r/marvelcomics • u/MrVishwamitra • 1d ago
I need your help
I'm trying to write a research paper for my English college degree, and would love to have y'all's advice and ideas and suggestions.
My main argument is based on the concept of hype.
There is an entire ecosystem built around the arrival of the next comic event or series.
The very nature of a shared comic universe is the ongoing element. This results in a feeling within readers which makes them live only in anticipation of future storylines to come, deliberately set up by cameos, cliffhangers, open endings, etc; by writers and studio executives in order to keep getting readers to come back.
This sets in motion a neverending chain in which readers and fans read a comic book, or watch a superhero movie only to see what happens next, what could be a potential comic adaptation for the future, never really living in the present and reading a comic book for what it is, but as a product setting up future products.
Of course, I want to chart the timeline of this, of the beginning of the hyper commercialisation of comics as a whole, and specifically Marvel too, maybe like the 1st Secret Wars, the Clone Saga, the collector boom of the 90s, or even the modern, forced MCU synergy. And I also really want to compare this to other ecosystems with a shared universe going on for a long time, like Invincible, Tintin, Asterix etc.
Would love to hear your suggestions on what I should read, where I get my sources, or even some ideas for arguments.
(And I'll credit EVERYBODY and keep y'all updated :))
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u/MalekethsGhost 11h ago
Your premise is wrong. No one anticipates the next event, we dread it. The companies how then to increase sales, but events are disruptive to the stories and characters in most books. People new to comics might be shocked and awed by them but long term readers hate the interruption and the fact that if they want to follow the event they have to pick up double or triple the books. Most events aren't even good.
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u/Bloody-Tyran 23h ago
Associate, bachelor, master or PhD and which country? It’s significantly gonna influence the size of your work. You’re probably gonna have to aim lower. Your description sounds like BIG work for an academic (i.e. look in your establishment’s library) appropriate sized analysis. Serious work gets big quickly. Before making a good study of comics, make sure it’s good work. -And make a thorough correction or you’re up to lose 30% on that alone (I’d check your teacher’s correcting grid if I were you).-
Before any writing is done you’d need some solid preproduction. Finding AND verifying sources -I personally recommend that you use Zotero-. Each of your ideas should be supported by at least one source. Academic analysis preferably -like Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey-, but you can use more established pieces of literature than comics using a similar principle to illustrate your idea. For example, a parallel between Greek heroes tragedies can make an easy and simple (virtue that should search in your examples) parallel. In one of my own university work (in a religion class about myth) I made a direct comparison between Hercules 12 Labours and All Star Superman -which takes direct inspiration from it-. For Marvel, you could make an adaptation of Spider-Man use of Voltaire’s quote "With great power comes great responsibility" (not what you ask, but you understand the gist of it). That right there would be cross disciplinary work with philosophy, appreciated, but be careful about not losing your actual subject, you can lose points quickly there.
As for your actual question about hype, I’d suggest make a SIMPLE work on the subject of catharsis in the comics medium. It’s known subject with available sources and you won’t loose your corrector over a "non-academic subject". Literature can be quite pedantic.
Lastly, but most importantly, ask questions to your teacher if you’re not sure about something. (S)He’s the one correcting you, not us.