Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Comics Are No Fun Anymore (A Rant)


Super Heros are super lame! At least when it comes the the big two, Marvel and DC. Recent events with the death of Peter Parker the death of Batman, the axed plot that would have Superman renounce his American citizenship, and Captain America fighting against free speech have made me realize that comics are just not fun anymore. I went through this phaze when DC killed off Superman and when the whole Onslaught debacle happened with the Marvel universe. But after a couple of years I gave comics a chance again, but it seems that the editors and writers seemed hellbent on killing the fun in comics.


Whether it's about the writer's wanting to be gritty and controversial, dark or perverse (see the Dark Age of Comics) or whether it's about inserting political propaganda or pandering.

Comics aren't an escape anymore but are reflecting the most loathsome and dishonorable sides of our culture. The lines between good and evil are blurred and battles between heroes and villains look more like gang warfare.

I wish a new comic company would emerge that makes basic Super Hero/Super Villain stories that I wouldn't be afraid to let my kids read. I realize that I could buy trades and graphic novels and there are plenty of online comics but it would be nice to see a throwback to the Golden or Silver age make it's way back onto the shelf.

On a lighter note, you should check out Mystery Men! rpg. It's a very impressive super hero rpg that uses the same mechanics as OD&D. Plus the Land of Nod blog has tons of ideas for heroes and campaigns for Mystery Men! This could rekindle my love for classic super hero action!

7 comments:

  1. Thank you sir! I'd be a happy man if Mystery Men! helped carry the torch for the classics.

    And don't forget kids - you can sign up now for a Mystery Men! campaign game on Google +. Just check the Land of Nod for details.

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  2. Yes, the big two (or three if you count Image) have not been writing anything that I have wanted to read in sometime. Which is why my supers campaign is set back in the 1960s when good was GOOD and evil was BAD.

    But Astro City is still amazing.

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  3. No prob Matt, I intend on joining the campaign!

    Seaofstarsrpg, I agree 60's is a good era to game in. I've only read Astro City a couple of times but I really liked it, time to hit the comic store!

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  4. While I agree with some of what you say, you realise the dead Peter Parker isn't the real Peter Parker (a point missed by all the mainstream media coverage I've seen), but an alternate universe one from the Ultimate line of comics (where they kill off heroes all the time!), while the Superman citizenship issue was an "imaginary story" (as they used to tell a lot in the good old days) written by a guest author (a TV writer if memory serves) for a special edition. Another point conveniently overlooked by the media.

    That said I only read three or four titles from each of the big two, with the bulk of comics now coming from Zenescope, Image, Dynamite and IDW... because it's taken me (literally) years to appreciate the fact that there are some amazing comics, with great stories, out there that aren't superhero-centric.

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  6. Sir Timothy, yes I knew that it was Ultimate Spider-Man and the Superman thing, as I understand it, was scrapped due to fans writing in to DC. I could be wrong though.

    IDW and Dynamite have some great titles as well as Dark Horse and I haven't checked out Zenescope so I'll add that to the list. It's just sad to see Marvel and DC continue to ruin their universes (Civil War, World War Hulk, Infinite Crisis, etc...).

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  7. Well, this is quite sad. When I want to read superhero comics, I just re-read the old issues of Marvel, DC and DH. Really, those are sad times for comics!

    ___
    call Nepal

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