It is finally cool to wear Batman underwear again. Somewhere between the fourth grade and now, comic books were perceived as a social taboo often associated with basement dwellings and romantic ineptitude. Surprisingly, comic books have returned to mainstream media with a vengeance. For this, there is one man to thank. Sit down, Tobey McGuire, I’m not talking about you. Sure you’re a great kisser, but only one person deserves the ‘King of the Nerds’ moniker, and that man is Geoff Johns.

Hitting the entertainment industry faster than a speeding bullet, Johns has taken the comic book, television and film industries by storm. And it’s not just the nerds who are paying attention. The New York Times Style Magazine recently honored Johns as one of their ‘Fifty Nifty’ rising talents.

Among Johns’ nifty abilities is revitalizing long-forgotten characters and giving them a needed second lease on life. Making long-forgotten characters cool again is a trademark of Johns’. He infuses fresh concepts into characters while still respecting the rich history that they’ve had for decades.

Case in point: Green Lantern. Ten years ago, this character was a complete write-off. Nobody cared about a ‘hero’ whose only power was a magical green ring. What self-respecting, ultra-masculine superhero wears jewelry anyway? None of that mattered to Johns when he decided to release a new series on the emerald warrior for DC Comics in 2004 along with a mini-series, ‘Blackest Night.’ Fast-forward to 2010, and these two series have been the top-selling comic books for months.

Johns’ notoriety has burst through the confines of the comic book world into other media. There’s even some actor, Ryan Reynolds, who will be playing the superhero in a 2011 movie based on the Green Lantern. Johns has taken the comic book world by storm, even winning ‘Best Comic Book Writer’ at the 2009 Spike TV Scream Awards. The Scream Awards are dedicated to awarding the best in the sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres. The Scream Awards might be a step or two below the Academy Awards, but the industry has lauded Johns with praise.

Because of his success at the Scream Awards, Johns has been catapulted into the public eye. This can only be understood as a massive breakthrough for all comic book nerds. We now have a respected comic book celebrity to hide behind when caught watching old reruns of ‘The Super Friends.’

With Johns bringing such refocused attention to the comic book world, we nerds have gained a renewed pride in our culture. Society as a whole may not be able to discuss the finer points of Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation just yet, but Johns has created an entry point into our world that everyone can access.

The best part is that Johns seems determined to create even more comic book fanatics. The main man has been asked to write and produce upcoming films based on DC Comics characters Flash and Captain Marvel, according to The New York Times Magazine. For those who don’t know who those characters are, just wait until Johns releases them to the public at large. You’ll all be begging to borrow my mint-condition, air-sealed comic collection of ‘Justice League America.’

‘Everywhere you go, you’re starting to see people wearing T-shirts with the Green Lantern logo and the Batman signal. That can be credited to guys like Johns and Kevin Smith, who incorporate more universally enjoyable plotlines that have shied away from the campiness and strangeness that had given comics a ‘nerdy’ stigma,’ said freshman film major and self-professed comic book lover Evan Fonseca.

John’s masterful magical lasso will pull humanity into the comic book realm sooner than you would think. ‘Smallville,’ the only teen soap opera that guys might confess to actually watching and the only comic book show girls might confess to viewing, will be getting the Johns treatment on Feb. 2. The script of the two-hour-long special, ‘Smallville: Absolute Justice,’ has been completely written by Johns and will focus on Clark Kent (portrayed by Tom Welling) resurrecting the long-forgotten Justice Society of America. Sure to impress 35-year-old men and 19-year-old women alike, Johns has created a beautiful fusion between comic book heroes and humanized drama.

With Johns on its side, nothing will stop the comic book renaissance and its new perception as something cool. Comic book readers have become a novelty now, representing something different and interesting but still slightly stranger than anything we’ve been accustomed to. It will only be a matter of time before Victoria’s Secret releases its own superhero line.

Flash Steinbeiser is the feature editor and a communications and rhetorical studies and Writing major. If he’s not too busy fighting crime, his columns appear every Monday. He can be reached at ansteinb@syr.edu.

Published on January 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm