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I think most of us old timers here will agree on one point...
Super hero comics are broken. The once colorful, fun adventures of costumed heroes vs. villains we enjoyed during our childhood are gone. They have been replaced by cynical, colorless, grim anti-heroes who populate a universe full of very adult violence, sex, and political correctness. Gone are the simple, entertaining tales of right vs. wrong that were once enjoyed by child and adult alike.. Now every story is an earth-shattering event, designed and constructed as little more than a corporate marketing gimmick in order to sell a new costume, or a new number one issue. A Reboot. A Relaunch. A Reinvention. These “event” storylines have become the new normal, and ironically are therefore non-events. A character is killed. Another character changes race, or gender, or comes out as gay, or Republican, or whatever. It’s all so tiring.
So where did it all go so terribly, horribly wrong? Well that is an interesting question. Superhero comics were doing just fine in the 1940’s. They were enjoyed by children AND adults, as evidenced by their popularity with U.S. soldiers during World War 2. They were fun, entertaining escapism, and that is the key word here. Escapism. Tales of super powered beings running around in primary colored undies dispatching bad guys with a WHAM! Pow! Bam! were never meant to be taken seriously. Even in the 1960’s, Marvel comics’ new approach at bringing a level of sincerity to super heroes didn’t forget to leave the fun and fantasy aspect intact. Marvel comics at that time were hugely popular with both children and young adults of the college set. They found that perfect happy medium that everyone could enjoy. So what happened?
Fast forward to my high school years. It was 1988. I was 16 years old and still reading comics. I was a subscriber to Amazing Spider-Man and was really enjoying the black costume/Hobgoblin era. I was also enjoying Jerry Ordway’s take on Superman. Heck, I still even occasionally played with my Super Powers and Secret Wars figures! Comics were, for the most part still wholesome, classic stuff. Then I bought copies of “The Killing Joke” and “The Dark Knight Returns” and everything changed. You see, my dad used to read all my comics when I was finished with them. He enjoyed them as much as I did. When I finished reading Killing Joke, I don’t believe my 16 year old brain was quite capable of processing it. When my dad read it, the proverbial **** hit the fan. “What is this garbage?” he said. “A girl shot through the spine, then stripped naked?” He thought it was sick, and you know what? He was right. DKR fared even worse with dear old dad.
Remember the death of Gwen Stacy? It was a serious affair. A defining moment, yet it was handled with care. It wasn’t gratuitous, or even violent. It didn’t need to be. It was shocking enough within the context of the story, yet there is nothing there to offend. So again, what happened? Well, Frank Miller and Alan Moore happened. They let the genie out of the bottle. They created the monster. They destroyed super hero comics in some kind of warped mission to make them appeal to adults. They introduced elements that should never have been. It’s the old Frankenstein parallel. They were so concerned with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. Instead of acting as temporary custodians, they mistakenly thought that these characters were theirs to do with as they please, not realizing that in doing so, they were taking their innocence away from the next generation of young readers. Batman a violent, murdering psychotic? Catwoman a prostitute? No thanks.
It’s hard to believe that in 1986, the same year “The Dark Knight Returns” debuted, we still had Super Friends on TV. Four years later Batman was a completely different character, and the old Batman never came back. Since that turning point, the darkness that Frank Miller and Alan Moore brought to comics has continued to spread like a disease, infecting the entire DC and Marvel universes.
Superman is a reluctant hero and killer. Spider-Man is making deals with the Devil. The Joker is wearing his face stapled on. Wonder Woman is a sexed up barbarian. The rest of our heroes are self absorbed jerks who spend as much time fighting each other as they do crime. They display the worst attributes of humanity, not the best. The worlds they inhabit are bleak, depressing mirrors of our own everyday reality. Their once colorful costumes replaced with drab fatigues designed to be “realistic”. And that’s the problem. Reality has no place in these worlds. Super hero comics don’t need to be realistic, violent, or shocking. They don’t need to be earth-shattering events, or even politically or socially relevant. All they ever need to be is entertaining. That’s it. So forget about reality .Bring back the fantasy and escapism. Bring back the FUN.
Super hero comics are broken. The once colorful, fun adventures of costumed heroes vs. villains we enjoyed during our childhood are gone. They have been replaced by cynical, colorless, grim anti-heroes who populate a universe full of very adult violence, sex, and political correctness. Gone are the simple, entertaining tales of right vs. wrong that were once enjoyed by child and adult alike.. Now every story is an earth-shattering event, designed and constructed as little more than a corporate marketing gimmick in order to sell a new costume, or a new number one issue. A Reboot. A Relaunch. A Reinvention. These “event” storylines have become the new normal, and ironically are therefore non-events. A character is killed. Another character changes race, or gender, or comes out as gay, or Republican, or whatever. It’s all so tiring.
So where did it all go so terribly, horribly wrong? Well that is an interesting question. Superhero comics were doing just fine in the 1940’s. They were enjoyed by children AND adults, as evidenced by their popularity with U.S. soldiers during World War 2. They were fun, entertaining escapism, and that is the key word here. Escapism. Tales of super powered beings running around in primary colored undies dispatching bad guys with a WHAM! Pow! Bam! were never meant to be taken seriously. Even in the 1960’s, Marvel comics’ new approach at bringing a level of sincerity to super heroes didn’t forget to leave the fun and fantasy aspect intact. Marvel comics at that time were hugely popular with both children and young adults of the college set. They found that perfect happy medium that everyone could enjoy. So what happened?
Fast forward to my high school years. It was 1988. I was 16 years old and still reading comics. I was a subscriber to Amazing Spider-Man and was really enjoying the black costume/Hobgoblin era. I was also enjoying Jerry Ordway’s take on Superman. Heck, I still even occasionally played with my Super Powers and Secret Wars figures! Comics were, for the most part still wholesome, classic stuff. Then I bought copies of “The Killing Joke” and “The Dark Knight Returns” and everything changed. You see, my dad used to read all my comics when I was finished with them. He enjoyed them as much as I did. When I finished reading Killing Joke, I don’t believe my 16 year old brain was quite capable of processing it. When my dad read it, the proverbial **** hit the fan. “What is this garbage?” he said. “A girl shot through the spine, then stripped naked?” He thought it was sick, and you know what? He was right. DKR fared even worse with dear old dad.
Remember the death of Gwen Stacy? It was a serious affair. A defining moment, yet it was handled with care. It wasn’t gratuitous, or even violent. It didn’t need to be. It was shocking enough within the context of the story, yet there is nothing there to offend. So again, what happened? Well, Frank Miller and Alan Moore happened. They let the genie out of the bottle. They created the monster. They destroyed super hero comics in some kind of warped mission to make them appeal to adults. They introduced elements that should never have been. It’s the old Frankenstein parallel. They were so concerned with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. Instead of acting as temporary custodians, they mistakenly thought that these characters were theirs to do with as they please, not realizing that in doing so, they were taking their innocence away from the next generation of young readers. Batman a violent, murdering psychotic? Catwoman a prostitute? No thanks.
It’s hard to believe that in 1986, the same year “The Dark Knight Returns” debuted, we still had Super Friends on TV. Four years later Batman was a completely different character, and the old Batman never came back. Since that turning point, the darkness that Frank Miller and Alan Moore brought to comics has continued to spread like a disease, infecting the entire DC and Marvel universes.
Superman is a reluctant hero and killer. Spider-Man is making deals with the Devil. The Joker is wearing his face stapled on. Wonder Woman is a sexed up barbarian. The rest of our heroes are self absorbed jerks who spend as much time fighting each other as they do crime. They display the worst attributes of humanity, not the best. The worlds they inhabit are bleak, depressing mirrors of our own everyday reality. Their once colorful costumes replaced with drab fatigues designed to be “realistic”. And that’s the problem. Reality has no place in these worlds. Super hero comics don’t need to be realistic, violent, or shocking. They don’t need to be earth-shattering events, or even politically or socially relevant. All they ever need to be is entertaining. That’s it. So forget about reality .Bring back the fantasy and escapism. Bring back the FUN.
But I was not referring to the extreme violence and gratuitous sex as part of that evolution(like I said, I was playing Devil's advocate). John Byrne's FANTASTIC FOUR run is a great example of good storytelling, while still keep the "old Comics" feel to it. Couldn't agree more.
To Me...Jim Lee is THE BEST Artist in the business...period! But I will say he does need to be paired with the right Writer....like Jeph Loeb in their "Hush" series. Best Batman comics I've read in YEARS!
It's just that every other artist wants to be him too. He and McFarlane are to me the architects of the modern look of comics, which are not to my liking.
Those were some great Comics(I own them all
).
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