Ever since Marvel Comics brought us the X-men film franchise, superheroes have come back into fashion. Smart is the new sexy, and fashions like ‘Geek Chic’ have made being a bit of a nerd, well, not quite as nerdy as it used to be. One haven for anyone with an interest in sci-fi or superheroes is Time Trek in Bromley High Street. This sci-fi merchandise and comic book shop may not be very big, but it is a virtual Aladdin’s cave for anyone with any fandom, selling everything from Lightsaber umbrellas to My Little Pony bookends. I spoke to a man that works there, the appropriately named Xavier Blanc, about why he thinks Superheroes and sci-fi are returning to popular culture. “Science fiction is becoming more popular now with the new movies and fashions,” says Blanc. “It’s got a broader audience. It used to be just for geeks but now people from every walk of life come here”
It does certainly seem to be true; in the forty minutes that I’m there many customers and, as Xavier told me, there seem to be equal numbers of men and women. It’s a busy time of year for all businesses and with its vast variety of stock, Time Trek is the perfect place to buy Christmas gifts. Twice in the past year, Time Trek has had Doctor Who day to celebrate Titan Comics re-launching Doctor Who comics in England. The first, in July, did not get the reception they were looking as many people were on holiday, but the second was very successful. Both saw a replica of the TARDIS land outside the shop, and the people working there giving away free jelly babies in a reference to Tom Baker’s fourth doctor. It’s clear that Doctor Who has moved on from the days twenty-eight years ago when watching it was something that made you the opposite of cool. Still in Bromley, although a little out of the way, further up the High Street is the specialised comic book shop Piranha. As I enter the shop, I notice a life-size model of Spiderman is very kindly holding the door open for me. Looking around the shop brings the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory to mind; the shop follows the American archetype of the perfect comic book store, with a wide range of superheroes covered and a section at the back of the shop for merchandise. I had the opportunity to speak to a regular customer of Piranha, Adam, who says he comes to the store around once a week.
“It’s different to other comic book shops” says Adam, “you can come in here and just read the comic books and have a conversation.” It is certainly true that the staff are very helpful and friendly. The first time I came to Piranha, all I had to do was say that I had never read any comic books and they helped me find a place to begin. In both Time Trek and Piranha, the staff agreed that entering the world of comic books can be daunting for newcomers, with publishers such as Marvel and DC having around 75 years of continuity. However, Piranha makes easy for super-newbies. I ask what effect the new super hero movies have had on Adam and the staff and the response is very varied.
“Movies have a huge influence on the comics,” one of them says, “as soon as Guardians of the Galaxy came out, everyone wanted to buy the comics”
“Marvel movies are the best,” says Adam, “they have a whole team of people whose job it is to make the films true to the comic books.”
This seems to have one exception: everyone in the shop concurs that one particular film, X-men Origins: Wolverine, has failed by ruining one of Marvel’s funniest characters, Deadpool. They inform me that it got such a bad reception from comic-book-lovers that there has now been an entire series of comic books, featuring Deadpool, in which he tries to stop the film from ever being made. One thing I notice about Piranha, compared to Time Trek, is that I am one of only two women in a busy shop. I ask whether they think that this is because women don’t like the big-breasted, often sexualised women in the comics.
“The majority of readers are boys, and usually they’re a bit geeky and awkward, so the comic books often picture the women of their dreams,” says Beck, a man that works in Piranha. “It goes both ways, though. The men are ripped with muscles and both the male and female characters are the epitome of human physique.” So long as we want something to aspire to, superheroes are here to stay, and with new films of such good quality, who can complain?
Article by Rachel Honeysett, Sydenham High School
