A Lengthy Digression
When I told a friend I was planning on doing a column praising Rob Liefeld, he mentioned that he had recently done a blog on Liefeld. While he told me that it was a less hateful look on Liefeld than the norm, it ended up being just another thinly veiled hate on Liefeld topic. Sorry, lasty, but it’s true.
In this column, his calls the 90’s “The Dark Age” of comics. I could not disagree more. So, this week’s planned column got hijacked by me wanting to present a more wider view of comics in the 90’s. Next time, we’ll get back to Liefeld and X-Force because I still have a lot to say about that issue.
What were comics so much better in the 90’s?
Let Ol’ Man Skitch tell you what it was like for a tweenage comic reader back in the early 90’s:
- I remember getting in long discussions about the latest issue of Silver Surfer, X-Force, or X-Men in the comic shop. And most of the customers were around my age, not creepy guys in their 30’s.
- I remember having to pick up five copies of each issue of Maximum Carnage every week, and a group of my friends eagerly awaiting them on Thursday mornings in the schoolyard. These these books would get read right there, and we’d talk about what could possibly happen next for a whole week.
- I remember a friend wanting to be Sleepwalker when we played superheroes, and trying to argue that he could beat Galactus in a fight if the conditions were right.
- I remember how awesome it was that Darkhawk couldn’t fly, but glided with that cable.
- I remember a friend calling me at 10 PM one night screaming “DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO CANNONBALL??? YOU ARE GONNA FLIP!” when Sauron “killed him.”
- I remember when Punisher and Ghost Rider could almost rival Spider-Man or Wolverine in terms of popularity.
- I remember staring at Knightfall Chapter 11’s climax in stunned silence for a good ten minutes thinking, “That did not happen. No way did that just happen.” Remember kids, there was no internet to spoil that story for me.
- During the Death of Superman, the mall near my house had a huge funeral, and it was heavily covered by the press.
- MARVEL CARDS!! I remember how we all used to know exactly what packs would have a hologram, and no matter how many times we were proven wrong, the one time we were right would rule all. One of my friends swore he could tell by the weight of the pack. I would scratch the pack slightly because I was sure holograms were always the top card of the pack and felt different. Yes, we were both wrong, but it was a lot of fun to get caught up in these lies. Not to mention we actually traded the cards. I remember trading a good thirty cards just to get one Silver Surfer hologram.
You find me a comic that Marvel or DC puts out that a 12 year old can feel that way about, and maybe I will be willing to hear the idea that the 90’s are the dark age. Even the darker stories of this period, like Knightfall or Death of a Superman, were still fun and easily accessible.
Something new
Another thing nice about the 90’s: there were actually new characters and titles. Sure, some of them failed, but Marvel and DC were at least trying new ideas by the dozens and giving them more than a few issues to hit or miss. Sleepwalker, Darkhawk, New Warriors, Hitman, Damage, Resurrection Man, Impulse, X-Man. We even had new versions of older characters all given their own books: Robin (Tim Drake), Green Arrow (Conner), Green Lantern (Kyle), and of course, STARMAN (Jack Knight)!
Even look at some of the big stories of the time. Knightfall? Bane and Azrael were added to the lore. Death of Superman? Doomsday, Superboy, Steel. Even Clone Saga added Kaine and Ben Reilly. And let’s not forget Liefeld’s huge stable of new characters: Cable, Stryfe, Deadpool, Bridge, Kane, Domino, Copycat, Shatterstar. You know why new characters are important? It gives new readers something to latch on to as THEIR OWN! And most of the character I mentioned are still around in comics to some extent (though usually bastardized versions).
These days? Superman Prime, Superboy Prime, Norman Osborn, Nekron, Skrulls…those are the guys behind the big stories. Characters with literally decades of history behind them. I do give DC credit for creating all those different Lantern colors, but it wasn’t exactly a huge stretch.
I’m not saying their aren’t some cool new characters out there (I love Invincible, Runaways, Arana, Gravity, and Young Avengers), but very few of them are given their own books and room to grow like characters in the 90’s were.
Breaking the stranglehold
Another vital part of the 90’s was the rise of Image. There have pretty much always been small comic companies orbiting around Marvel and DC, but Image showed that a “third party” could sit at the adult table. Characters like Spawn, Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk, Wild CATS, and Youngblood all quickly started to build their own following rivaling anything Marvel and DC were putting out.
And some of these books had impressive legs. Savage Dragon’s ongoing series is up to 163 issues! Spawn is at 198. Neither of these numbers include the dozens of spin-off titles, minis, and one shots? How many non-classic characters can make that claim?
On the back of this success, Image, Dark Horse, and Valiant all became major players in the industry, and forced DC and Marvel to change with the times or be in danger of getting trampled. Granted we could argue whether or not this was a good thing, as towards the late 90’s, the comic industry became a bit of a wasteland.
Not just nostalgia
It is easy to just write this column off as being nostalgic, and I’m sure there is some truth to that.
It’s also easy to say “The changes in the industry are attempts to appeal to a different audience in a very crowded entertainment marketplace” and again, there is some truth to that, too.
But, I honestly feel that there really isn’t that same kind of excitement and fun about the comic industry anymore. Everything is taken way too seriously, and over analyzed by angry fans on the internet. Me? I’d rather celebrate what I love about the industry than bemoan it.
There are only so many times I can hear about how bad “One Minute In Time” is without wondering “THEN WHY ARE YOU READING IT?”
Tip of the Baseball Cap/ Wag of My Disapproving Digit
Shameless self-promotion! Since I had planned to talk about my love of New Mutants and X-Force, this week’s Tip of the Baseball Cap goes to the New Mutants Role Playing Group. We are celebrating our 4th Anniversary this month. We started out a small little message board RPG, and four years later, we’re just as strong as ever. Most of our original members are still with us, and we’ve added many other great role players over the years. Not bad for something none of us thought would last a month. Thanks amy, angie, born, ches, crys, dc, dean, del, doodle, gamer, grey, havy, heaty, lasty, logan, Madam Digits, maj, okami, oro, proto, sam, seph, tasha, teo, walker, and zee. You guys are the best!
This week’s Wag of my Disapproving Digit goes to the organizers of San Diego Comic Con. What’s with saying tickets go on sale Mid-August, only to announce this week that they will go on sale on November 1st? I’ve been checking their website every 6 hours for 2 months now!! LAME!!
Other Thoughts
Wow this column ended up being much longer than expected. Hope you enjoyed my rambling down memory lane. Next time, I will focus in on Liefeld and X-Force, as promised.
As always, I love hearing from the readers. Please drop me a line with any comments, criticisms, or suggestions for other books you’d like to see me take on.
