advertisements for the movies and vice versa. However, this does not appear to be the case. During a panel at GalaxyCon that featured Marvel artists Mark Bagley and Scott Hepburn as well as writer Mark Waid, the question of whether or not The MCU has affected their approach to the comics was asked.
Mark Bagley stated that his approach has not changed at all but that there is a “nice overflow” of fans that have seen the films and come by his table to see him draw Spider-Man. He also said that there have been a few times he’s been approached by editors or others in charge with suggestions about matching the films, but
Scott Hepburn said that costumes are the biggest change and that attention to detail in costumes has become more important, but it’s still up to the artist to give their own interpretation. He also said there has been no change to the expectations from the top to the artists.
Mark Waid had more to say about the big wigs and their influence over the comics:
“The nice thing about working at Marvel is they still understand, they don’t let the tail wag the dog. Comics are still the source material. No one, or very rarely, does anyone come down the hallway and say ‘It’s this way in the movie therefore we want to try to change the comics to reflect that’ Its happened a couple of times, but even then it’s just a suggestion.”
All three gentlemen seemed to agree that there are times that matching the films is a good idea, but they feel no pressure from the top to do so.
Waid did say that the one thing that did change to match the movies is that everyone at Marvel writes for Tony Stark/Ironman as Robert Downy Jr. I don’t have any problem with that as every time I read a comic with Tony in it I hear RDJ’s voice.
How do you think the movies have affected the comics? Let us know in the comments below!
Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook and Twitter using the buttons at the top! Or you can react to the post down below!
—–
Have you checked out LRM Online‘s official podcast feed yet, which includes our flagship podcast Los Fanboys, our premiere podcast Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, and our morning show LRMornings? Check it out by listening below. It’s also available on all your favorite podcast apps!
Source: GalaxyCon 2019