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Post by Who's Who on Jan 27, 2016 9:52:28 GMT -5
I gave up on comics after DC's Crisis. At the time I was in college and had to make cuts in my budget. For the most part I went along with the single universe theme though it meant saying goodbye to my beloved Earth-Two. I bought the occasional comic, and Marvel was still simpler to follow.
Then came the crossovers, so it was impossible to follow one comic. And multiple covers. DC said getting rid off Earth-Two and its doppelgangers of the prime universe characters was too confusing but then came a whole slew of "legacy" characters with so many suffixes to their name one had to brush up on Roman numerology.
Soon comics disappeared from the local grocery stores, etc. The comics code -- whether good or evil -- was gone. Comics became more violent, dark and gritty. And don't forget the reboots! The term "comic book" became an oxymoron.
A few years ago, DC announced 52, and started all over. And now DC announces Rebirth. Still not sure what that's going to be.
Anyway, to get to the point, are comics still fun? Am I just an old man who misses .25 comics on a spinner rack? The days of letter columns. The smell of newsprint. Editor's notes. Actual comic panels.
Or did I just answer my own question.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 10:14:05 GMT -5
All depends what you are looking for. I don't find a lot that's fun in current mainstream big 2 super-hero comics but I find plenty of stories that entertain me and that I have fun reading still being produced. But then I seem to have enjoyed quite a bit of the comics DC produced post-Crisis when I was in high school and college too. But then I still buy Archie comics at my local grocery store too, and it's fun checking the rack there when I pick up a few groceries to see if the next issue is out.
And comic book was an oxymoron in super-hero books long before the grim and gritty 90s, probably gone in most super-hero books before 1970 really.
Are things different than when I was a kid getting a quarter allowance and going to the local drug store to pick out a comic? Most definitely. But that's ok because I'm different too and I still have fun with comics. And now I also get much easier access to all those stories form back then (and form when my dad was a kid in the Golden Age) that I never thought I would be able to read.
So different, yes. Not fun anymore. Not for me. I still enjoy the hell out of comics.
-M
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Post by Dizzy D on Jan 27, 2016 10:26:21 GMT -5
I'm also still enjoying comics a lot these days. Some publishers less, some publishers more, but there are still a lot of very talented writers and artists working in the field of comimcs and it's far easier to get a lot of material than in the old days.
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Post by Trevor on Jan 27, 2016 10:42:08 GMT -5
Comics are still great, even an occasional DC or Marvel book. But the best stuff has been at places like Image and Dark Horse for decades.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jan 27, 2016 10:46:15 GMT -5
I think comics are still fun, but that because I only read Bronze and Silver Age comics. However, I did think that Abnett & LAnning Guardians of the Galaxy as well as the first couple of X-Men First Class series were fun.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 27, 2016 10:57:18 GMT -5
Atomic Robo is the definition of fun!
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Post by tingramretro on Jan 27, 2016 11:08:39 GMT -5
I can think of several comics I still find fun. 2000 AD. Ms Marvel. Batman '66. Spider-Woman. A lot of Titan's Doctor Who titles. There's still fun out there, you just have to look for it.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 27, 2016 11:24:21 GMT -5
Depends on your definition of fun. Personally, I get a lot of "fun" from comics by:
1. Reading and rereading my collection.
2. Reviewing Captain America comics for this here site (shameless plug!).
3. Going to the LCS to pick up the handful of monthly books I still get and talking with the other customers and employees.
4. Going to ballroom shows and larger conventions to find those few books I still am hunting, meeting creators, and talking with dealers and other fans.
5. Talking comics with the fine folks here.
I'm not a huge fan of the current comic industry, but I can avoid the crossovers, relaunches, re-relaunches, and other annoyances if I so choose, or I can just accept them as part of the new world of comics collecting and pick up the books I enjoy and ignore the rest.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jan 27, 2016 11:41:24 GMT -5
Comics are still fun, it's just that Marvel and DC aren't that fun anymore. They're far too concerned with being cinematic and competing with old Vertigo books in terms of visuals for my taste. For me, the superhero genre was at its apex from the late 70's until about 1985. That era struck the perfect balance for me in terms of writing, art and overall storytelling as far as the genre goes.
When they do get it more or less right nowadays (Silver Surfer is a good recent example) it's almost always tainted by crossover events or relaunches. Eh. I don't care anymore, honestly. I basically have Marvel's 60's-80's output at my fingertips and much of it's still new to me.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 27, 2016 12:41:30 GMT -5
At this point, I don't have the time, let alone money, to keep up with the contemporary comics scene and I'm fine with that. I'm getting paid to read Golden Age comics.* How can that not be fun?
Cei-U!
I whistle while I work!
*Of course, they also expect me to write about those books, their creators, their business and their times and that part is hard and exacting and not so much fun.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 27, 2016 13:13:06 GMT -5
After almost three years of not buying any new comics, I ventured into the LCS to see what was going on in the comics, mostly curious about my longtime favorite series, Detective Comics, but I got a few other books. I got six or seven issues of Detective from #39 to #48 and it was a mixed bag. Bruce Wayne has amnesia and Gordon (the current version, who's fairly young) is Batman. A lot of the GCPD is in on the secret and provide a lot of backup. (I'm not sure if it's officially sanctioned by the GCPD itself.) I very much enjoyed part of a storyline that involved a gigantic Joker-robot being controlled by a young woman calling herself The Joker's Daughter and wearing his face. I mean, literally, wearing the skin that was surgically removed from the front of the Joker's head in Detective Comics #1. It's certainly not classic Batman. But it was fun, as was the following issue featuring the Justice League. I haven't been able to get the conclusion to the JLA story. Detective #47 was part of a cross-over called The Robin War, so I decided to try that and see if cross-overs are as bad as they used to be. The basic premise of The Robin War is pretty silly, but I enjoyed some of it because of the way the Robins are portrayed. Especially Damian, who has grown on me over the years. But ... it turned out ... ... the Court of Owls was behind it. I think I could handle a story with the Court of Owls if it was drawn by Sheldon Moldoff and written by John Broome or Gardner Fox and it was all wrapped up in 13 pages and followed by an Elongated Man story. But comics take themselves too seriously these days to get away with something as utterly stupid as the Court of Owls. And they don't wrap it up in 13 pages, that's for sure. I also thought Wonder Woman #47 (with the Cheetah!) was a lot of fun. And I also got Batman '66 #30, which was a total delight from start to finish. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 27, 2016 14:53:00 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 15:41:25 GMT -5
For me, they are not as much fun as they used to be. Of course I am older now too. When I was younger I could not wait month to month to see what would happen next in Legion of Super Heroes or New Teen Titans. I couldn't wait to see who Batman and Superman would be teaming up with in Brave and Bold and DC Comics Presents. I do miss some of the lightness of the older stories.
I do still have fun re-reading older issues from my collection and collected editions of older comics. I do still have fun reading Archie digests featuring classic stories.
Marvel seems to be putting out some fun looking comics, especially the new Patsy Walker/Hellcat comic. Grayson is an entertaining comic for me. It's not light reading, but it has constant mystery and an atmosphere of not exactly sure what is going on, plus the art is well done.
I do miss going to the spinner rack with $5 and walking out with several comics.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 27, 2016 16:14:01 GMT -5
For me, they are not as much fun as they used to be. This is probably the correct answer. And would have been the correct answer to the same question in 1985, 1965 and will be the correct answer in 2045. (Although maybe not 1978. The correct answer in 1978 was "No, comics are no longer fun. Stupid DC Implosion.") |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2016 17:02:06 GMT -5
Yep, they're still fun. I still buy them.
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