Starting in 2015, Marvel Comics decided to put out a series of covers for some of their most famous comic characters, that are based on some of HIP HOP music's most iconic covers.
THERE IS NO DISPUTING...THAT DOPE IS ALWAYS DOPE.
The Marvel covers work because the LP covers worked and the LP's they are borrowing from are...DOPE. Classical Music of the 20th Century.
I...however am undecided as a music critic and DJ/comic fan as to whether I feel Marvel is celebrating the culture or just capitalizing on it?
As dope as the covers are....why not a sincere...heartfelt thank you to the millions of African American readers and supporters of Marvel Comics since the 1960's. I have had crates of comics since the 1970's and honestly have more often felt ignored or at the best marginalized by Marvel for decades.
As dope as the covers are...I would like to see more people that look like me telling the stories.
I am not saying that the Marvel of 2016 still ignores people of color. The honest fact is I don't know.
My connections with Marvel these days are basically through books I have owned for over 20 years and through my inter actions with them at conventions. I no longer as fan itch to get to the comic store or 7-11 to find out what happened to Spider Man.
In the 2000's I finally began to unplug from Marvel and DC comics because I saw them more interested in extending stories so they could later be sold as collected editions. I saw them try to compete to get more darker after the success of DC's The Watch Men. Also between both major companies it seemed like only 5 or 6 writers were allowed to write every story, often by tearing down every story written before.
So at the moment I will say the Marvel hip hop covers are dope and they take me back.
Do they add or take away from the legacy of the LP's that inspired them?
DEFINITELY...MAYBE...
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