Comics and Videogames

Video game culture is one of the most dynamically developed forms of modern popular culture. Over the past 10 years, the number of communities that represent certain areas has grown rapidly. Being in direct connection with film industry, literature and music the video game culture has occupied a new segment that requires detailed research. New opportunities of online communication have transformed the traditional understanding of gaming culture. Social segment identifies as gamers. This kind of culture can be used to spread a social message using human interactions. It should be noted that in a comprehensive sense, this problem covers the interaction with computer and algorithm art, artmedia, demoscene, cybernetic and digital art, evolutionary and generative art, new media, systems art and other areas which are represented in PC, VR, Console, Handheld, Tabletop. Communities of gamers, as well as game developers have created and promoting quite recognizable festivals and conventions which are described in this article. Games and game-related merchandise by Sony Interactive Entertainment – PlayStation Experience; BlizzCon by Blizzard Entertainment with their major franchises: Overwatch, Warcraft, StarCraft, Heroes of the Storm et al; general video gaming and video game streaming – TwitchCon convention; RTX conventions by Rooster Teeth; Penny Arcade Expo as gaming culture festivals with their PAX Arena, LAN Party, eSports tournament and Omegathon. This article does not describe the US comic con conventions that carry much more content than the focus on video games, such as San Diego Comic-Con International, New York Comic Con et al. Gamers have developed specific communication languages and rituals, they spread their culture on gaming conventions and discussion websites that create a distinct virtual space. An important part of video game culture is the activity of gamers on YouTube, gaming channels are very popular, this is confirmed by millions of subscribers. Post-dynamic structure of changes was formed in all streams of public life during the growth of the pandemic. COVID-19 is accelerating existing trends and indicate future transformations in the video game industry.

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Of Auction Records and Non-Fungible Tokens: On the New Valences of Superhero Comics

Stein,

Haas,

Deckbar

2023

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This article examines a recent form of marketing superhero comics that has garnered extensive media attention and has been promoted as the next big step in comics production: the decision by companies like Marvel Comics and DC Comics to offer selections of their intellectual properties as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Focusing specifically on Marvel Comics’ collaboration with the VeVe app, which serves as a digital auction house through which customers can buy comics and related merchandise, this article suggests that we are witnessing the popularization of an already popular product (superhero comics) in a process that is indicative of larger transformations of the popular. As an agent of such transformations, superhero comics were introduced in the 1930s and 40s as a “low medium” with mass appeal that was critically devalued by proponents of high culture, but they are now widely celebrated as a “popular medium.” We argue that this transformation from a popular but devalued (“low”) product to a popular and culturally valued (but not necessarily “high” cultural) artifact marks a shift from qualitative to quantitative valuation that was driven at least in part by popular practices of collecting, archiving, and auctioning that have enabled the ongoing adaptation of these comics to new social, technological, and media demands. The article uses the newsworthiness of big auction sales and the sky-rocketing prices that well-preserved comic books can garner as a framework for assessing the appearance of superhero NFTs and for gauging the implications of this new media form for the cultural validation of comics.

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Comics and Videogames

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

Estimating Image Depth in the Comics Domain

Estimating Image Depth in the Comics Domain

US popular culture in the mirror of video game industry conventions

Of Auction Records and Non-Fungible Tokens: On the New Valences of Superhero Comics

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