What is the most reviled comic book era?

[The Kaptain]

Looks like the "post-Copper Age" is killing it on both polls!

Quick... name a valuable book from 1994.

 

Any book.

 

Any book at all.

 

 

 

 

TIME'S UP!

 

G.I. Joe 155

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

I voted, but my choice is more narrow.

 

'88-'93 for both categories.

[Collect0r]

Platinum?

[krighton]

Anyone voting golden age is just being silly

[Ken Aldred]

Give me a break, guys; most GA books are unreadable, and the interior art is often atrocious compared to the covers. The dollar signs in your eyes shiny those panels up.

 

Yet the golden age gave us many of the top comic book artists of all time.

Eisner, Frazetta, Kirby, Wood, Barks, Krigstein, Kurtzman, Toth, and many, many others.

 

Some of the greatest examples of sequential art and storytelling technique were displayed during the golden age.

 

+1

 

And i'll add two of my favourites - Jack Cole and Milton Caniff.

 

Dross is all too abundant throughout each and every comic book Age, but it's always worth sifting through to find some superb material, here and there.

 

[joe_collector]

I just don't think the CA was only 7 years long.

 

It wasn't - Copper lasted from 1980-81 until 1990.

 

it was only when greedy dealers tried to turn their early-CA into late-BA by screwing around with the established OS Bronze Age period by stupidly extending to 1984, that everything got screwy.

 

Greedy is responsible for virtually every stupid decision in this hobby, and this is no different.

[ComicConnoisseur]

I just don't think the CA was only 7 years long.

 

It wasn't - Copper lasted from 1980-81 until 1990.

 

it was only when greedy dealers tried to turn their early-CA into late-BA by screwing around with the established OS Bronze Age period by stupidly extending to 1984, that everything got screwy.

 

Greedy is responsible for virtually every stupid decision in this hobby, and this is no different.

Agreed.

 

[rjpb]

Give me a break, guys; most GA books are unreadable, and the interior art is often atrocious compared to the covers. The dollar signs in your eyes shiny those panels up.

 

Yet the golden age gave us many of the top comic book artists of all time.

Eisner, Frazetta, Kirby, Wood, Barks, Krigstein, Kurtzman, Toth, and many, many others.

 

Some of the greatest examples of sequential art and storytelling technique were displayed during the golden age.

 

+1

 

And i'll add two of my favourites - Jack Cole and Milton Caniff.

 

Dross is all too abundant throughout each and every comic book Age, but it's always worth sifting through to find some superb material, here and there.

 

Caniff is kind of a cheat, as he was a comic strip artist, but your point is well taken, there is plenty of unreadable material from every era, and amazing material as well. I will agree that for the most part GA books up until the 1950s, were not particularly well written, even when the art was compelling. EC upped the quality considerably with the New Trend books, but even then, the early issues weren't as good as the later ones, but it wasn't just EC, a lot of publishers seem to have improved writing, and many of the great artists/creators who started or even made made a name for themselves in the forties really hit their stride in the fifties; Barks, Stanley, Toth, Everett, Wood, Kubert, Kurtzman, Frazetta, to name a few. Even Simon & Kirby's work tightened up in the late forties going into the fifties. creativity. Sure, then as now, much of the writing was dull and repetitive, but find me an era when it isn't. Complexity and length do not equal quality.

 

My favorite eras for reading come in roughly 7 year stretches. 1948-55, due to the expansion of non-superhero genres, and the creative forces unleashed, 1965-72, as Marvel matured and DC followed suit, combined with the heyday of the underground era, and 1986-93 with the rise of independents, Vertigo, and a second surge of "underground" type publications, led mainly by Fantagraphics, but I still love material from all eras, and have a fondness for the covers of war era Golden Age and early SA books as well, even when the stories inside are disappointing.

 

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

Give me a break, guys; most GA books are unreadable, and the interior art is often atrocious compared to the covers. The dollar signs in your eyes shiny those panels up.

 

Yet the golden age gave us many of the top comic book artists of all time.

Eisner, Frazetta, Kirby, Wood, Barks, Krigstein, Kurtzman, Toth, and many, many others.

 

Some of the greatest examples of sequential art and storytelling technique were displayed during the golden age.

 

+1

 

And i'll add two of my favourites - Jack Cole and Milton Caniff.

 

Dross is all too abundant throughout each and every comic book Age, but it's always worth sifting through to find some superb material, here and there.

 

Caniff is kind of a cheat, as he was a comic strip artist, but your point is well taken, there is plenty of unreadable material from every era, and amazing material as well. I will agree that for the most part GA books up until the 1950s, were not particularly well written, even when the art was compelling. EC upped the quality considerably with the New Trend books, but even then, the early issues weren't as good as the later ones, but it wasn't just EC, a lot of publishers seem to have improved writing, and many of the great artists/creators who started or even made made a name for themselves in the forties really hit their stride in the fifties; Barks, Stanley, Toth, Everett, Wood, Kubert, Kurtzman, Frazetta, to name a few. Even Simon & Kirby's work tightened up in the late forties going into the fifties. creativity. Sure, then as now, much of the writing was dull and repetitive, but find me an era when it isn't. Complexity and length do not equal quality.

 

My favorite eras for reading come in roughly 7 year stretches. 1948-55, due to the expansion of non-superhero genres, and the creative forces unleashed, 1965-72, as Marvel matured and DC followed suit, combined with the heyday of the underground era, and 1986-93 with the rise of independents, Vertigo, and a second surge of "underground" type publications, led mainly by Fantagraphics, but I still love material from all eras, and have a fondness for the covers of war era Golden Age and early SA books as well, even when the stories inside are disappointing.

 

After studying the comic strips. I found that the comic strip artists for the most part blow away most comic book artists.

 

Let`s see!

Frazetta

Caniff

Chester Gould

Al Capp

Hal Foster

Alex Raymond

Will Eisner

Charles Schulz

Bill Watterson

[Shadow]

An interesting additional poll would've been "How old are you?"

 

I wonder if there is a correlation. For example, the Bronze Age was when I was a early teenager just starting to collect. The "magic" of the era sticks with me to this day. And since the Silver Age wasn't far removed in 1978, it stuck with me as well.

 

The Golden Age, due to it's historical significance, seems almost untouchable though I would agree about many of the storylines being underwhelming today.

 

If I was born in 1982, would I have a different take on the Copper and Modern era? No answers but it's intriguing.

[rjpb]

Give me a break, guys; most GA books are unreadable, and the interior art is often atrocious compared to the covers. The dollar signs in your eyes shiny those panels up.

 

Yet the golden age gave us many of the top comic book artists of all time.

Eisner, Frazetta, Kirby, Wood, Barks, Krigstein, Kurtzman, Toth, and many, many others.

 

Some of the greatest examples of sequential art and storytelling technique were displayed during the golden age.

 

+1

 

And i'll add two of my favourites - Jack Cole and Milton Caniff.

 

Dross is all too abundant throughout each and every comic book Age, but it's always worth sifting through to find some superb material, here and there.

 

Caniff is kind of a cheat, as he was a comic strip artist, but your point is well taken, there is plenty of unreadable material from every era, and amazing material as well. I will agree that for the most part GA books up until the 1950s, were not particularly well written, even when the art was compelling. EC upped the quality considerably with the New Trend books, but even then, the early issues weren't as good as the later ones, but it wasn't just EC, a lot of publishers seem to have improved writing, and many of the great artists/creators who started or even made made a name for themselves in the forties really hit their stride in the fifties; Barks, Stanley, Toth, Everett, Wood, Kubert, Kurtzman, Frazetta, to name a few. Even Simon & Kirby's work tightened up in the late forties going into the fifties. creativity. Sure, then as now, much of the writing was dull and repetitive, but find me an era when it isn't. Complexity and length do not equal quality.

 

My favorite eras for reading come in roughly 7 year stretches. 1948-55, due to the expansion of non-superhero genres, and the creative forces unleashed, 1965-72, as Marvel matured and DC followed suit, combined with the heyday of the underground era, and 1986-93 with the rise of independents, Vertigo, and a second surge of "underground" type publications, led mainly by Fantagraphics, but I still love material from all eras, and have a fondness for the covers of war era Golden Age and early SA books as well, even when the stories inside are disappointing.

 

After studying the comic strips. I found that the comic strip artists for the most part blow away most comic book artists.

 

Let`s see!

Frazetta

Caniff

Chester Gould

Al Capp

Hal Foster

Alex Raymond

Will Eisner

Charles Schulz

Bill Watterson

 

For a long time working as a hired artist on a comic strip, let alone doing your own, paid far better than drawing comic books on average. it was the goal of many artists in the comic book field. It is no surprise that the quality of comic strip art tended to outstrip that of comic books in the 1940s.

[architeuthis]

After studying the comic strips. I found that the comic strip artists for the most part blow away most comic book artists.

 

Let`s see!

Frazetta

Caniff

Chester Gould

Al Capp

Hal Foster

Alex Raymond

Will Eisner

Charles Schulz

Bill Watterson

Berkeley Breathed

 

(thumbs u

[rjpb]

After studying the comic strips. I found that the comic strip artists for the most part blow away most comic book artists.

 

Let`s see!

Frazetta

Caniff

Chester Gould

Al Capp

Hal Foster

Alex Raymond

Will Eisner

Charles Schulz

Bill Watterson

Berkeley Breathed

 

(thumbs u

 

Please, Breathed can be amusing, but as an artist he is not even in the same league as the others.

[Unca Ben]

After studying the comic strips. I found that the comic strip artists for the most part blow away most comic book artists.

 

Let`s see!

Frazetta

Caniff

Chester Gould

Al Capp

Hal Foster

Alex Raymond

Will Eisner

Charles Schulz

Bill Watterson

 

For a long time working as a hired artist on a comic strip, let alone doing your own, paid far better than drawing comic books on average. it was the goal of many artists in the comic book field. It is no surprise that the quality of comic strip art tended to outstrip that of comic books in the 1940s.

 

Will Eisner is an interesting one in relation to these posts.

 

The Spirit was in comic book format, so wasn't it just a comic book inserted into newspapers?

All the material I know of produced by the Eisner and Iger studios was for comic books.

 

I've always considered Will Eisner a comic book artist, not a comic strip artist.

[Collect0r]

An interesting additional poll would've been "How old are you?"

 

I wonder if there is a correlation. For example, the Bronze Age was when I was a early teenager just starting to collect. The "magic" of the era sticks with me to this day. And since the Silver Age wasn't far removed in 1978, it stuck with me as well.

 

The Golden Age, due to it's historical significance, seems almost untouchable though I would agree about many of the storylines being underwhelming today.

 

If I was born in 1982, would I have a different take on the Copper and Modern era? No answers but it's intriguing.

 

I was born in 1982, no difference in opinion; with a few exceptions. Not much after 1988. Some of the current runs I find entertaining, but for me; few and far between.

[Ken Aldred]

Give me a break, guys; most GA books are unreadable, and the interior art is often atrocious compared to the covers. The dollar signs in your eyes shiny those panels up.

 

Yet the golden age gave us many of the top comic book artists of all time.

Eisner, Frazetta, Kirby, Wood, Barks, Krigstein, Kurtzman, Toth, and many, many others.

 

Some of the greatest examples of sequential art and storytelling technique were displayed during the golden age.

 

+1

 

And i'll add two of my favourites - Jack Cole and Milton Caniff.

 

Dross is all too abundant throughout each and every comic book Age, but it's always worth sifting through to find some superb material, here and there.

 

Caniff is kind of a cheat, as he was a comic strip artist, but your point is well taken, there is plenty of unreadable material from every era, and amazing material as well. I will agree that for the most part GA books up until the 1950s, were not particularly well written, even when the art was compelling. EC upped the quality considerably with the New Trend books, but even then, the early issues weren't as good as the later ones, but it wasn't just EC, a lot of publishers seem to have improved writing, and many of the great artists/creators who started or even made made a name for themselves in the forties really hit their stride in the fifties; Barks, Stanley, Toth, Everett, Wood, Kubert, Kurtzman, Frazetta, to name a few. Even Simon & Kirby's work tightened up in the late forties going into the fifties. creativity. Sure, then as now, much of the writing was dull and repetitive, but find me an era when it isn't. Complexity and length do not equal quality.

 

My favorite eras for reading come in roughly 7 year stretches. 1948-55, due to the expansion of non-superhero genres, and the creative forces unleashed, 1965-72, as Marvel matured and DC followed suit, combined with the heyday of the underground era, and 1986-93 with the rise of independents, Vertigo, and a second surge of "underground" type publications, led mainly by Fantagraphics, but I still love material from all eras, and have a fondness for the covers of war era Golden Age and early SA books as well, even when the stories inside are disappointing.

 

 

I started reading and collecting in the mid-70s, and my main focus for back issues is still BA. The first run of books that ever got me really enthusiastic about comics were the DC 100 pagers, and I enjoyed the wide selection of material from all decades. But yes, even as a kid a lot of the reprinted GA material seemed quite primitive and simplistic, although there was still an occasional gem from creators such as Simon and Kirby, Meskin, Toth, Raboy, Fine etc. Also, being a British kid, I was absolutely fascinated by the very unfamiliar accents and idioms included in the dialogue, especially so in the older material.

 

The nurture factor here undoubtedly explains why I still buy this kind of book...

 

 

 

It wasn't until around '79 that I discovered Eisner's Spirit Sections and later on Caniff's Steve Canyon via the Kitchen Sink b/w reprints, and GA material that was consistently up on another level altogether. Although from the comic strip field, both of these brilliant creators were extremely influential on comic book art in general, and so I'm not terribly ashamed about cheating a bit.