Girlz 'N' Games comic #115: Why nerds can't have nice things

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Originally posted on my web comic, Girlz 'N' Games.

Nerds. The geek contingent... The Star Wars and Star Trek franchises are excellent examples of the cash that can be squeezed from this obsessive group of pop culture consumers by movie-makers.

At the same time though, films that have specifically targeted this very fussy, very critical demographic - films that have been loudly, proudly and very off-beat geek - have continually failed financially. Watchmen. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Sucker Punch... They were all box office duds. Time and time again it's been proven that passionate, largely online, fandom does not equate with profits. Although the concept of geekdom grows more and more mainstream every day, these self-identifying guys and gals are not indicative of money-making potential. Whether they rally behind a project or not, they do not reflect the public's opinion.

Not that I support the idea that only films likely to turn a profit should be made. Not at all! That's a shortcut to bland mediocrity, and pretty much already applies to the vast majority of what come out of Hollywood.  It's just going to be interesting to see whether Pacific Rim, the latest effort from writer-director Guillermo del Toro (a self-proclaimed geek himself) bucks the trend. How will this "Kaiju" movie fare critically and commercially. Will the public flock to a movie about humanity building giant robots to punch giant monsters? Or are people turned off by the deliberately dumb concept.

We'll be finding out within the next month.

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