underthebigw

First of all, you're not the only two paying attention to this thread. I've been blown away by the Superpimps contention. Let's take advantage of the BB's abilities and run a poll on the question. I haven't used these options before, so hopefully this will work. Question: Which of these books better marks the start of the Bronze Age of Comics? Please read the preceeding discussion before voting.

Just another point regarding this alleged gap--How can the period from '70-'75 not belong to the BA if the vast majority of the books Marvel published from '75-'80 had their origins in the first 5 years of the decade. This includes: MOKF, MTU, Marvel Two in One, Defenders, Power Man, Premier, Spotlight, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night and many others. It's one thing to dismiss this period as not BA and pretend this period had nothing to do with the later one, but when so many of Marvel's late '70's books began before the debut of the new X-men, this argument can't possibly hold. Unless of course, you'd argue that these titles themselves changed after the new team debuted. Not likely.

Superpimp--why do you insist on taking this chucklehead's word as Gospel. There's just no way, absolutely no way, that Tomb of Drac is not a BA book. So is MTU, Swamp Thing, the Defenders, and all of the others listed by CI. You would be EXTREMELY hard pressed to find someone else (especially among those who were fans at the time) who believes that these books do not belong to the BA. In fact, I'm willing to bet I could poll con goers for a year and not find 500 fans who would agree that these books are not BA. This "gap" you're describing is arbitrary and it's only purpose is to support a contention that this book marks the beginning of the BA. The fact that virtually everyone I know who read comics in the '70's and who still collects bronze today (e.g., Flying Donut) considers the BA to date way prior to this book should be proof enough--if the majority of people who collect BA books think that these books are part of the era then, quite simply, they are. You may have your reasons for thinking otherwise, but to proclaim it is a given is to ignore overwhelming consensus without the logic to back it up. Also, I think it was CI who astutely pointed out the difference in tone in the Bullpen Bulletins. My memory was also that it was really a very stark change and that, all of a sudden, experimentation and "newness" was emphasized instead of just the difference between Marvel and the Distinguished Competition.

Sorry for the above anonymous post.

That's the most succinct argument I've ever seen on this point. GS X-men 1 is smack dab in the middle of the bronze age. It may epitomize this period more than any other books, and the new team may be the highpoint of the era (at least for Marvel), but there's too many other books that ran throughout the entire period and, especially at the time, would have been more focused on than X-men. As for those who say Conan wasn't that influential, you either weren't reading comics at that time or just have poor memories. Every time you turned your head, there was another Conan knock-off in another title, as a supporting character, back-up story etc. Without Conan (and I'm not a Conan fan, btw) and the character's 3 titles, there would likely be no Kull, Slayer, Howard the Duck, etc. Conan proved that not every main character had to be wearing long-johns and that fantasy, be it sword or sorcery or otherwise, and ATYPICAL heroes who weren't all good and noble (including the Punisher, Wolverine, Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Luke Cage, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan) and were motivated by self-interest could sell. This is to me the most essential difference between Conan and what preceeded it. Paul

There's no way to say that X-men GS1 is the start of the Bronze age--to say this ignores the 5 years of great Bronze age books that preceded them, books that are definitely not part of the SA. For example, Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Premiere, Marvel Two-In-One, Plop, Kamandi, Kirby's DC books, all the b&w mags, etc. To me the Bronze age is epitomized by a willingness to experiment with numerous genres, many of which were new (martial arts titles) or unique takes on previously worn out genres (Bunny). My first impulse was to say GL/GA 76, but the more I thought about it, these books really seemed to have more in common with SA books. While different and new, the O'neill/Adams series seems more like the culmination of all of Adam's DC work from the 1960's. So, I have to say Conan 1. As much as I have trouble including any .15 cent book in the Bronze age (just because most covers were still stylistically linked to the 1960's), there's no doubt that this signaled a willingness to experiment and go out on a limb to find new audiences. Great thread.