My Two Cents: Death to Super Hero Comics?

Comics have recently become a fairly decent sized chunk of my entertainment time. Whether it�s super hero or not, I�ve been buying and reading more than I have my entire life. It�s mostly because I�m being introduced to things I missed as a youngin'. I'm still somewhat of a casual comic book reader, but only because I�m not going after anything that isn�t trade. I just don�t have the time and patience to jump into a large, rehashed, 200 book series. Let�s not forget that comics have gotten much more expensive. Inflation or not, it�s just not worth it.

Now, the reason I�m bringing this crap up is because I wanted to show you guys a little blog post titled "The New Depression May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Comics" from chud.com by a Devin Faraci. He shares some of the same opinions that I have, but the difference between us is that I�m not a flame baiting asshole.

�I love comic books. I love the medium as a way of telling stories; I think that like film it's a limitless form, one that can be used to tell any story and in any way. The marriage of art and words is magical, and opens so many doors for storytellers. Which is why it's so depressing that most of them remain closed in the world of mainstream comics. For longer than I've been alive the superhero has dominated the comic landscape; the phrase 'comic book movie' specifically means 'superhero movie.' The superhero is the face of comic books to the general public. I don't believe I have ever seen a medium so completely and fully dominated by one genre before. Imagine if the vast majority of movies available to the public were Westerns and you begin to see what the world of comic books - mainstream comic books - is like.

And this is very, very bad. Superheroes are very, very bad. They're like 50 year old hookers chainsmoking on the corner: used up, their best days behind them, appealing only to the most debased, most awful people. The fanbase for superhero comics in this day and age tends to be a devolved group clinging to degrading psychosexual power fantasies that take them away from their daily powerlessness. White males on the sidelines of society who are attached to juvenile escapades and repetitive, stunted storytelling. I'm beginning to look at adults who are deeply immersed in superheroes the way I would look at a grown man eating baby food for lunch. Except that I would say the baby food guy is at least getting some nourishment."


�Well, not as big of an asshole.

He does bring up many valid points. He argues that comic book tradition is conducive to the loss in revenue DC and Marvel suffer from because all these �retconned� series. Fans are subjected to watered down versions of their favorite characters and an inconsistent plot that will never end and will always change. Even deaths become empty as publishers use them to attract readers, but then revive characters in another book.

And gamers bitch about EA milking its franchises. You don't know how lucky you really are.

I do understand that many people still enjoy buying hundreds of comics throughout the year, but I�m in agreement with Faraci on this one. For Marvel, DC, or any other big publisher still trying to shovel that shit down people�s throats, they really should think twice. They themselves have flooded their own market with their own characters and they're alienating their fanbase. When you lose that (and they are) you've lost everything..

So what do you think? Do you believe Faraci had a point? Do you think he�s an idiot? I want to know. Just remember to read his blog before posting an opinion.

P.S. - This is obviously NVGR.