There's Nothing Comic About Covid

With their far-fetched plot lines and elements of escapism, comic books have been a go-to for years now, with legends like Stan Lee becoming household names, while Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing film of all time. But, after our first year since 2001 without a comic book movie, COVID-19 has put something of a spanner in the comic book works.

Certainly, as the faces of heroes change (yes, we’re talking about you frontline workers), even lifelong fans are finding that the current comic book trajectory isn’t quite living up to our so-called ‘new normal.

This is no surprise considering that not much is living up to our new normal during the era of Covid. Unfortunately, as we’ve learnt from the battle for female representation, change can be slow to come by in the comic book world, and that often leaves the industry behind. With new releases already lined up including Black Widow and The Batman, the comic book film industry especially needs to make sure that they’re meeting our changing cultures in the following ways.

Momentum in New Media

Even when the time comes for cinemas to reopen, the close proximity of such a setting is unlikely to be appealing. Besides, this past year has taught us a thing or two about the pleasure (an affordability) of watching the best new movies from the comfort of our homes. Luckily, the comic book world has already made leaps to adapt here, as CBR’s Sam Stone found when he interviewed Mintz, creative head of DMG Entertainment. In fact, with their release of Bloodshot landing just as lockdowns were announced, DMG was one of the first to turn to VOD. That said, there is still a lot of room for maneuvering, with the future of comic books largely resting on a shift towards alternatives like television for significant impact even outside of movie theatres.

Change the Superhero Narrative

If this past year has taught us anything, it’s that solo superheroes don’t swoop in and save the day. Rather, our frontline workers and healthcare providers have shown what true heroes look like, and most of them work together. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we need to overhaul the entire comic enterprise, but rather adhere to a trend that’s already been in place, where your Deadpools and Batmans are making way for collective heroic efforts like Avengers and X-Men.

A More Nuanced Approach

2020 has also proved that the straight-up ‘bad and good’ narrative that has kept comic books alive for so long simply isn’t as representative or even positive message to spread. Certainly, this year we have seen those individuals we’ve voted for to protect us (not to put it too bluntly) failing while previously villainized sectors such as public health have proven to be the heroes we need. Unfortunately, while villains like Batman’s Joker are at least a little nuanced, comic books need to do way better. Indeed, a focus on flawed heroes who don’t always live up to our expectations should come ever-more to the fore in 2021 and beyond. 

Did Covid kill comic books? We don’t think so, but change should definitely be on the horizon to stop this infection from proving fatal.