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An Overview Of The Current State Of DC Comics On Their 70th Birthday.

Started by Ian_Levine,

85 posts in this topic

Ian_Levine

Ian_Levine

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Sure, I respect you Ian, and agree to disagree.

 

We just have diametrically opposite viewpoints on the impact that Crisis has had on DC.

 

But can you not imagine how someone who grew up with the Silver Age would feel distanced by Crisis On Infinite Earths ???

 

It took me nearly eighteen years to come back to buying and collecting DC comics again.

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Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd

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But can you not imagine how someone who grew up with the Silver Age would feel distanced by Crisis On Infinite Earths ???

 

It took me nearly eighteen years to come back to buying and collecting DC comics again.

 

I've already agreed to disagree.

 

Sure I can imagine how you felt. Can you not imagine how someone who came to DC because of Crisis and the post-Crisis DCU would feel about pre-Crisis DC?

 

I was so unimpressed with the DC's of the 1970's that were published when I was growing up that I deliberately avoided them, not because they were confusing, but because they were simple and dull.

 

I imagine how you feel about DC is akin to what we silver/bronze/copper Marvel zombies feel about Marvel's current disrespect towards their characters.

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rjpb

rjpb

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I actually buy more DC books now than anytime since I was a kid in the early 70s and I bought every Marvel & DC off the stands. Granted it's mostly stuff in the Vertigo/Elseworlds vein, but it's still DC. While DC has a rich history, and there is worthwhile stuff from every era, most of their output over the last 70 years has been dreck, even if it has been well illustrated, the writing has been bad. Griping that the DC of today isn't like the DC of the Silver Age is succumbing to nostalgia. It is no different than a kid today dismissing the GA & SA as "old stuff, that nobody would read today". I sometimes feel that too much of comic fandom is wrapped up in following just one genre,publisher, or era, or a handful of characters or artists or writers,and is missing out on much of what has been produced that they would probably find appealing based on their current tastes. It's like only watching recent horror movies to the exclusion of all other films.

 

Ian - do you buy all the comics published by Humanoids (Metal Hurlant, By the Numbers, etc.), as they all have "Humanoids/DC Comics" printed on the cover.

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Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd

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And don't get me wrong, I've gone back and read a lot of pre-Crisis comics over the last 20 years. I have a near complete set of DC Archives (the only ones I don't have are Legion ones, as well as Challengers of the Unknown and Doom Patrol). One of my prized runs are the Kubert Tarzans, and I'm a big fan of Bat Lash and the Silver Age Spectre. I really enjoy the GA Batman comics, and the All-Stars are some of my favourites. On the flip side... I still find GA & SA Superman & Wonder Woman boring. SA JLA is dull, but has it's moments.

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chromium

chromium

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And don't get me wrong, I've gone back and read a lot of pre-Crisis comics over the last 20 years. I have a near complete set of DC Archives (the only ones I don't have are Legion ones, as well as Challengers of the Unknown and Doom Patrol).

 

Wow this is freaky...the ONLY DC Archives I have are the Legion, Challengers and Doom Patrol ones 893whatthe.gif

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awe4one

awe4one

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Comics in general during the late mid 70's-mid 80's were awful outside of X-Men and a few other "abberations"; it wasn't strictly limited to DC.

 

Maybe if you're looking at them with grown-up eyes...

 

I personally loved comics of the mid 70s, both Marvel and DC, and still look at them with a nostagic gleam in my eye. Looking at them now? Some had had better moments. But they worked wonderfully when I was a kid...

 

Jim

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Kevin Boyd

Kevin Boyd

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Comics in general during the late mid 70's-mid 80's were awful outside of X-Men and a few other "abberations"; it wasn't strictly limited to DC.

 

I was completely suckered into the Marvel Universe at that time. Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, What If...?, Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Marvel Team-Up, Fantastic Four, Marvel Two-In-One, Uncanny X-Men, Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, the Defenders, Red Sonja.... plus all of the reprint titles, Marvel Tales, Marvel's Greatest Comics, Marvel Super-Action, Marvel Super-Heroes. Heck, I was even into Nova, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman.

 

I was never a big horror or war comic fan or reader, so I didn't get into Werewolf by Night, Tomb of Dracula, etc. I also hated Kirby's late 70's output... like the Eternals, 2001, Black Panther, Machine Man (although that did get better).

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Norrin_Radd

Norrin_Radd

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What Kevin is really trying to say is... "You complete me."

 

But since I don't like Legion it's not in "a good way".

 

Understood.

 

 

Basically, it all boils down to the fact that there are good and bad comics in every era. What constitutes good/bad dependent on personal taste. To each his own. Read what you love, but stay open-minded to comic storylines you may not have considered before.

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Silver

Silver

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Comics in general during the late mid 70's-mid 80's were awful outside of X-Men and a few other "abberations"; it wasn't strictly limited to DC.

 

Maybe if you're looking at them with grown-up eyes...

 

I personally loved comics of the mid 70s, both Marvel and DC, and still look at them with a nostagic gleam in my eye. Looking at them now? Some had had better moments. But they worked wonderfully when I was a kid...

 

Jim

 

True enough. I certainly bought and enjoyed my share during that era, but now when I look at the mid-late 70's books, I personally consider them a low point in creativity. My real point was that a few people were stating that DC's were awful from that era, I was pointing out that I don't think it was strictly limited to DC. Yes, I was defending DC flowerred.gif

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shadroch

shadroch

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I've always felt that the problem with DC pre-Crisis wasn't the excess baggage,but that the stories themselves sucked. While I enjoyed Crisis,I didn't notice any great improvement in either quality nor sales(I owned two stores at the time)in the aftermath.Superman,by Bryne,did sell much better than before,but Bryne had the same effect on Alpha Flight. The Legion went from one of DCs hottest propertys to also-ran status with the removal of Superboy,Supergirl and Mon-el.

I feel the vast improvement in DC has much more to do with the influx of new writers and editorial changes than the Crisis had.

Without Crisis,Alan Moores epic "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" and the four part Death of Superboy,my all-time favorite story arcs,never could have occurred.So,there was a small bright side.

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bobpfef

bobpfef

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I LOVED the cartoon style, one and done DC Adventure titles. They were probably the most enjoyable comics I bought every month. I wasn't too concerned with them canceling and starting over with slightly different title because they did that ever few years and it made sense because the titles of the cartoons had changed but the new books are AWFUL compared to the work Burchett, Templeton etc did. Just a shame.

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Norrin_Radd

Norrin_Radd

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And we did have a simpler, more appealing line of timeless comics - they were called Batman Adventures, Superman Adventures, Justice League Adventures, and they were designed and marketted to younger readers. They were available, and a lot of older fans took notice of them and supported them because they were more accessible comics. Where are they now? All have been cancelled. The Batman Strikes and Justice League Unlimited comics are pale shadows of the great Adventures line.

 

I LOVED the cartoon style, one and done DC Adventure titles. They were probably the most enjoyable comics I bought every month. I wasn't too concerned with them canceling and starting over with slightly different title because they did that ever few years and it made sense because the titles of the cartoons had changed but the new books are AWFUL compared to the work Burchett, Templeton etc did. Just a shame.

 

I, too, love Batman Animated Adventures. Possibly, because they aren't bogged down with DC continuity. They are just simple and elegant storylines. Plus the Bruce Timm-style art is great. (if I would have thought about it a little more, my screen name here might well have been TimmFan)

 

I enjoyed watching the cartoon show in college and have enjoyed reading the comics.

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