Fan-People

I happened to be taking a break at work and spotted one of my co-workers who works in a different department. She even goes to conventions and does cosplay, which is totally not my thing. I haven’t dressed in character since my Threepio and Wonder Woman underoos days. Well, correction, I did dress up as She-Ra when I was about seven. I know that she’s into sci-fi and superhero movies which is to what I watch. I grew up reading Marvel Comics so I know the characters.

Anyway, I saw her in the lunch area and mentioned that I saw the new Captain America movie. I asked her if she’d seen it and she ranted into this two minute dissertation about her reasons for not seeing it. This was wrong, that’s wrong and this thing isn’t true to the comics so she has no intention of seeing it. She also refuses to have anything to do with the upcoming second Avengers movie for some other strange reason, whatever. But she did point out that she would be seeing the next Xmen movie because she loves her mutants.

I should have known better, because a few months ago she asked if I watched the Marvel tv show Agents of Shield. I was in the middle of explaining why I couldn’t get into it after five episodes and she gave me the brush off. I basically got the feeling that I was an idiot for not watching and I should leave her presence.

One of the things I don’t understand is fanboy or fangirl culture. The internet was on fire when word got out that there was a possibility that The Rock would be playing the black Green Lantern. They didn’t feel that he was ‘black’ enough for the role. Or what about the fanboy outrage when it was announced that Michael B. Jordan, a black actor, will be playing a white character, the Human Torch? Or the multiple complaints of the Transformers from the movies not looking like they did in the cartoon.  If they sniff out anything they don’t like, they go ballistic.

It ain’t that serious. We’re not talking about Shakespeare’s works being trampled on, we’re talking about cartoons and comics being brought to life. It’s a freaking movie. If the color of a superhero’s uniform in a comic book movie is something you get hysterical about, then you really need to reevaluate your priorities. It’s just a movie. Sit your butt in the chair, grab your popcorn and enjoy. Besides in about five years they’ll be ready to reboot the franchise anyway.

Superheroes Aren’t Just for Geeks

Last weekend, I went to the theater to see Thor. I grew up with my father reading his Silver Surfer and Spiderman comics, which got me somewhat interested in the genre. Its been decades since I’ve picked up a comic, probably around the last time I picked up a She-ra doll, but I’m very familiar with the characters. I may not read the comics anymore, but I like to watch them on the big screen.

It being the first week of release of this particular movie, I decided to get my seat early. Sitting there I had a ringside seat as the other film goers found their seat. I was quite surprised to find that probably half or over half of the patrons were women. True, some of them may have randomly picked Thor, but for the most part I think Chris Hemsworth and Idris Elba were the big draw. That would explain the gratuitous shirtless scene in the movie with Thor. That scene definitely wasn’t for the fan boys, it was a shout out for the ladies.

Going back over the super hero movies that have been released recently, the common factor is that most of them are attractive men. You’ve got Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman, and Henry Cavill as leading men. All of them good looking actors playing superheroes, all of them with a female fan base.

I for one have watched just about anything Chris Evans was in, years before he ever played Captain America. I happen to think he’s good eye candy. Anyone remember Cellular?

And the buzz with the Man of Steel from the ladies over the summer wasn’t about the action scenes, but how well Mr. Cavill looked in that Superman suit. I for one enjoyed the shirtless scenes with the manly facial scruff. ; )

My own mother practically swoons every time The Dark Knight Rises is on TV and she hears Bane’s distinctive voice. She was so crushed when I told her he wouldn’t be in the next Batman reboot.

The trend even spreads outside of the superhero movie genre. I wasn’t interested in The Fast and the Furious until they announced that The Rock would be appearing in Fast Five. As long as he’s in the franchise I’ll park my butt in the seat for every installment. Though Fast Six should be called The Fast and the Furious: Sexy, Sweaty Bald Men in Tank Tops.

I’m glad to see that film makers are paying attention to what women want when it comes to movies. We don’t all want the same predictable rom-com’s and period pieces. Sometimes we just want mindless action and a good looking man saving the day. And speaking of the Rock, he was also the only reason I went to see that awful GI Joe sequel and if he’s in the next one they can go ahead and take my money right now.

Stop Reading Girly Books!

My co-author Von’s brother, a grizzled ex-Detroit detective recently completed The Body Hunters Paradise Denied and gave his critique. Being a sixty something year old male with decades of police experience he had issues with the mystery aspect of the story and an issue with the way the romance between the main characters, Danielle and Aiden played out. He especially took issue with the pet names. Von called me one evening after work and told me what he had to say.

Being used to getting good feedback from our mostly female fanbase I went through the three stages of emotion after a critique. First I wanted to fix the problem. Maybe we did something wrong. Oh my God, I’ve gotta go back and fix the problem. How many copies are out there? How long will it take me to do another rewrite and submit it to Amazon?

The next stage was me being defensive. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! How dare he tell us about our book! We read and reread our book dozens of times and it was perfect!

The last stage was anger. Who does he think he is? What makes him an expert? What’s he doing reading girly books in the first place? You want a real police book go read a John Sandford novel and get outta my face!

I went to bed with his critique on my mind and it kept me up for a little while. The next day, I gave his opinion some more thought and picked it apart. Okay, for the next novel we’ll pay more attention to the police aspect. Writing a book about two psychics who solve mysteries, we make every effort to follow the law and police protocol; Von was a paralegal in a former life and she’s the expert on such matters. If she doesn’t know the answer than that’s what research is for. Since the book takes place in the real world, we’re as close to the law as can be, but in the interest of the story we may bend a few rules, but its all plausible.

Now as far as the romance, I can’t help him and he’s outta luck. If you don’t like Danielle being called ‘Nani’ and Danielle calling Aiden ‘Big Daddy’ then you need to be reading something else. Though its a paranormal mystery series, their relationship is the heart and soul of our books and that’s what the readers love. Each book’s mystery is what brings them together for them to have their relationship drama.

As if for vindication, that very same week, a couple of our readers told us how much they loved our sucker punch ending. The mystery, which kept them guessing until the very end was another reason their eyes were glued to the pages. We have another reader, who is half way through who keeps pestering us with questions and her hypothesis about how things are going to end and of course she’s very wrong. To sum it up, our intended audience loves it, and is begging for more. While I appreciate Von’s brother who has supported us with both novels, his opinion isn’t the end all be all of our publishing career. As long as the people we write the book for enjoy it, I’m just fine with that. In the publishing business you can’t cater to everyone. Besides, he shouldn’t be reading girly books anyway.