Comic Industry’s Joseph Illidge on Geek Culture, Heroic Journeys, and Diverse Creators

Philip McKenzieamp160amp160Youamp8217ve had a wide range of experiences across the comic book industry Was there a moment when the idea of diversity in storytelling became of central importance to youJoseph P Illidgeamp160 My tenure atamp160Milestone Mediaamp160put diversity of storytelling into focus for me It was one thing to see a diverse comic book on the newsstand but it was another thing to work in the offices of a comic book company that was run by four black menamp160 It showed me that this type of career was possible and it wasn39t a fantasyAdditionally it expanded my perspective amp8230amp160It showed that the opportunities in comic books were diverse from all angles It was multicultural multigenerational and as far as I could tell really some of the first waves of characters were representing the LGBTQ communityamp160 It was groundbreaking and I came to understand the importance of pushing diverse narrativesMcKenzieamp160 It sounds like the environment was a melting pot of ideas and influencesIllidgeamp160 In those years early mid1990s there was so much going on in the culture broadlyamp160 Media was becoming more expressive and mixed and the entire paradigm of what was possible was shiftingamp160 The heads of Milestone knew everyone and people like Quincy Jones and David Saltzman of QDE entertainment and countless musicians and artists were in the officeamp160 There was incredible creative energy that we harnessed to push boundariesMcKenzieamp160 Being a quotnerdquot is cool now but African Americans and other people of color have had a different experience in the transition of nerd culture being coolamp160 What has contributed to that shiftIllidgeamp160amp160It39s hard to point to a single event but I do believe at least one watershed moment has to be the release of the firstamp160Bladeamp160feature film starring Wesley Snipesamp160 If you talk about the advent of superheroes in cinema and start with the 2008amp160Iron Manamp160film that would be absolutely historically inaccurateamp160 You have to begin withamp160Bladeamp160 Snipes took a comic book character and treated the material seriously and in turn made that material appeal to a broad audienceIt was a black male lead superhero film that also had elements of a superhero horror filmamp160 It represented a union point of two genresamp160 I would also add the Milestone Mediaamp8211led animated seriesamp160Static Shockamp160 A 16yearold black male lead with superpowersamp160 So for a whole generation of young black people their entry point into this world doesn39t look like Superman Batmanamp160or SpiderManamp160 Instead the characters look like them and I think that is reflective down the road in purchasing power and fan interest and participationMcKenzieamp160 It39s evident that comicsuperheroinspired intellectual property is one significant driver of content if not the most significant What is it about these stories that have made their ascent possibleIllidgeamp160 The overarching reason is the emphasis on the heroic journeyamp160 Throughout our lives we want to believe we have a purposeamp160 Sometimes we39re going to get knocked down but we hope that we can rise up and that when we get to the end of it what we will have accomplished will be extraordinaryamp160 The superhero mythology translates that idea on a grander scale than any other comparable mythologyamp160 These characters have flaws they go from people who were selfish to selflessamp160 As a global audience we are part of that journeyMcKenzieamp160 Obviously the technology amp8212 ie the ability to actualize complex visions on screen amp8212 has been essentialamp160 But how does that compare to the need to tell quality storiesIllidgeamp160 It all comes down to the scriptamp160 When I was in the School for Visual Arts a professor told our class that a proper painting technique over a bad drawing would not result in a good piece of artamp160 The nucleus has to be goodamp160 Everything that you put on top of the core every process every piece of technology has to be in service of the storyStarting with a compelling story is critical and then the technology should amplify thatamp160 The chosen medium matters as much as the technologyamp160 If you look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe MCU versus DC Entertainment the MCU is primarily centered on filmsamp160 The DC Universe has achieved its most comprehensive vision through televisionamp160 That tells you a bit about their respective cultures and where their storytelling perspective is best actualizedMcKenzieamp160 Even with the growth of diverse stories and creator voices there is still a vocal minority in comic book culture that is hostile to these changesamp160 Why do you think that isIllidgeamp160 That amp8230 vocal minority is angry at the world because the world is changingamp160 You can39t hit the worldamp160 The world is too bigamp160 It39s an abstract conceptamp160 Instead you lash out and attack people on Twitteramp160 You harass women queer people disabled peopleamp160and unfortunatelyamp160with social mediaamp160you can do it without consequences because you have total anonymityamp160 These people are against the inclusion of other voices in society as a wholeamp160 They are afraid of the world that is coming so they fight back through microaggressions in geek spacesamp160 That39s what it comes down toMcKenzieamp160 Tell me about A Wave Blue World and your content modelIllidgeamp160amp160A Wave Blue World is a privately owned publisher focused on graphic novels art booksamp160and anthology booksamp160 It was created in 2005 by Tyler and Wendy ChinTanneramp160 It started as a passion project that brought their humanitarian philanthropyamp160and business interests together under one umbrellaamp160 Their ethos has always been about bringing people together from different backgrounds and voicesamp160 The opportunity is to tell stories that incorporate the element of hopeThat journey of what our collective future will look like and how we will get there is central to the brandamp160 It39s a small company we deal with creatorowned comic books and intellectual propertiesamp160 So that allows for a more intimate type of collaboration with the various projectsamp160 It is different from dealing with the intellectual property of a large media concern because we have no set rulesamp160 That gives us tremendous leeway to work as collaborators without being tied to the status quo of media expectationsMcKenzieamp160 Looking out at the future do you think we39ve reached peak superhero storytellingIllidgeamp160 I think the future in the superhero genre is limitless because it all depends on the quality of the storyamp160 No one is wondering whether we have had enough medical drama legal romance slice of life or any other types of content so why should superhero stories be any differentamp160 If anything with newamp160streaming servicesamp160like Disney AppleTVamp160and others there is going to be more competition for quality storiesIf we can maintain the quality then there is little cause for concernamp160 A necessary business strategy is to have a model pick a laneamp160and stick to itamp160 I think the media companies out here competing are savvy and know how to manage their intellectual propertyamp160 A more significant commitment to diverse stories and creators will only create more opportunitiesamp160 These are exciting times in which we are livingClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Comic Industry’s Joseph Illidge on Geek Culture, Heroic Journeys, and Diverse Creators

Author

Publish date

Channel

Philip McKenzie

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Comic Industry’s Joseph Illidge on Geek Culture, Heroic Journeys, and Diverse Creators

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Philip McKenzie

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

Cookies