Joel Pfannenstiel has seen what happens when people get excited about popular movies based on comic books. Pfannenstiel, who owns AstroKitty comics, 15 E. 7th St., Lawrence, said it's not uncommon to see a rush of interest in a comic series or character after a blockbuster film is released.
"You usually see increased interest with known properties like that, when movies come out about well-known superheroes," Pfannenstiel said.
This summer was a particularly big one for comic book adaptations, with moviegoers treated to summer blockbusters such as "Hellboy II," "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" that threw the comics industry into the spotlight. This, combined with highly anticipated adaptations such as "Watchmen" and "The Spirit," means comic books and graphic novels (longer comic books with a complete story arc) are experiencing another sudden spike in popularity. According to Marvel Comics' investor relations web site, Marvel expects sales between $450-$480 million, due in large part to licensing success and the company's new film production division. DC comics' "Watchmen," the film version of which will be released in March 2009, is currently ranked 30 in overall book sales on amazon.com, and number one in superhero graphic novels.
Pfannenstiel said he doesn't think the trend is going to go away any time soon.
"So many comics are being optioned for movies and TV shows now that it's likely to keep on happening," Pfannenstiel said. "They kind of go hand in hand."
Lisa Eitner, general book buyer for KU's Oread bookstore, agrees with Pfannenstiel that movies and comics will continue to have a co-operative relationship.
"We like carrying graphic novels, and the superhero books I think are surprisingly strong," Eitner said. "There's a really big interest in them year after year, and I think new films can only enhance that."
Even bookstores that specialize in non-graphic literature have expanded their selection of graphic novels due to demand.
"I think it's certainly increased our demographic," said Heidi Raak, owner of the Raven bookstore in downtown Lawrence. "We put "Watchmen" out front, and it's been selling well. 'Art Spiegelman's Little Lit' and 'The Complete Persepolis' are also pretty popular titles."
"Watchmen" is a particularly good example of the current trend. Paramount and Warner Brothers released the teaser trailer for the film adaptation this summer, and Pfannenstiel credits this for the sudden popularity of the graphic novel.
"After the trailer came out, we sold more copies of that book than ever before," Pfannenstiel said. "Virtually everyone who came into the store mentioned that they'd seen the trailer. I think it was the strongest response I'd seen since '300.'"
Similarly, John Bond, an employee at Oread bookstore, said Batman comics have been a popular item following this summer's release of "The Dark Knight."
"We stocked 'Watchmen' and 'The Killing Joke' (Batman book) and both of them sold out pretty quickly," Bond, Lawrence junior, said.
Pfannenstiel said he thinks newcomers to comics start with an interest in characters or books that are already familiar, but previously unknown series that get a sudden boost in interest can be a gateway to other books.
"With unknown properties, people tend to get more interested in other comics. For example, after "300" and "Sin City" came out, those books got popular," Pfannenstiel said. "Just last week, someone came in asking if there were any more Watchmen books, and of course there's only one, but I directed them to books that were similar, and they ended up buying some."
Bond said he thinks the highly visual comic book medium has a lot to offer readers.
"People just like pictures," Bond said. "Whether you're a kid or an adult, there's never a time when you stop liking to have something neat to look at."
Pfannenstiel said that while he thinks the number of people who immediately become comic book fans after seeing a film is few, movies do present a good opportunity for potential readers.
"I don't want people to be intimidated with all the material out there if they're interested in getting into comics," Pfannenstiel said. "There's plenty of stuff out there that's not being optioned and isn't going to be optioned for movies that should be checked out."
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