History AudienceAlienatingEra / ComicBooks

* Parodied in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'', where a superhero who went through a DarkerAndEdgier Audience-Alienating Era during UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks blames the resident [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]] CaptainErsatz for it. The caped character in that issue is an obvious expy of Creator/AlanMoore's famous CerebusRetcon to the ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}[=/=]Marvelman franchise. (Perhaps not coincidentally, he also happens to look like ComicBook/TomStrong, another Moore character, though the similarities end there.) The masked, caped man is rather clearly an example of TheCape whose origin turns out to be far seedier than originally presented -- precisely what Moore did to Miracleman in the 1980s.

* Creator/ImageComics is an odd case where their A.A.E. is widely considered to be when they first started. When they were formed in 1992, Image was riding high on the seven big-name creators who left Marvel to form the company and capitalized on UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, which led to them edging out ''DC'' for a brief period from the second spot, something no other company has done since. However, they became well-known for being overly gritty, [[ScheduleSlip showing up way late]], looking hideous, and starring knock-off superheroes in paper-thin plots while having some attempt at a SharedUniverse. After UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 (which started in part with their ill-conceived crossover with Valiant, ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'') and the end of the Dark Age, Image largely cleaned up their act. Not only did they hire editors to ensure their work came out on time, but they've since branched out by switching their focus from trying to beat the Big Two at the superhero genre to instead becoming the ultimate haven for original ideas to flourish. While ''some'' titles from the '90s continue and have a following, such as ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', ''ComicBook/SavageDragon'', ''ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'', and the various Creator/{{Wildstorm}} titles (now owned by DC), others like ''ComicBook/YoungbloodImageComics'' and ''ComicBook/{{Shadowhawk}}'' mostly do ''not''.

* Creator/ValiantComics entered one following their purchase by the video game company Creator/{{Acclaim}} in 1994, while the industry was reeling from [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 the aforementioned crash]]. The new owners wanted to use the properties as source material for video game adaptations, and their efforts set the comics on a steady path of decline. First there was a big marketing push in 1995, Birthquake, during which the eight lowest-selling ongoing titles (almost half the titles in the entire line) were cancelled, including Valiant mainstays such as ''ComicBook/{{Rai}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Harbinger}}'', and the remaining characters were re-imagined to make them easier to adapt into video games. Things did not improve when Acclaim launched a full-on ContinuityReboot the very next year as part of a plan to cancel out some expensive creator contracts signed before Birthquake, turning the company into Acclaim Comics and overhauling the characters yet again almost beyond recognition. There were some series during this period that are fondly remembered, such as ''ComicBook/QuantumAndWoody'', and Acclaim did produce a few fairly well-liked games based on the comics, specifically ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowMan'', but comic book sales steadily declined and the line was shut down in 1999, with Acclaim itself filing for bankruptcy a few years later in 2004. Luckily, the Valiant properties were bought by entrepreneurs the following year, eventually leading to Valiant's comics being brought back in 2012 with its universe similar to how it had been when the company was founded.

* Creator/ImageComics is an odd case where their A.A.E. is widely considered to be when they first started. When they were formed in 1992, Image was riding high on the seven big-name creators who left Marvel to form the company and capitalized on UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, which led to them edging out ''DC'' for a brief period from the second spot, something no other company has done since. However, they became well-known for being overly gritty, [[ScheduleSlip showing up way late]], looking hideous, and starring knock-off superheroes in paper-thin plots while having some attempt at a SharedUniverse. After UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 (which started in part with their ill-conceived crossover with Valiant, ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'') and the end of the Dark Age, Image largely cleaned up their act. Not only did they hire editors to ensure their work came out on time, but they've since branched out by switching their focus from trying to beat the Big Two at the superhero genre to instead becoming the ultimate haven for original ideas to flourish. While ''some'' titles from the '90s continue and have a following, such as ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', ''ComicBook/SavageDragon'', ''ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'', and the various Creator/{{Wildstorm}} titles (now owned by DC), others like ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Shadowhawk}}'' mostly do ''not''.