shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jan 10, 2016 21:49:38 GMT -5
I know we have a lot of folks here who resist the tendency in comicdom to group comics by "era", but I've always found it a helpful simplification, even if it is (admittedly) a series of vast oversimplifications to make. So, getting that acknowledgement out of the way, the following Eras are generally agreed upon:
Platinum Age: Anything before Action Comics #1
The Golden Age: Action Comics #1 possibly up to Showcase #4
The Silver Age: Showcase #4 up to probably about 1970 (?)
The Bronze Age: Maybe 1970 (?) up to Crisis on Infinite Earths (?)
Yeah, we could even debate the specifics of that (but let's not do so here).
Then there are eras that have begun to catch on, but which aren't as universally accepted yet:
The Atom Age: capturing the vast change in focus and tone comics took after World War II and especially post-Wertham
The Copper Age: capturing the Post-Crisis DCU and the heyday of Jim Shooter at Marvel
The problem is, that still leaves the Modern Age as covering three decades worth of books, and so much changed across that stretch of time. There's no way a book published in 1995 shares more in common with a book from 2010 than with a book from 1980.
So I think it's well past time someone declared a Brass Era, so why not start it here?
Brass Era (roughly 1996-2011)
Justification: Whereas the Copper Age could best be characterized as the rise of comic books as an industry, with restructuring of distribution, the rise of the LCS and of advanced ordering and solicitations, as well as reprint editions and, on the comic book page itself, the rise of mega events, multi-art story arcs, and continuity reboots, The Brass Era encapsulates the era immediately afterward, in which excessively commodifying the industry had resulted in excessive speculation that finally drove away readers by the hundreds of thousands and, effectively, turned comic books into a niche commodity for a niche market. This is that uncertain era in which the industry struggled with how to rebuild, bring back readers, and start offering a little more substance in their books again. It ends with 2011, as this is marked both by DC's Nu52 and a a gradual resurgence in comic book sales numbers. Though not to the same extent as before, comic books reentered popular consciousness and became something the average member of the target demographic (now adult men) was at least marginally interested in once again.
Thoughts?
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 10, 2016 21:55:27 GMT -5
Well, I personally think of the time between the end of the Bronze Age and, oh, maybe Heroes Reborn as the 'Dark Age'... since everyone was so Grim 'n' Gritty. I've also heard it referred to as the 'Image Age' I think you could call after that up to, say, the beginning of the New 52 an 'age', but I'm not sure what you'd call it  Right now, we're in the 'multi-media age'  |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 10, 2016 22:10:25 GMT -5
For what it's worth, over on the CGC Forums, the Copper Age is pretty well established, with it's own subforum. Exactly what it's parameters are are still debated, but most people there generally agree it runs from around 1980 - with New Teen Titans #1 often cited as a starting point - through around 1992, with the founding of Image.
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Post by coke & comics on Jan 10, 2016 23:03:08 GMT -5
I think the current era predates 2011 some. The era we are in will ultimately be about bookstores, amazon, and the digital marketplace. Tying into that is the rise of Image as a best-selling and beloved publisher, the success of Walking Dead, the launch of dozens of Image books that seem like they should have been Vertigo books. This goes back to Vertigo restructuring its offers to be less appealing, which comes down from Time Warner taking a firmer control over DC. For Marvel, the era is defined by its movies, starting with Iron Man in 2007 and the move to restructure its entire brand around them, lately taking shape in the push of Inhumans to be the new mutants of Marvel, the cancellation of Fantastic Four, and the downplaying of the X-Men line. The era should also include the rise of top book publishers making comics, and include things like Scholastic reprinting Bone and the founding and success of First Second.
If I had to pick a moment, I might start with the publication of Walking Dead #1 in 2003. At the time, nobody knew the hit it would be, and it didn't really take off until the 2007 TV series, but I feel like that series best defines the current era. A huge new brand, the first time Image really has a brand on par with Marvel or DC in terms of national name recognition. The current Image boom is largely in the wake of Walking Dead and bolstered by its success. And Walking Dead's success is tied to the newer markets, rather than the traditional direct market.
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Post by coke & comics on Jan 10, 2016 23:07:55 GMT -5
If I were defining the post-Copper age, I would go before the dawn of Image, as Image was an outgrowth of what those guys were doing at Marvel. Liefeld on New Mutants, McFarlane on Spider-Man and Lee on X-Men clearly belong in the Image-era, as does Heroes Reborn. The decade about speculation and the art of people like those three has to include Spider-Man #1, X-Men #1, X-Force #1.
I would probably look to Amazing Spider-Man #298 in March of 1988 of the dawning of a new and dark age. Marvel lived in the wake of that single issue until 1998, when it finally seemed to break free with Heroes Return, followed in 1999 by the Ultimate line.
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Post by Randle-El on Jan 11, 2016 0:14:18 GMT -5
I think the current era predates 2011 some. The era we are in will ultimately be about bookstores, amazon, and the digital marketplace. Tying into that is the rise of Image as a best-selling and beloved publisher, the success of Walking Dead, the launch of dozens of Image books that seem like they should have been Vertigo books. This goes back to Vertigo restructuring its offers to be less appealing, which comes down from Time Warner taking a firmer control over DC. For Marvel, the era is defined by its movies, starting with Iron Man in 2007 and the move to restructure its entire brand around them, lately taking shape in the push of Inhumans to be the new mutants of Marvel, the cancellation of Fantastic Four, and the downplaying of the X-Men line. The era should also include the rise of top book publishers making comics, and include things like Scholastic reprinting Bone and the founding and success of First Second. If I had to pick a moment, I might start with the publication of Walking Dead #1 in 2003. At the time, nobody knew the hit it would be, and it didn't really take off until the 2007 TV series, but I feel like that series best defines the current era. A huge new brand, the first time Image really has a brand on par with Marvel or DC in terms of national name recognition. The current Image boom is largely in the wake of Walking Dead and bolstered by its success. And Walking Dead's success is tied to the newer markets, rather than the traditional direct market. I find this to be very persuasive. TWD was a huge game-changer in the comic industry IMO. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 0:58:00 GMT -5
Here how I see it
Platinum Age of Comics - Everything before Action Comics #1 Golden Age of ComicsAction Comics #1 (Superman) to Detective Comics #225 (Martian Manhunter) Transition Age 1 - Golden Age to Silver AgeDetective Comics #233 (Batwoman) to Flash #110 (Kid Flash) Developing Heroes and Key CharactersSilver Age of ComicsBrave and the Bold #28 (Justice League of America) to Marvel Feature #1 (Defenders) Development of Super TeamsTransition Age 2 Silver Age to Bronze AgeLuke Cage Hero for Hire #1 (Luke Cage) to Avengers Annual #10 (Rouge) Bronze Age of Comics1982 to 1991 - I'm very vague here and I'm totally lost here. Remember I was working 60-65 hours a week during this period and I don't know anything about this Age at all. Modern Age of Comics (or Brass Age  )1992 to ? I never heard of Atom Age and Copper Age Either ... This is way I see it and that's my own understanding of the different ages of Comic Books. Like Shaxper said earlier - I can debate it all it's worth - but I don't want to go there to upset members here.
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Post by tingramretro on Jan 11, 2016 1:50:32 GMT -5
There is absolutely no way the Silver Age extends all the way through the 70s or that the Bronze Age lasts into the 90s! I personally regard the Bronze Age as ending in about 1980. I always used to regard the Silver Age as having ended in 1970, but a while back I heard someone make a very good case for the actual end of the Silver Age being the death of Gwen Stacy in 1973, as it marked the end of innocence in comics.
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Post by coke & comics on Jan 11, 2016 1:54:34 GMT -5
Now of course whenever I suggest a beginning for an era, I don't mean anything too fixed. I think eras should be allowed to overlap slightly and have soft starts and ends. But we should always be able to point to a couple game-changing comics.
For the Silver Age, there are at least two starts. Showcase #4 and 5 years later with Fantastic Four #1. Both these comics help mark the beginning of an era. Just as several comics could be said to mark the beginning of the next. Conan the Barbarian #1, Amazing Spider-Man #121, etc.
Similarly, when I point to Amazing Spider-Man #298, I could just as easily point to Spider-Man #1, Youngblood #1, or Superman #75. All landmark issues that would define their age.
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Post by Paradox on Jan 11, 2016 3:14:35 GMT -5
It certainly would take a lot of brass to think you could name an "age".  |
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Post by crazyoldhermit on Jan 11, 2016 4:26:10 GMT -5
I like the term "aluminum era" because everything is recycled.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 4:47:31 GMT -5
The "ages of comics" an irreverent look....
Childhood-1930s-1950s-we don't know what the hell we are doing but we'll do it all with high energy and a sense of anything is possible. Crude and energetic with flashes of brilliance.
Adolescence-1950s-1960s-we're not kids any more and we think we know how to do it right because we're not kids any more and we'll do it our own way and show you we're better than what came before. Anything is possible, dreams rule, reality is what you make of it.
Adulthood-1970s-1980s-we're not kids any more so let's show you how deep and mature we are, we're going to explore darker more adult things and try to move away form the more fanciful things that defined our youth because we're adults now and we want to be taken seriously.
Middle Age-1990s-early 2000s-oh how I miss my youth, where did all the years go, let's get my hot red corvette comics to be flashy and get noticed so I can feel like a kid again because I am not having a mid-life crisis and I am not over the hill really....
Dotage-mid-2000s to now-oh my aching back, I can't do the things I used to do and I can't get my sales up without my little blue variants anymore, get off my lawn all you not-true fans I remember when I could... let me try every trick I ever learned to try to recapture some of the glory of my youth...oh how youth is wasted on the young...what was I talking about?
-M
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 11, 2016 5:42:57 GMT -5
It certainly would take a lot of brass to think you could name an "age". Maybe, but who has named them in the past? Who actually came up with Silver, Bronze etc ? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 5:57:37 GMT -5
It certainly would take a lot of brass to think you could name an "age". Maybe, but who has named them in the past? Who actually came up with Silver, Bronze etc ? Golden Age was... and Silver Age was... -M |
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jan 11, 2016 7:52:07 GMT -5
There is absolutely no way the Silver Age extends all the way through the 70s or that the Bronze Age lasts into the 90s! I personally regard the Bronze Age as ending in about 1980. I always used to regard the Silver Age as having ended in 1970, but a while back I heard someone make a very good case for the actual end of the Silver Age being the death of Gwen Stacy in 1973, as it marked the end of innocence in comics. I agree with you on all of these save for the Bronze Age ending in 1980. The Bronze Age seems to be the age that has the most disagreements in regards to when it ended. It seems to me that 1985, with Crisis, is the perfect ending with DKR's and Watchmen starting up in 1986. Any reason for 1980? I think the death of Gwen is a very tempting choice for the end of the Silver Age, but I can't quite accept it. The more gritty Batman was well along at this point, not to mention the resurgence of fantasy and horror. I think 1970 is almost "perfect" an ending to the age, mainly because of Kirby leaving Marvel. Stan Lee's last issues of Spider-Man is another good choice. |
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