I first discovered Marvel Comics characters onSaturday morning cartoons
Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be some heavy philosophical discussion. I find it interesting to think about how iconic characters from books, comics,movies, radio and television exist in multiple formats and genres. Quite often these characters reach a vast audience of people who never experienced the source material. It is probably truer today with the plethora of blockbuster movies based upon novels, comic books and the like.
When I was growing up, nearly every comic book character that I loved I was first introduced to via television. I became aware of Superman while watching the reruns of his 1952 television series sometime in the early 1960’s. I was fortunate enough to see the entire run of the 1966 Batman t.v. series when they first aired. Around the same time, I did begin to see the Superman and Batman comic books, but had yet to notice the Marvel Comics characters. I was still doing most of my comic reading at the barber shop and I don’t think he ever bought anything but DC comics.
Marvel characters first came to my attention in animated form with both the Saturday morning offering of The Fantastic Four and Spider Man as well as the afternoon syndicate Marvel Heroes. The latter were barely animated consisting primarily of actual panels from the comics flashed on the screen with some voice overs and sound effects. Despite this limitation, I enjoyed them thoroughly, most likely because the source material was so good. When I finally did see my favorite t.v. characters in comic form, I couldn’t wait to read them and actually found the comics more enjoyable than the programs, especially in the case of The Batman series. Though the comics went through a silly phase, by the late 60’s the stories were quite good.
I think things are quite different today. Rarely do the television or movie adaptations drive the consumer to the source material. It’s unfortunate, because whether it is a comic or a novel, there is something much more intimate about sitting and reading quietly. As much as I enjoyed television and movies, nothing could beat a stack of comics for sheer entertainment.
I can actually remember watching Superman prior to 1965…meaning age 4 and younger…because I can remember watching it in the apartment down the hall at a place we moved from before I turned 5.
Weird…I remember that…but I don’t remember lunch.
I remember hurrying home from school to watch Kimba on a local program called Paul Shannon’s Adventure Time. Shannon was best known for helping to return the 3 Stooges to prominence late in their careers. He was the first or one of the first to show the shorts on TV.
The Marvel Super-Heroes show was great for sticking so close to the storylines of the comics. It wasn’t until I saw them again many years later that I realized how bad the animation was.
Ah…Speed Racer. I have a Speed Racer story. Would you be shocked if I told you it took place in a bar. I don’t remember all the details…after all it took place in a bar…but one night back in my days at the Luna I wandered into the bar across the street at closing time.
For some reason…or no reason…I started singing the Speed Racer theme and everybody in the bar chimed in. We had 25 people singing “Go Speed Racer go!” at last call.
You are so right about it being rare. One recent instance of this occurance however, is the Walking Dead tv series. I have never read these comic books but after watching the tv show I want to. And similarly, watching Game of Thrones has encouraged me to read (and I am reading) the very large book series. So not all hope is lost. There is some reason for encouragement. 🙂