Why comic books are bad today

[Lefisc]

Why comic books are bad today

I can’t put this up on a comic book site.

Comic books, as we know them, began with original material in 1935 and Superman introduced the super-heroes in 1938. In an era before TV, computers, paperback books, and video games they were incredibly popular. Created during the depression a great many, very talent, people entered this low paying filed just get any job. Their creativity was outstanding.

To this day, close to 90% of the successful DC movie characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Justice League) were created between 1938-1945. For Marvel, with the exception of Captain America (1940) 85% of their successful characters were created between 1961-1972.

In the 1950s Superman appeared in eight comics, 72 issues a year, about 100 stories. Batman was half that. By the 1970s every Marvel character appeared in a least 24 comics a year, some double that.

They have run out of stories. It has been 75 years of Superman, 50 years of Spider-Man. The companies find new ways to reboot the various series and TELL THE SAME STORIES OVER AGAIN! AND AGAIN! AND AGAIN. The writers, after decade of these stories, have basically run out of good new ideas and have written some god awful things.

By 1970 most of the great artists of the depression were leaving the field. Then, to made production cheaper the publishers reduced the pages that the artists penciled then inked on by fifty percent. This limited the amount of detail and artistry that went into the pages. Artists could no longer really show their talent.

It's not all the publisher's fault. Simply, comic readers, mostly ages 25-40, like to read the characters they did growing up. They don't buy new titles with new characters. Disney tried diversity in comics and it failed completely.

It gets worse. By the year 2000 artists now could no longer use pencils, brushes, inks ant whatever…the companies require the pages be drawn directly on the computer, limiting the artwork to whatever computer program they use. Gone on the thickness of pencils, the differences between brush work or pen in inking and the variation of coloring.

While many today still like comics, it has about 10% of the readers it did in the 1960s and about 5% of the readers from the 1940s.

[Lefisc]

Some ugly stories......

With all the good stories written and rewritten in comics over 75 years, the writers feel compelled to come up with shocking ones.

In 1972, In Spider-man (and shown in the movie Amazing Spider-Man 2) The Green Goblin kills Spidey’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. Forty years a later, they write a story that reveals that had the Goblin (30 years older than Gwen) had an affair with her and got her pregnant and she gave birth to twins. And then he killed her. This never existed way back in 1972.

In 1980, Ms Marvel (now known as Captain Marvel) is raped. She is shown enjoying the rape and the Avengers don’t think it’s a big deal. "We've just got to believe that everything worked out for the best," says Iron Man.

[Tracy Rainwater]

I see your point about stories. You can go to the well only so many times before it starts to run dry.

Despite them being a rehashing of the storylines, I do find most of the movies entertaining.

[Lefisc]

I really enjoy the movies. Just know that the characters and storylines are coming from 50 years ago for Marvel.

[David Vaughn]

Everything in life has a lifespan. Maybe it will make a comeback someday, but I doubt it. All the talent goes to video games these days.

[Brandon Eberhart]

It gets worse. By the year 2000 artists now could no longer use pencils, brushes, inks ant whatever…the companies require the pages be drawn directly on the computer, limiting the artwork to whatever computer program they use. Gone on the thickness of pencils, the differences between brush work or pen in inking and the variation of coloring.

I watched a behind-the-scenes of the making of a modern comic book. All digital. All those little artistic flourishes are either gone, or heavily limited. Everything looks the same.

Even if you didn't like reading the stories, at least you got some nice artwork. (Remember how Glass in The Sixth Sense had an art gallery of comic book drawings?)

I don't mind that they tell the same stories over and over (see my rant here: http://www.hometheaterequipment.com/...6-Dark-Phoenix)


And I'm not a huge comic book fan, but part of what made them cool was knowing they were drawn my some guy somewhere, using actual pens/pencils and then getting inked by a whole separate guy, I'm guessing because they are very different disciplines and/or to save time and get issues done faster.