The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood (International Screen Industries)

__The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood__ traces the evolving relationship between the American comic book industry and Hollywood from the launch of __X-Men__, __Spider-Man__, and __Smallville__ in the early 2000s through the ascent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Arrowverse, and the __Walking Dead__ Universe in the 2010s. Perren and Steirer illustrate how the American comic book industry simultaneously has functioned throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century as a relatively self-contained business characterized by its own organizational structures, business models, managerial discourses, production cultures, and professional identities even as it has remained dependent on Hollywood for revenue from IP licensing. The authors' expansive view of the industry includes not only a discussion of the “Big Two,” Marvel/Disney and DC Comics/Time Warner, but also a survey of the larger comics ecosystem. Other key industry players, including independent publishers BOOM! Studios, IDW, and Image, digital distributor ComiXology, and management-production company Circle of Confusion, all receive attention. Drawing from interviews, fieldwork, archival research, and trade analysis, __The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood__ provides a road map to understanding the operations of the comic book industry while also offering new models for undertaking trans- and inter-industrial analysis. The Last Decade Has Seen A Proliferation Of Hugely Successful Film Franchises And Television Shows - Such As Batman, Spiderman, X-men, The Walking Dead And Many More - Based On Comic Books Which Have Avid Fan Followings Of Their Own. Comic Books Have Now Assumed An Enormously Important Position Within The American Entertainment Business, Where They Function As Intellectual Property (ip) Development Wings For Major Producers And Studios, Important Brand Management Tools For Studio Marketing Departments, And Major Divisions In Their Own Right Within Powerful Entertainment Conglomerates Such As Disney And Warner Bros. Even Fifteen Years Ago, However, Comic Books' Ascendancy Within The Entertainment Industry Would Have Been Impossible To Anticipate. With Dwindling Consumer Interest, A Collapsing Retail Market, And Several High-profile Bankruptcies (including Marvel Comics), Comic Books Seemed An Increasingly Marginal - And Unprofitable - Business At The Start Of The Twenty-first Century. The American Comic Book Industry And Hollywood Charts The Transformation Of The American Comic Book Industry As It Became Increasingly Integrated Into Hollywood Between 2000 And 2015. What Were The Economic Factors, Organizational Contexts, And Technological Changes Responsible For The Industry's Sudden Renaissance? How Has The Comic Industry's Greater Integration Into Hollywood Altered The Former's Business, Labour, And Creative Practices? Conversely, How Has This Integration Affected The Business, Labour, And Creative Practices Of Hollywood Film, Television, And Video Game Companies? In Answering These Questions, This Book Provides A Detailed Account Of How The Comic Book Industry Functions Today, Including Details About Its Labour Practices, Corporate Structures, Product Development, Creative Practices And Consumer Markets. This Is The First Book To Provide A Broad Overview Of The Industry Side Of The Comic Book Genre And Associated Franchises. It Synthesises And Expands Upon Existing Scholarship On The Comic Book And Hollywood Film Industries, And Draws On Historical Documents, Original Interviews With Industry Workers, And Case Studies Of Specific Properties (such As Batman, The Walking Dead And Mass Effect) And Specific Companies (e.g. Marvel, Avatar Press). It Also Provides A Corrective To The Popular View That The Comic Book Industry And Its Ties To Hollywood Revolve Primarily Around Superheroes And The Properties Owned By Marvel And Dc Comics. "The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood traces the evolving relationship between the American comic book industry and Hollywood from the launch of X-Men, Spider-Man, and Smallville in the early 2000s through the ascent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Arrowverse, and the Walking Dead Universe in the 2010s.Perren and Steirer illustrate how the American comic book industry simultaneously has functioned throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century as a relatively self-contained business characterized by its own organizational structures, business models, managerial discourses, production cultures, and professional identities even as it has remained dependent on Hollywood for revenue from IP licensing. The authors' expansive view of the industry includes not only a discussion of the “Big Two,” Marvel/Disney and DC Comics/Time Warner, but also a survey of the larger comics ecosystem. Other key industry players, including independent publishers BOOM! Studios, IDW, and Image, digital distributor ComiXology, and management-production company Circle of Confusion, all receive attention. Drawing from interviews, fieldwork, archival research, and trade analysis, The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood provides a road map to understanding the operations of the comic book industry while also offering new models for undertaking trans- and inter-industrial analysis."-- Site Web de l'éditeur Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 7 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction: The More Things Change ... : The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood in the Twenty-First Century 12 1 Comics Pros Go to Hollywood: The Historical Evolution of the Comics–Hollywood Relationship 22 2 Comic Books and the Economics of Intellectual Property Production 58 3 Drawing Lines: The Place of Comic Book Artists and Writers in Hollywood 86 4 Synergy in Theory and in Practice: Comic Books and the Contemporary Media Conglomerate 120 5 Organizational (Dis-)Integration: Publisher–Hollywood Relationships in the Twenty-First Century 142 6 From Dental Floss to Dental Tape: The Strange Case of Digital Comics Distribution 178 Afterword: Days of Future Present: The View from 2020 212 Notes 218 Bibliography 224 Index 247 "The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood is the first book to provide an industry perspective on the resurgence of comic books and their hugely successful Hollywood adaptations. It provides an accessible overview, including interviews with industry professionals and detailed case studies such as Batman, The Walking Dead, and Marvel"-- Provided by publisher