Comic Collisions:
The Christopher Brown of The Urban 30 Interview

Written by: Slangston Hughes

 

What if you could be a superhero? Something almost every child and even most adults wish at some point. Well, Christopher Brown and Lorenzo Johnston have provided a gateway into a world of such incredible, supernatural, creative possibilities with their website/blog The Urban 30. Recently, I got the chance to have a conversation with Christopher Brown about the website, the new age of comics and technology, and the modern day collision of comics and movies and what it all means for the quality of both mediums…

 

Slick: So, correct me if I’m wrong, but, from what I’ve gathered, The Urban 30 is a website where people can go and create their own superheroes and superhero storylines and interact with other people doing the same thing within that online community of created characters?

Christopher: Well, not exactly. First, you have to actually apply. You have to submit an application of your character and back story. Then, we review and make a decision on whether or not you can join the site or not. Everyone can view, but just anyone can’t interact in the site community and post characters and stories. You do actually have to apply first.

 

“It’s really impossible to capture an entire comic story the right way in the form of a movie, but they are progressively getting better and better… Usually, when trying to convert a comic story into a movie, one of
the main challenges is recreating the action sequences on the big screen…”

 

Slick: So, what was the inspiration or what led to you and your partner Lorenzo creating this website?

Christopher: Well, kind of just being committed to the idea and the medium and really wanting to prove that it could be done. Also, being fans of comics in general, you know the Marvels and D.C.s, etc for so many years and just wanting to make our own contribution and hopefully, one day, be as big as those names and make our own mark on the medium in our own way creatively. Plus, just wanting to provide that platform for anybody who, just like ourselves, wants to create their own characters and stories.

 

Slick: So, with the new age and this whole technology and internet dominated era, do you think that the boom in technology in the overall medium has in some way taken away from the traditional comic collector appeal when you go and buy the new issue as soon as it drops and can’t wait to read it? Where now you have people posting the panels to whole story arcs on YouTube and other various websites when before the only way to get it was to actually physically go get it. Do you think that all the technology, in some way, takes away from the collecting aspect and novelty of comics or does it actually enhance it?

Christopher: No, I wouldn’t say that it takes away from it. Not at all. I think it has definitely been enhanced by the technology. With all the different new ways to present and promote comics to wider audiences and with the technology, I think it gets people even more involved in the process and makes for even more interesting concepts that can be added to the story. I’d say it’s definitely advanced it. Technology hasn’t taken away from the comic’s experience, but, more than anything, it has actually improved it.

 

Slick: Okay. Last question and probably the biggest question: With the current era of over the last 10 or so years where so many classic comic characters and stories have been adapted into major big budget blockbuster films, the biggest consensus amongst many comic purists and, I’d even say, for the most part myself, is that its impossible to get it right. But, do you think that many of the various attempts at big screen adaptations of various comics end up falling short of the expectations because it’s so hard to transverse a story or character from the comics medium into movie or cinematic form that a lot of them end up being huge disappointments for the hardcore comics fan base, who already know the right way the story was intended to be told?

Christopher: Well, truthfully, first and foremost, they can’t get it right! That’s what you kind of have to realize and accept because it’s really impossible to capture an entire comic story the right way in the form of a movie, but they are progressively getting better and better. Watchmen was probably one of the closest to come to pulling it off because it was a shorter series, but also because, when you actually read the comic, you see that the story and the development of the characters are the main thing of importance. There isn’t a whole bunch of super, over the top action and superpowers. It’s mainly about the story and the movie did a good job of portraying that aspect, so general audiences were kind of missing out on the over the top action while hardcore fans who already knew the story appreciated it for sticking to that, for sticking to the story. Usually, when trying to convert a comic story into a movie, one of the main challenges is recreating the action sequences on the big screen. Then, also trying to retail or compound a whole comics story into just a few movies is impossible and there’s no way you can edit it down to fit without losing or changing a whole lot of things that were in the original comic book version. So, in all honesty, you can’t get it right. The most you can hope to do is get as close as possible with out losing too much of the main story.

 

“With all the different new ways to present and promote comics to wider audiences and with the technology, I
think it gets people even more involved in the process and makes for even more interesting concepts that can
be added to the story…”

 

Slick: Yeah, definitely. And I think, too, one that came really close and probably, honestly, the closest of all is the latest Batman installment because, like you said, they don’t have to try and recreate a whole lot of over the top action because Batman is just a regular dude who knows karate and has really cool and expensive gadgets. So, it’s more realistic and easier to transform from comic book into movies.

Christopher: Right. So, it was much easier to get a better pound for pound representation of it for the movie audience to relate to, as well as people who were fans of the comic first. But, the biggest challenge is, without a doubt, trying to interpret the full scoop of the character and the main points of the story onto the big screen while still being able to capture the action sequences in a way that’s realistic and that relates to the story and the character without forcing it out of context too much in relation to the original plot and storyline. It’s harder with some than others. Like with Ironman, they did a really get job of capturing all of that in one. While with the X-Men trilogy and especially with Wolverine: Origins, it was a lot more difficult and they took so many liberties with the details of the story and things just ended up all over the place and it showed because the overall quality of the story and the movie itself suffered in the end tremendously. But, at the end of the day, you really aren’t going to be able to please everyone. The hardcore comic collectors, fan-boys, and the general movie going public, as well… It’s just impossible!

 

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