AudioShocker

I guess I already knew this. But it didn’t really set in until I read this short blurb in USA Today.

It’s been a surreal decade to be a comic book fan. All these blockbuster movies of things I never even dreamed I would see on the silver screen have been both incredible and disappointing. I never imagined an X-Men movie that would blow me away. But the first two were definitely a religious experience for me.

Now even the smallest comic book properties are being bought up to be optioned. As an aspiring comic book writer, I just want to make comics. I don’t want to deal with extra stuff like optioning my ideas. Well, I don’t want to deal with it. But I do want the money from it.

To see a Spider-Man musical on Broadway is simply bizarre. Reading adventures of the character has often been extremely personal for me, as they are for many longtime fans. To think that there will be a “Spider-Man” leaping around in tights, tied up to wires, spinning across the stage to a Bono-penned soundtrack is nuts. (Editorial Note: Neal is opposed to Bono and U2 with every ounce of his being.)

I’m not complaining. I love to see these near and dear characters touch other people too. It’s just sometimes I almost can’t handle it. I hope the excitement for these heroes rubs off and brings more readers into comics. As a writer, that’s the sort of “extra stuff” I would love to deal with.