The argument by a few people I know, especially by my parents, for not reading comic books is that it’s for kids. Apparently they haven’t been reading comics lately.
Recently, comic books have taken on a dark tone when it comes to storytelling.
Marvel Comics had Captain America assassinated, the Green Goblin put in charge of America’s main intelligence agency, Iron Man was reduced to being mentally disabled like Charlie from “Flowers for Algernon” and the Greek god of war was ripped in half by a crazed, sociopathic Superman analogue.
And that’s all within the span of three years.
DC Comics on the other hand, had the girlfriend of a superhero murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator, every dead being in the universe was resurrected as zombies that want to tear the hearts out of the living and Batman was killed — sort of.
Comic books weren’t always this bleak and it didn’t have pointless carnage and death.
I'm surprised he didn't push her into a vat of acid for asking such a thing.
Still, he's Batman and he can do whatever he wants.
Photo courtesy of Google
Still, he's Batman and he can do whatever he wants.
Photo courtesy of Google
The Golden Age of Comics during the 1930s and 1940s saw superheroes as a beacon of hope and optimism to both kids and adults during the Great Depression and World War II.
Images of Captain America punching Hitler in the jaw and the introduction of Wonder Woman with her flag-inspired costume were just some of the many patriotic images that adorned comic book covers.
The Silver Age of Comics brought a more science-fiction slant to comic books at the dawn of the Atomic Age.
Comics weren’t just about Betty and Veronica fighting for the affection of Archie.
During this time, they also carried political messages. The Hulk is seen as a cautionary tale against the use of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The mutant prejudice found in the X-Men was seen as an allegory to the emerging Civil Rights Movement.
The end of the Silver Age and the dawn of the Bronze and Modern Age of Comics finally saw writers take on a dark and mature tone that included drug use, murder, rape and alcoholism.
It was Alan Moore’s deconstruction of the superhero genre with his work on “Miracleman” and “Watchmen” that saw superheroes at their darkest and goriest. They were the type of comic you wouldn’t want a child to be within 10 feet of.
However, Marvel and DC are slowly shying away from such dark themes.
Like a true nerd, Iron Man rebooted his brain, the zombies were defeated, the Green Goblin lost his shit and got his ass kicked and Captain America and Batman weren’t really dead — they were just “lost in time.”
Despite returning to a tone set by the Golden Age, if you open up any comic out today, I doubt you’d still say that they’re just kid stuff.
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