Comics Silver Surfer A Victim Of The Media Pecking Order

No sooner do I launch a post about Marvel Studio’s latest failure that the comics have to follow suit. They do suffer many of the same issues.

For the record I have never really gotten into the Silver Surfer. I blame too many writers focusing on the “woe is me” nature of his existence, but that’s another conversation. No, we’re here to talk about the latest news, that Norrin Radd isn’t just being replaced in the movies but in the comics…but not with Shalla-Ball

I’ve gone over the history of the Silver Surfer and various heralds of Galactus, most notably the female ones. The women have never taken on the Silver Surfer roll in the main universe comics. There have been other heralds or other continuities, but Silver Surfer is Norrin Radd, a bald space dude.

This is about to change.

“Death Of The Silver Surfer” will see Norrin Radd killed off (who knows for how long given the nature of comics–I think everybody’s died at least once by now, even characters only introduced this century) and replaced with Major Kelly Koh, member of the Bureau of Alien Neutralization (or BAN for short because subtlety has yet to get through the revolving door of comic death) according to appearances. I’ll let you read the article if you want the full story thus far on that.

Instead we’re here to look at the media pecking order. The article’s writer suspects this is due to brand synergy, by having a girl Surfer in both continuities, but in that case why make a new character to replace Norrin instead of the gender swap they’re already going with? Even if that is the case, it’s another example of Disney’s Marvel doing it backwards, and it will only further injure comics’ reputation as a storytelling source.

I’ve heard a few commenters and critics suggest more than once that the comics should alter itself to better fit the movies, in the hopes of bringing in new readers after the movie. The suggestion also includes putting comics, trades, or full on graphic novels in the theater so that after they see the movie they might buy a comic. I don’t know about that. For one thing they already spent money on the tickets, overpriced refreshments, and probably the popcorn bucket craze. Will they have money for a comic? I’d recommend something like the giveaway comic-sized “The Legacy” pamphlets they have at comic stores, the ones that give the current history of a particular character or team. Highlight the differences between the comic and the movie, and the theater could partner with local comic stores to bring them to the only place you can find comics and back issues anymore. A comic store near a theater, even sharing the mall, would be brilliant right now. Even if there isn’t an active superhero movie you have other films based on comics or comics based on films. Both movie theaters and comic stores are having a rough time right now, and this would be great for both parties.

Artist’s interpretation of Norrin Radd trying to get Disney to let him keep his job…or at least live.

I’ve discussed the media pecking order many times on this site. Anything drawn (comics, cartoons, video games) are at the bottom and theatrical films are on the top, with the middle featuring TV/streaming shows and maybe novels. Radio dramas don’t seem to rate anymore unless they already got other media adaptations, though radio dramas of other material will still be made. In my Art Of Storytelling series I went over how every format tells stories in their own way. None is better than the other, but each format does one or two things better than the others and that should be embraced. I’ve also stated that the source material should be treated like the source material. Not the brand or the names but the characters, personas, and events that made those brands and names popular. I’m not talking a one-to-one adaptation of a particular story but if you’re going to mine an old story for yours get the important parts right, since that’s what made the brand popular enough for you to have a movie.

In this case the comics are the source material. Changing Silver Surfer female in the comics is the wrong direction to go, whether it’s some kind of brand synergy or just another attack on fans upset about the gender swap by making a girl Surfer. It’s not even the “right” girl. It sends the message, and I’m sure Disney doesn’t care, that the comics are lesser than the movies despite the movies being based on the comics. If the comic was based on a movie, I would expect it to properly adapt the movie or set a story in the movie’s world. If for some reason they wanted to do an original continuity (you can make the case they did with Conan the barbarian as the various comic, cartoon, and video game continuities went beyond both the movies and the original novels) I would expect the key elements, the “multiversal continuity” I often bring up, to match the books, which is the true source material. The comics and any media (whether based on the movies or the novels) should reflect the source material, and more often than not it does. This is a favor not returned by the other media types because comics are considered lesser…and comics are doing everything to keep that the norm for some reason.

I’m not complaining about characters like Harley Quinn or Firestar coming from another media type because they did so well in their respective productions, or elements that fans just expect like the Ninja Turtles’ eye masks going from all red to the multiple colors of the Playmantes toys and cartoons so parents would buy more than one Turtle as the separate characters they are. They’d be a fool not to bring over the new fan favorite character into their universe and nobody expected Harley to last beyond an episode. Nobody expected the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to survive beyond an issue, but that’s a split thanks to the cartoon and comic chasing different age groups and tastes. That’s why Archie made a comic based on the 1980s cartoon and Mirage continued their own comic universe. One for the kids Playmates was chasing and one for the adults and college kids Mirage Studios was after. Now the property is owned by Paramount and it’s a question whether or not there even is a “source material” anymore. The original comic is done and IDW’s has been rebooted like they did Transformers before losing the license and none of the cartoons have reflected the comics or the 1980s cartoon. It’s just a brand with no true focal point now.

“I know how you feel. I got killed for Hollywood’s sins, too.”

Comics have never stood up for themselves. Remember, the reason we got “The Death/Return Of Superman” is because the original plans to have Clark and Lois finally marry were scuttled by the producers of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman, who insisted that since they’re focusing on the Clark/Lois romance the comics shouldn’t be allowed to get them married before the show does. This was made worse with a silly clone story and a villain literally called the Wedding Destroyer whose whole deal is ruining marriage days. (Delta Burke deserved better.) Once they finally decided the “important media” was ready the comics had to run their Wedding Album one-shot out there to be there at the same time rather than when the comics, the source media, was ready. Warner Brothers is guilty of the same thing as Disney. This is what happens when the movie and TV people buy a comic book company so they don’t have to pay to license stuff. It’s cheaper to own it, and then mine it for “intellectual property” while being lazy…and handing it off to people who thinks their story is more important than “those dumb old comic books”.

We should also question the article writer’s theory that this is because of the movie. Current screw over DC Captain Marvel Carol Danvers had her origins rewritten for current real world cultural reasons. We’re not even getting into the Inhumans/mutant insanity with current Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan, who also had her powers altered in the show, though I haven’t heard of that happening in the comics and cartoons/games are fine with her “embiggen” powers the way they are. There are writers who make things happen in the comics, even creating characters, in the hopes of getting them into a movie or show, either for their pet cause or because they make money every time the character is used, a recent response after all the stuff done to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster by DC over Superman came to light. Unless Marvel doesn’t have those royalties like DC does, in which case. who knows what’s going on? Probably go back to the cultural thing.

Maybe if Marvel would stop hiring novelists and Hollywood writers for their comics and bring in actual comic writers who care about the source material they’d have a chance to fight for comics’ place in the hierarchy, given how many works are now based on comics, but the big two both seem content with being the buzzard bait of lazy studios, greedy “entertainment” companies, and creators who really want to make their own stuff and are “stuck” with comic adaptations they look down upon. Comics will never be treated as equal, and Hollywood likes it that way. It’s why Disney has all but abandoned Walt’s animation legacy, and what they keep is just for greed and looking like they’re still Disney. Other companies seem to do better with their properties than they are. Unless you’re Ubisoft, but that’s yet another unconnected conversation.

Could Norrin Radd return and something else happen with Major Koh? Maybe. Status quo is king, which is why the sliding timeline exists. On the other hand they still haven’t walked back “Carol was actually half Kree this whole time and Mar-Vell had nothing to do with her getting powers” bit. It doesn’t matter. Until comics start pushing back and stops being the willing IP “baby farm” of the entertainment industry and nothing else this kind of thing is going to continue. If it wasn’t for the comics, we wouldn’t have the MCU. If Hollywood, Bob Iger, and Kevin Feige can’t understand that then it’s time for the comics division to stand up to the studios division and remind them why they exist.