Is the upcoming run of DC's superhero selfies themed variants seen as playful fun or shameless catering to our social media driven lifestyle?
[caption id="attachment_158" align="alignleft" width="300"]
ONE OF THE FIRST SELFIE IMAGES RELEASED.[/caption]In DC's upcoming run of themed variants we will see "selfies". Many see this as harmless fun, while others see it as a violation of beloved characters. I think as a male I can understand the anger behind it, "selfies" are seen on FB day in and day out, duck-faced, hipster-filtered, hashtagged "selfies". I can understand that we want so escape this everyday humdrum when reading an epic comic, so for them to break the 4th wall in such a way is frustrating. Also the whole idea that superheroes have cellphones is a perplexing idea. To think batman using his Samsung Galaxy to upload crime scene evidence back to batcave for analysis is pretty ludacris, and even further on that thought the biggest enemy would be bad cell service. "Well the joker made a daring escape and killed hundreds, because I couldn't get enough signal to call the Batwing." Suddenly the Verizon wireless "Can you hear me now?" guy will be the most sought out sidekick due to his epic cell boost. For me I think this fad really originated in the comic world after the Man of Steel poster was released, which straight up looked like supes was doing a selfie over a cornfield. No matter what DC has been making some questionable decisions, but after the bombshell variants I guess I can't be too mad if they do something a lil' silly. Click here to see more of the released superhero selfies.
[caption id="attachment_169" align="alignnone" width="621"]
Supergirl poses with the crew for a "groupfie" - Superhero Selfies[/caption]
Great post! I think this is a pretty relevant question. It seems like DC is playing the "attention whore" role of the comics book industry right now, but that's just my take on things.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! We seem to be living in such a gimmick-driven society. It's sad to see our art forms succumb to this. In my opinion, this is one of the cheapest ways possible to make characters relatable to readers. Why not just continue to make deep, well-thought out characters that readers have always loved? Why do they have to be a part of the latest "craze?"
ReplyDeleteAgain, great post!
I'm torn. About 85 percent of me agrees with you but then the other 15 percent just finished seeing the Alfred in Batman's suit and the Harley Quinn selfies and I laughed out loud. I think some of these covers are completely silly and am glad that they are variant covers. To me, having a character like Harley Quinn take a selfie during a heist makes sense. Superman saving a cat and taking a selfie doesn't. That cover just looks stupid. Also, what is going on with Barry's face in that selfie - it's just weird.
ReplyDeleteOne last thought, why wouldn't superheroes have cellphones? I think it would make sense for them to have them in this day and age. BUT your scenario about the Joker escaping and the Verizon Guy being everyone's new sidekick is hysterical. Awesome post, Ara.