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The Marvel characters have great costumes and cool powers but way, way, WAY too much angst, whining and self pity. The DC heroes always seemed more heroic and less self absorbed to me. At least that's how it was when I was reading comics as a kid.
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You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return... -
DC...Why? Two words...."Adam West"
It was Adam West as Batman that got me interested in reading comic books about this character. All of the comic I originally started reading some 37 (?!) years ago were influenced by characters I saw on TV: Batman, Casper and Archie.
Interest in the Batman TV show and comics made me have a cross-over interest in the Mego figures. The Megos I had as a kid were Batman, Robin, Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman as well as Superman and Aquaman (inspired by the Filmation cartoons I used to watch). Not a Marvel in the bunch.
I didn't really get in to Marvel until around '75 or so...All of those Fireside and Pocket Book paperbacks were a big influence. And then came the X-Men in 5th grade....Soon, I was buying tons of Marvel (a 3-pack for a buck). DC took a back seat for a while because while the Marvel 3-packs looked like regular Marvel comics, the DC 3-packs always had this "Whitman" label. You'd be embarassed if you were caught reading those.
Right now I probably buy 70% DC and 30% Marvel, but for a while there it was 90/10.
I also like that I can get a LOT of retro DC merchandise but Marvel tends to give their stuff a more modern look. DC is like Coca-Cola, old school die-hard brand....while Marvel is like Pepsi, always the choice of the new generation. I also prefer Coke over Pepsi in case anyone is wondering....Think OUTSIDE the Box! For the BEST in Repro & Custom Packaging!Comment
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It started for me so long ago. I have pictures I drew of Batman when I was 3. He was ALWAYS my favorite. Superfriends had all my favorites on it. Hawkman, Green Arrow....It's always been DC for me.
I can say this: MArvel defines their characters to the nth degree. Just read a MArvel Universe mag. Origin, key moments, scientific explanations and strength level clearly defined. Now go read a DC WHo's Who. Superman is REALLY strong. He has heat vision. Where Marvel would tell you how his heat vision works, how far he can be away to melt a 2" piece of metal, how the sun charges his powers.....Who's Who simply says essentially "because". Marvel has it all over DC in some ways, this being key for myself personally. I've read my Marvel Universe mags over and over and over. Who's Who, boring.
That said, DC was and always will be my fave. I about lost my mind when JLU debuted. What a masterpiece! I get excited about the DC guys. Not so much with the Marvel crew eventhough I've loved the Xmen and Wolvie since I was a kid. The DCUC figures are highly coveted by myself. I soooo want Hawkman and GA and Shazam. I about crapped my pants when I saw the pix of them. Never once had that reaction with any Marvel character.
I love old SPidey stories too. Just don't feel a NEED for Marvel, it's not that way with DC. I LOVE those characters.
I guess it all goes back to my childhood. Saturday mornings with a big bowl of HOneycomb and Mego BAtman and SUperfriends.
Last edited by Raydeen1; Dec 11, '09, 7:29 PM.Comment
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Not really. They both have their strong-suits.
I honestly didn't understand the distinction until I was about 10 and the stuff I still have from back then is a bit of a mix, but the bulk of it is Marvel. Marvel's covers were compelling enough to make me take a chance on just about anything they produced....for an issue or two. When it came to DC, I stuck to the main stuff...Supes, Bats, JLA. Following that line of reasoning, my DC stuff is from only a few titles, but any one of those titles would make a bigger stack than any one of my Marvel titles except Marvel Team-Up. (Had All-Star Squadron made it to Issue #151, the story would be different)
I have just now gotten back into reading comics and they are overwhelmingly DC. Why? I guess DC does a better job, now, of doing what Marvel did then (for me) and Marvel....I just can't figure that stuff out. I just can't get into anything that Marvel is putting out now. The only thing I have bought from Marvel is the Kid Colt (One Shot) that came out this Summer, some of the 70th Anniversary stuff, and the Avenger reprints. None of that is new. They simply do not seem to have the machine behind them, nor do they seem to have the artists and writers that work for DC. (however, Dark Horse has a mini-run of Groo...is that technically Marvel? If so, I'm "buying Marvel" for that run.)
I'll sum it up with this: Marvel did Zombies first, but they never did anything as cool as Blackest Night (and for that matter, neither has DC, heretofore). I laughed at Marvel's Zombies.....I have bought every Blackest Night book I could get my hands on....including the prelude stuff and that accounts for somewhere close to 50 books with about 30 to go.
Add to that Tiny Titans, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Billy Batson, Jonah Hex, Flash: Rebirth and DC takes the cake for now.Last edited by saildog; Dec 11, '09, 7:54 PM.Comment
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I love this statement.
Why can't everything in the realm of comics recognize the pattern of success that the DC Animated Universe has produced. Bruce Timm for Prez!!!!
Look at Batman: Brave and the Bold. Who would have thought???!!! Nearly every episode is something your kids will love, but tucked away in that is a "love letter" to you....the kid 20 plus years ago. It might be hard to do, but it can be done AND be done well.
Marvel is cranking out some enjoyable movies to DC only making some good Batman flicks (here's hoping Green Lantern kicks-arse and Captain Marvel finally gets made), but DC Animated is far and away the BEST thing to come out of comics........including the comics..........in the last 20 (maaaybeee 30 years).Last edited by saildog; Dec 11, '09, 7:59 PM.Comment
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When i was younger UHF stations were airing the DC superhero cartoons from the 60s plus they were also airing the 60s BATMAN staring ADAM WEST so when the WGSH first came around i wanted BATMAN,ROBIN and SUPERMAN as i got older i got more in to the Marcel comics and lets face it MEGO'S IRONMAN,THOR , SPIDERMAN, GREEN GOBLIN, LIZARD and FANTASTIC FOUR figures are some of MEGOS bestComment
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I'm a Marvel guy all the way. Mainly because of Captain America, the FF and The Avengers comics. While I grew up watching the TV shows of Batman and reruns of the 50s Superman, the first comics I started reading and collecting were Cap, The Avengers and the FF. From there I just grew to know more of the Marvel characters and enjoyed them more than DC. IMHO I just identified with the Marvel heroes and they seemed more powerful than their DC counterparts whether it was true or not. To this day there is very little Dc related items I collect except for Megos and glasses.Comment
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I'll agree with your other statement about Marvel movies being Miles ahead of DC Movies over all... But I also think the Whoring out process works so much better in thier Favor. DC Makes all thier Movies threw Warner.. who seem more inclided to Make BS Speed Racer Flicks and Potter Nonsense . Lame stuff. However DC Does Own the Toons..., because of Timmi-verse.... The Original Knight ..., Often Imitated, However Never Duplicated. The 1st Knight in Customs.
always trading for Hot Toys Figures .
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I do like DC better, mainly b/c my first exposure to superheroes was the 60s Batman series and the 50s Adventures of Superman. Then later the 60s Filmation series and the '73 SuperFriends. Although I did watch 60s Spider-Man, at that time, I didn't know there was a difference in comic companies, (and got a rude awakening in the 3rd grade!). I didn't know about the Hulk until the Bill Bixby series, when I was maybe 11. And I didn't watch the Marvel Men cartoons until I was 12. So the DC characters just held a special place for me...still do, I guess."Do you believe, you believe in magic?
'Cos I believe, I believe that I do,
Yes, I can see I believe that it's magic
If your mission is magic your love will shine true."
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I like both universes. I lean toward DC because of Batman. He is a regular guy. No injections, bites, exposures or radiation treatments. He could to a degree, really exist. You could train yourself to be fit, intelligent and be able to fight. If you were a millionaire, you could build a bullet proof car, have a secret "cave", a bulletproof suit, whatever. So, I think the realism of the character, for a kid, is that I could grow up to be Batman. Plus, he is a great Mego!sigpic "It's like you're unravelling a big cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting..."
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SUPERMAN
End of discussion...
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