Ypulse Youth Website Profile: MTV Geek

Not long ago, if you were past a certain age range—say, puberty—it was arguably “uncool” to be obsessed with comic books, villains and superheroes. But times have changed: close to 100,000 people converged on New York City’s fifth-ever Comic Con this past weekend, and they were a diverse crowd. Undoubtedly aided by the past few years of high-publicity, star-power-fueled superhero blockbusters (see: the current fervor around casting for the ‘Spiderman’ reboot), comic book mania is now, well, kind of mainstream. Not one to be left behind, this week MTV launched MTV Geek, an online hub devoted to comics and sci-fi culture. Here are some early impressions…

What it is: From the press release: “MTV Geek is…a central hub for comic related and inspired content on MTV.com. GEEK   will curate comics, animation and interviews, creating a daily   destination for comic fans within the MTV community. The content will   span a variety of geek interests including sci-fi, fantasy, music,  horror, toys, tech, and gaming.”

Who it’s for: Gamers, sci-fi readers, fanboys and -girls who like their comics news served with a healthy dose of mainstream pop-culture voice.

What works: In terms of partnerships, the site has some heavy hitters working for them. As a result of mutually beneficial deals with the big comics publishers—including Marvel, Image, and Dark Horse—and another with established comics site Comixology, MTV Geek is likely to become the go-to site for comic previews; it promises “exclusive full issues and graphic novels” farther down the line. And the site is incredibly  user-friendly and richly interactive—at the moment, the home page is covered with video clips from New York’s Comic Con, including interviews with the likes of Seth Green and the king of comics himself, Stan Lee, who has recently partnered with MTV to launch his new superhero team, ‘The Seekers.’

Challenges: Much like indie music snobs, old-school comics fans have had their own outsider-y online communities for years—and they’ll likely be a tough sell on a site that aims to bring their passion to the mainstream. Those who do make room for the site will have to deal with certain idiosyncrasies that scream “MTV” much more than “fanboy community”—that is, an emphasis on celebrities and movies over actual print comic books—and if it tries to cover too much ground in that much area, MTV Geek runs the risk of becoming just another pop culture news site. Much like last year’s Disney-Marvel merger, the marriage of MTV with the biggest names in comics certainly has the potential to breathe fresh life into both partners—if they make an attempt to tell new stories. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how tweens and younger kids (who maybe don’t remember a time when comic books were uncool?) respond to the combination.

For more coverage of YA books and publishing, check out the Ypulse Books & Print Channel sponsored by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, publishers of Jane.