At last, Spider-Man the musical!

I'm gonna geek out here for a second . . . bear with me folks. Spider-Man the musical is a go!!! And rumor has it that the show has already been cast with some pretty hot new stars.

Ok, you may be thinking this will be a total flop, a novelty show destined to close after a few weeks. But it's got some serious pedigree behind it. First off, Julie Taymor is set to direct (she's the mind behind the wildly sucessful Lion King musical and the recent Beatles tribute film Across the Universe). The music? None other than U2's Bono and the Edge are writing the score. And it looks like Across the Universe stars Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood will play the lead roles of Peter Parker and Mary Jane.

Taymor says of the show:

"I hope it will be a cross between a play, rock 'n' roll and circus. The movies with Tobey Maguire worked on their terms, but the show will be very different . . . In fact, it's based more on the original comic books than the movies."

Expect giant puppets, fancy costumes and a high wire act to be part of the performance.

Given this news, it's hard not to think we are entering a golden age for comics. Not only are the characters becoming major Hollywood (and now Broadway) stars, comic book writers are becoming the darlings of the film world. Sure, it may not last forever. Comics may go back to being the territory of obsessed nerds . . . or all the attention from mainstream media may corrupt the industry's fresh perspective. But for now, it feels like a fan-boy's dream come true.

That sounds kind of awesome. But when I hear "a cross between a play, rock 'n' roll and circus," I think of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-93Ck62tsGQ&NR=1

and that's not good...

"Comics may go back to being the territory of obsessed nerds..."

Ah, but didn't you know? Nerds are cool these days! Thus, comics are cool, too. Consequently, the masses get a free pass to enjoy an oft-scoffed at art form, and nerds get their moment in the sun. Everybody wins. :D

"Consequently, the masses get a free pass to enjoy an oft-scoffed at art form, and nerds get their moment in the sun."

Having grown up listening to Indie bands I remember plenty of cases where a group or genre gets mainstream success and Indie fans suddenly get resentful saying the offending musicians have "sold out."

How come comic fans don't do the same thing? Are they just less possessive of their art form?

I don't know the answer to that question, Sanden, but the following cartoon "illustrates" (ha!) your point perfectly:

http://www.dieselsweeties.com/shirts/elitistdiagramhugeblack.gif

...Venn diagram courtesy of the hilarious webcomic Diesel Sweeties -- which will always rock, no matter how many people read it.