This week is sort
of a continuation of my previous post about super hero comics in that this
genre is sort of what I grew into. I read a lot of super hero comics when I was
a kid, and now that I’m older and my tastes have matured, these are the sorts
of comics that really capture my attention. For this week I read Hellboy, but I
have also read Fables, part of The Walking Dead and American Vampire, just to
name a few.
I think this genre
is perfect for those who grew up on the classic, if not a bit campy, super hero
comics of the golden age. Those that can acknowledge the flaws of that genre
but still hold a fond nostalgia for it all the same. These comics do a better
job of making the “superhero” more believable in a semi-realistic setting, and
create more interesting three-dimensional characters, like Watchmen and Sin
City. They are also able to cover more adult subject matter because they don’t
have the handicap of marketing to kids. While making superhero comics for kids
is fine in it’s own right, that doesn’t mean that superhero’s or costumed
characters can’t be aimed at adults.
That is also a trend I have been noticing
lately; more and more superheroes are being aimed at adults. Deadpool and The
Punisher are some of the more popular ones on the Marvel side that have very
adult comics. Even Batman comics aren’t really aimed at kids anymore. I think
this is because fewer children are actually reading comics regularly. The
generation that grew up reading comics on a weekly or monthly basis are growing
up and as a result the stories are “growing up” as well.
You brought up several interesting points about a relationship between comics and maturity. In fact I think there are many interesting phenomena reflected through nature of literature works nowadays. This raised a reflective question about who should we write for?
ReplyDeleteI personally think it's a good thing to allow characters to change over time, and possibly the most intuitive thing to do. Being able to grow up with characters is a wonderful concept. Although, author should be careful with the definition of growing up as it could be sensitive to audiences. Moreover, I think it's vital to let go of characters at one point because I think departure make the story of one character completed.