The men who destroyed super hero comics...

[PNGwynne]

Thank you for mentioning Shazam! I liked Waid's Daredevil and will check it out.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I do think sometimes characters can be changed to match readers' current tastes without really looking into their history. For that reason, I have no problem at all with a new character like Jon Kent (Superboy/Superman) being established as bisexual, but it doesn't seem to fit the historical portrayal of Tim Drake (Robin), for me anyway. BUT, I can't argue that the representation is needed, and I wouldn't take away from any fans who can relate to his Robin now more than they could before. We aren't the target audience for most comics anymore. And I agree, comics have helped me over the years to develop empathy and grow to understand characters and people they represent who are different from me, in one way or another. For my kids, they never thought twice about John Stewart being Green Lantern on Justice League/JLU, or even the fact that he was black, and not white. We're supposed to grow, and our kids and the next generations are supposed to be even better than us at acceptance, as old bigotries and hatred are left further and further behind. Unfortuantely, there are a great many people who want to keep holding onto those outdated ideas.

As far as the feel of classic comics, Mark Waid is doing wonderful things at DC again. His World's Finest series with Dan Mora is my favorite comic at the moment, and their new Shazam series is off to a great start.

[Werewolf]

Diversity is good. It's also what the modern younger audience wants. It's their lived reality.

The grim dark and over the top violence is what I find wrong with modern comics. In my opinion Adam West and Olan Soule did far more for Batman than Miller and Moore.

[PNGwynne]

Dana,

While I sympathize, I don't block. I want to know exactly who the haters are, because they're coming after us faster than ever both in our faces and behind our backs. "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."

[B-Lister]

I agree with you, B-Lister, wholeheartedly.

Thank you.

Best,

Dana

Thanks. I agree with you as well.

If you don't like comics with diversity, Maybe the genre was never for you in the first place. Comics have ALWAYS been diverse, and they've ALWAYS been political. Captain America socked Hitler on the cover of his very first issue.

I hope nobody here is offended by that fact, if they are, we've got way bigger problems than Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, and Wiccan and Hulkling existing.

[danadoll]

Thank you, Brian/Palitoy.

Best,

Dana

[danadoll]

I agree with you, B-Lister, wholeheartedly.

Thank you.

Best,

Dana

[danadoll]

Comic books have always reflected social issues of their day, it’s pretty sad to see some comic readers not mature or open-minded enough to be able to read a comic without being offended by the modern social issues being discussed in them. I thought this comment thread has been mostly a lot of whining and griping by sad aging comic fans (I just turned 56 on May 1st, so I’m not young), who are frankly too backward, too bigoted and too old for modern comics. Stan Lee would be ashamed of you.

If you don’t like the content, just stop reading them (and stop complaining about it, it gets you nowhere). The best the thing to come out of this comment thread is that I was able to add to some awful people to my ignore list. If I could block all the hate and nastiness in the real world as easily, I would, believe me.

Have a good day.

Best,

Dana

[TrekStar]

Nothing will ever replace the comic book style art pre 1990, that’s what I grew up reading starting from when they were 25 cents, JMO

My oldest comic is Marvel Team-Up Spider-Man and Black Panther 1968 20 cents, and it’s still in near mint condition.

[hizzy]

Aside from the content of books, I don't really like the new esthetic. I'm not a fan of the CGI style art and coloring. I don't need card stock or quality paper. I liked simple, hand-drawn books. A 5 dollar book in a fancy package doesn't ring my bell. Too expensive, too edgy, and looking like a photoshopped product. It's sad.

[Liu Bei]

I've heard from many comic shop owners that back issue sales outperform new comic sales.

It’s not just comics. There’s a reason Netflix pays more for the rights to Friends and Seinfeld than they do to produce any original series.

The entertainment industry isn’t just bankrupt morally, they’re also bankrupt creatively. And I think it will be a miracle if it ever recovers. American comics are being beat to death by manga, and I think you’ll see Hollywood cede more and more ground to foreign films and TV series as time goes by. The only hope for Western entertainment is that more and more independent studios like Angel studios rise up and begin to produce entertainment outside the mainstream producers, and that foreign rights holders like Nintendo continue to maintain strict control over their properties when they allow American studios to bring their IPs to the big screen.

[publiusr]

Well, there is this to look forward to

https://screenrant.com/justice-league-2024-calendar-garcia-lopez-style-guide/

[Jorge Galvan]

One of the reasons I always gravitated towards the B-List (inspiration for my username) characters was because they aren't as beholden to the status quo.

My favorite character is Impulse.

Ma Hunkle

Burp the Twerp

Blue Diamond

Red Raven

the 3 LT. Marvels

I have always gravitated towards the more "out there" characters, the Blue Boy Scout and Da Bat are just too commercial and way overrated. With that said...


BAT-MITE RULES!!!!!!!!!!

[B-Lister]

One of the reasons I always gravitated towards the B-List (inspiration for my username) characters was because they aren't as beholden to the status quo.

My favorite character is Impulse.

[palitoy]

I've read studies that reading fiction can increase people's empathy and understanding of minorities. While that isn't comics' responsibility, I wonder how much good characters like Black Panther and the Falcon did. I certainly grew up thinking the Falcon was just as awesome as Cap; to me they're still a team.

A good friend of mine has run a comic shop for about 40 years now; he once called comics a lonely pursuit. His reasoning as it was a solitary function, you read comics alone, and it's all in your mind. I guess some folks, they want that world to be stuck in a certain period. Trapped in amber, I guess that's why Branson, Missouri exists. That's not for me; my tastes have shifted, but to each their own.

What personally ran me out of comics wasn't a comic challenging me with an issue or a gay character (*clutches pearls!*) but the never-ending quest to be edgy. There was just a point where I started to feel like the writers were pandering. I can certainly recall a DC event; perhaps I mentioned it eight years ago, where a certain "rapey" character started joking about Viagra. That's when I realized I felt like the adult in the room. It was more than that, it was a "death by a thousand cuts" scenario, but yeah, modern books don't appeal to me for reasons other than representation.



My kids still read comics now that they're adults, my son's favourite character is Jessica Cruz and my daughter reads stuff like Paper Girls.