History GrowingTheBeard / ComicBooks

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

* Literal example: ''GreenArrow'' was just a cheap Comicbook/{{Batman}} knockoff with an arrow gimmick until he started sporting a goatee and became a "socially conscious" modern-day RobinHood.

* ''ComicBook/{{X-Men}}'' could be seen as an example of this trope. The first 66 issues were seen as a low-rate ComicBook/FantasticFour knockoff which eventually got relegated to reprints after that... However, replacing most of the entire team and getting ChrisClaremont to write on it led to the Franchise/{{X-Men}} becoming the media franchise that we know and love.
** {{Subverted}} when they tried to rejig the title the first time by putting stalwart writer Roy Thomas and superstar artist Neal Adams (who was making his Marvel debut) on it, where they reintroduced the Sentinels, brought Magneto and Xavier BackFromTheDead, introduced Sauron and the Savage Land mutants and ended on a high note when all of humanity joins wills to battle an alien threat...and then the title proceeded to get cancelled right after that.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnQuwArz0fI Stan Lee even once stated himself]] in a discussion with fellow Marvel writers Bob Harras, Fabian Nicieza, and Scott Lobdell that he felt the same way about the comic when they took it up and improved it beyond its original format and thanked them publicly for doing so.
** Wolverine when he joined the X-Men was a one-dimensional JerkAss with a disrespect for any authority, and Claremont and Cockrum considered dropping from the team. Cockrum's successor, Canadian-born JohnByrne, wanted to keep the only Canadian character on the team and helped develop him into Marvel's most popular character.

* The first two arcs of ''YTheLastMan'' were a bit light on the drama, which was a tad jarring considering how much could've been done with the premise. Things got interesting in the astronaut arc, which skyrocketed the intensity in a refreshingly unexpected way.
** Yorick, like Riker and Blackadder before him, has literally grown a beard by the start of that arc, although he shaves it off halfway through. Given how many other sci-fi references that series had, this may have been intentional.

* The US ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic was okay, occasionally outstanding, for the first several years of its existence, until writer Bob Budiansky tired of it and started writing such gripping tales such as the human-sized Transformers who joined the pro-wrestling circuit or had romances with giant Amazon women in space. UK ''Transformers'' writer Simon Furman took over for the last two years of its run and the stories saw an immediate and significant upswing into epic, mythology-driven and long-running arc plots involving both new and old characters. Many old fans who'd gotten bored during Budiansky's reign returned to the fold and sales saw a significant upswing (passing 100,000 a month), but unfortunately that still wasn't enough to keep it afloat, and the comic was cancelled.

* The first year's worth of the Marvel ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' comic are largely self-contained stories (with one 2-issue story), many similar to the type shown in the later cartoon series, and it doesn't appear that anything really important is happening. It wasn't until issue #14, with its introduction of Destro into the comic book, that the series really took off. Much like Marcia Cross in ''MelrosePlace'', Destro stirred shit up with his first appearance, taking Baroness's loyalty from Cobra Commander as well as rekindling their former off-camera love affair. And unlike the cartoon, where Destro was 100% loyal to Cobra Commander, Destro's relationship with Cobra Commander hit the bricks almost immediately when Cobra Commander tried to kill Destro to keep him from (potentially) usurping his leadership, culminating in a botched attempt on his life that nearly killed the Baroness and led to a massive multi-year war between the two men over the course of the Marvel series.
** It should be noted that Larry Hama would draw upon supporting characters and concepts introduced in several of the early issues later on, starting with reintroducing Kwinn in the Sierra Gordo arc that begins in issue #12. Issues 3, 5, and 8 are very much like cartoon episodes, while issues 4 and 9 are self-contained stories similar to the later ''Special Missions'' series.
** Others consider the "beard growing" moment to be issue #21, which not only introduced Storm Shadow (who became so popular with fans that Hasbro agreed to turn him into a good guy), but was LarryHama's ambitious "Silent Interlude" issue, an experiment in doing an entire comic with no dialogue or sound effects whatsoever. The issue garnered much critical acclaim, helping GI Joe go from lame toy tie-in comic to an actual well put together comic book in the eyes of many comic fans.

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', although based on the darker ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'', started out as light comedy in the vein of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog''. It slowly grew more serious as it went on, adding more serious elements and having more of a continuing plot. The beard began its stubbly growth in issue 17--not so much the story itself, but the Princess Sally story that would be resolved several issues and a special later. Issue 19 featured the first full-issue epic with some real major stakes behind it. By issue 21, the overall tone had taken a rather sudden turn to the darker, and the beard was fully grown by the Metal Madness arc.
** Similarly, ''SonicTheComic'' grew its beard with issue 8 when a time-travel plot shifted the setting to one of Mobius ruled by Robotnik and Sonic leading freedom fighters against him.
* The entire company of {{Image}} has arguably undergone this. Image was founded by several artists from MarvelComics, all of which were known for DarkerAndEdgier series, and the original titles such as ''Youngblood'' and ''{{Spawn}}'' reflect this. After the departure of founding member RobLiefeld in 1996, things began to look up, with several lighter titles such as ''{{Bone}}'' and less DarkAge grit (which means that the early comics haven't aged well).
** Speaking of Spawn it grew a beard once it became a dark horror comic.

** The reimagining of ''Glory'' formerly a shallow MsFanservice HotAmazon has received critical praise too.
* The British AnthologyComic TheBeano started in the 1930s but didnt really grow the beard until the 1950s when its most popular characters/comic strips began appearing such as [[DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]], TheBashStreetKids, MinnieTheMinx and RogerTheDodger. Although the comic did have it's highest readership before these characters were introduced but none of the characters from before the aforementioned four remain in the comic or are as popular (or long running) as these four.
* ''MortadeloYFilemon'' was an entertaining weekly strip with the traditional few-panels-and-punchline formula, but it wasn't until their first full book, ''Valor y al toro'', that the now standard supporting cast appeared, allowing for deeper storylines and better interactions for the protagonist duo. Ibáñez's drawing style also evolved notably, imitating that of Hergé's ''{{Tintin}}''.
* {{Cerebus}} when it started to undergo, well, CerebusSyndrome; depending who you ask this could be as early as the mini-arc that introduces Lord Julius or as late as partway through High Society, so anywhere from issue 14 to 30-ish, with the first Mind Games issue (20) and the beginning of High Society (26) being particularly popular places to draw the line.
* The first issue of ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'' was highly controversial and cause many fans to unfairly judge the series as unlikeable (Jason), shallow & sex obsessed (Starfire), amongst other terms. The book has since subverted many of these preconceptions, despite the fact that there are still some people who refuse to look past the first issue.
** Issue 6, which recounts how Starfire and Jason met, is also considered pretty good.

** {{Subverted}} when they tried to rejig the title the first time by putting RoyThomas and NealAdams (who was making his Marvel debut) on it, where they reintroduced the Sentinels, brought Magneto and Xavier BackFromTheDead, introduced Sauron and the Savage Land mutants and ended on a high note when all of humanity joins wills to battle an alien threat...and then the title proceeded to get cancelled right after that.

* {{Cerebus}} when it started to undergo, well, CerebusSyndrome; depending who you ask this could be as early as the mini-arc that introduces Lord Julius or as late as partway through High Society, so anywhere from issue 14 to 30-ish, with the first Mind Games issue (20) and the beginning of High Society (26) being particularly popular places to draw the line.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'' could be seen as an example of this trope. The first 66 issues were seen as a low-rate ComicBook/FantasticFour knockoff which eventually got relegated to reprints after that... However, replacing most of the entire team and getting ChrisClaremont to write on it led to the XMen becoming the media franchise that we know and love.

* The first story arc of classic graphic epic ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', lasting for seven issues, seems to set the title up as just another horror title. With issue 8, "The Sound of Her Wings", the comic introduces Death (one of its most popular characters) and led to the series becoming an ensemble series, with other characters existing alongside Dream, having adventures that Dream finds himself drawn into.

* {{Cerebus}} when it started to undergo, well, CerebusSyndrome; depending who you ask this could be as early as the mini-arc that introduces Lord Julius or as late as partway through High Society, so anywhere from issue 14 to 30-ish, with the first Mind Games issue (20) and the beginning of High Society (26) being particularly popular places to draw the line.
* The first story arc of NeilGaiman's ''TheSandman'' was more or less a straightforward horror series with a firm entrenchment in the DCU, with several major characters from the universe playing big roles in the stories. It wasn't until Issue #8, ''The Sound of her Wings'', that the series started to form its own identity proper. With the introduction of Death, the more familiar characterization of Morpheus being established, and the series overall excising its continuity from the DCU beyond a handful of references.

* The first story arc of NielGaiman's ''TheSandman'' was more or less a straightforward horror series with a firm entrenchment in the DCU, with several major characters from the universe playing big roles in the stories. It wasn't until Issue #8, ''The Sound of her Wings'', that the series started to form its own identity proper. With the introduction of Death, the more familiar characterization of Morpheus being established, and the series overall excising its continuity from the DCU beyond a handful of references.

* {{Cerebus}} when it started to undergo, well, CerebusSyndrome; depending who you ask this could be as early as the mini-arc that introduces Lord Julius or as late as partway through High Society, so anywhere from issue 14 to 30-ish, with the first Mind Games issue (20) and the beginning of High Society (26) being particularly popular places to draw the line.

* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' had a similar evolution. He was originally a [[PoorMansSubsititute poor(er) man's]] ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}} until FrankMiller turned the series into the gritty crime noir most readers know it as.

* ComicBook/{{{Daredevil}} had a similar evolution. It was originally a [[PoorMansSubsititute poor(er) man's]] ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}} until Frank Miller turned it into the gritty crime noir most readers know it as.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnQuwArz0fI Stan Lee even once stated himself in a discussion with fellow Marvel writers Bob Harras, Fabian Nicieza, and Scott Lobdell that he felt the same way about the comic when they took it up and improved it beyond its original format and thanked them publicly for doing so.]]

* ''ComicBook/XMen'' could be seen as an example of this trope. The first 66 issues were seen as a low-rate FantasticFour knockoff which eventually got relegated to reprints after that... However, replacing most of the entire team and getting ChrisClaremont to write on it led to the XMen becoming the media franchise that we know and love.

* ''MortadeloYFilemon'' was an entertaining weekly strip with the traditional few-panels-and-punchline formula, but it wasn't until their first full book, ''Valor y al toro'', that the now standard supporting cast appeared, allowing for deeper storylines and better interactions for the protagonist duo. Ibáñez's drawing style also evolved notably, imitating that of Hergé's ''{{Tintin}}''.

* The first year's worth of the Marvel ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHero G.I. Joe]]'' comic are largely self-contained stories (with one 2-issue story), many similar to the type shown in the later cartoon series, and it doesn't appear that anything really important is happening. It wasn't until issue #14, with its introduction of Destro into the comic book, that the series really took off. Much like Marcia Cross in ''MelrosePlace'', Destro stirred shit up with his first appearance, taking Baroness's loyalty from Cobra Commander as well as rekindling their former off-camera love affair. And unlike the cartoon, where Destro was 100% loyal to Cobra Commander, Destro's relationship with Cobra Commander hit the bricks almost immediately when Cobra Commander tried to kill Destro to keep him from (potentially) usurping his leadership, culminating in a botched attempt on his life that nearly killed the Baroness and led to a massive multi-year war between the two men over the course of the Marvel series.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnQuwArz0fI Stan Lee even once stated himself in a discussion with fellow Marvel writers Bob Harras, Fabian Nicieza, and Scott Lodbell that he felt the same way about the comic when they took it up and improved it beyond its original format and thanked them publicly for doing so.]]

* ''{{Tintin}}'' began as a series of rather childish wish-fulfilment adventure yarns with a cliffhanger, followed by a ridiculously improbable escape, on every other page. The GrowingTheBeard moment came with ''The Blue Lotus'', when the creator started getting serious about his research and realistic portrayal of distant locations. (''Cigars of the Pharaoh'' feels like it belongs with the post-beard works if you read the colour edition, but that came later.)

* The US ''{{Transformers}}'' comic was okay, occasionally outstanding, for the first several years of its existence, until writer Bob Budiansky tired of it and started writing such gripping tales such as the human-sized Transformers who joined the pro-wrestling circuit or had romances with giant Amazon women in space. UK ''Transformers'' writer Simon Furman took over for the last two years of its run and the stories saw an immediate and significant upswing into epic, mythology-driven and long-running arc plots involving both new and old characters. Many old fans who'd gotten bored during Budiansky's reign returned to the fold and sales saw a significant upswing (passing 100,000 a month), but unfortunately that still wasn't enough to keep it afloat, and the comic was cancelled.
** The last issue did acknowledge that they had still beat their original expectations. The original plan in 1984 was for a four-issue one shot, whose ending in issue 4 was rewritten when sales of the earlier issues proved popular enough to proceed with an ongoing series. By the time of the cancellation, there was such a thing as a "UK version", a syndicated animated cartoon that spawned a generation of quotations, an animated movie... and the cover of the last issue proudly proclaimed "Issue 80 of a four issue limited series!" Not too shabby for a [[MerchandiseDriven comic based on an imported toy line]].
*** And now, IDWPublishing has announced at the San Diego Comic-Con that they've reunited Furman and Andrew Wildman (who drew 11 of the final 12 issues of the Marvel [=US=] run) to [[AndTheFandomRejoiced resume the original series for 20 more issues.]]

* The first year's worth of the Marvel ''GIJoe'' comic are largely self-contained stories (with one 2-issue story), many similar to the type shown in the later cartoon series, and it doesn't appear that anything really important is happening. It wasn't until issue #14, with its introduction of Destro into the comic book, that the series really took off. Much like Marcia Cross in ''MelrosePlace'', Destro stirred shit up with his first appearance, taking Baroness's loyalty from Cobra Commander as well as rekindling their former off-camera love affair. And unlike the cartoon, where Destro was 100% loyal to Cobra Commander, Destro's relationship with Cobra Commander hit the bricks almost immediately when Cobra Commander tried to kill Destro to keep him from (potentially) usurping his leadership, culminating in a botched attempt on his life that nearly killed the Baroness and led to a massive multi-year war between the two men over the course of the Marvel series.

*** There's a rather silly rumor that this issue was supposed to have text, but was mistakenly sent to press without it. If the prominent "SILENT INTERLUDE" title on the front page wasn't enough, [[http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Silent_Interlude#Behind_the_scenes the author has debunked it as well]].
*** May have been partially motivated by Hama's annoyance with the lengthy captions common in late 70s Marvel titles.

* ''Comicbook/SonicTheHedgehog'', although based on the darker ''[[Series/SonicTheHedgehog SatAM]]'', started out as light comedy in the vein of ''AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog''. It slowly grew more serious as it went on, adding more serious elements and having more of a continuing plot. The beard began it's stubbly growth in issue 17--not so much the story itself, but the Princess Sally story that would be resolved several issues and a special later. Issue 19 featured the first full-issue epic with some real major stakes behind it. By issue 21, the overall tone had taken a rather sudden turn to the darker, and the beard was fully grown by the Metal Madness arc.

** Yorick, like Riker and Blackadder before him, has literally grown a beard by the start of that arc, although he shaves it off halfway through. Given how many other sci-fi references that series had, this may have been intentional.

** The last issue did acknowledge that they had still beat their original expectations. The original plan in 1984 was for a four-issue one shot, whose ending in issue 4 was rewritten when sales of the earlier issues proved popular enough to proceed with an ongoing series. By the time of the cancellation, there was such a thing as a "UK version", a syndicated animated cartoon that spawned a generation of quotations, an animated movie... and the cover of the last issue proudly proclaimed "Issue 80 of a four issue limited series!" Not too shabby for a [[MerchandiseDriven comic based on an imported toy line]].

* The first story arc of classic graphic epic ''TheSandman'', lasting for seven issues, seems to set the title up as just another horror title. With issue 8, "The Sound of Her Wings", the comic introduces Death (one of its most popular characters) and led to the series becoming an ensemble series, with other characters existing alongside Dream, having adventures that Dream finds himself drawn into.

* ''Comicbook/SonicTheHedgehog'', although based on the darker ''[[Series/SonicTheHedgehog SatAM]]'', started out as light comedy in the vein of ''{{Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog}}''. It slowly grew more serious as it went on, adding more serious elements and having more of a continuing plot. The beard began it's stubbly growth in issue 17--not so much the story itself, but the Princess Sally story that would be resolved several issues and a special later. Issue 19 featured the first full-issue epic with some real major stakes behind it. By issue 21, the overall tone had taken a rather sudden turn to the darker, and the beard was fully grown by the Metal Madness arc.

* The entire company of {{Image}} has arguably undergone this. Image was founded by several artists from {{Marvel Comics}}, all of which were known for DarkerAndEdgier series, and the original titles such as ''Youngblood'' and ''{{Spawn}}'' reflect this. After the departure of founding member RobLiefeld in 1996, things began to look up, with several lighter titles such as ''{{Bone}}'' and less DarkAge grit (which means that the early comics haven't aged well).

* ''ComicBook/XMen'' could be seen as an example of this trope. The first 66 issues were seen as a low-rate FantasticFour knockoff which eventually got relegated to reprints after that... However, replacing most of the entire team and getting ChrisClaremont to write on it, led to the XMen that we know and love.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'' could be seen as an example of this trope. The first 66 issues were seen as a low-rate FantasticFour knocked and eventually getting relegated to reprints after that... However, replacing most of the entire team and getting ChrisClaremont to write on it, led to the XMen that we know and love.

* The British AnthologyComic TheBeano started in the 1930s but didnt really grow the beard until the 1950s when its most popular characters/comic strips began appearing such as [[DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]], TheBashStreetKids, MinnieTheMinx and RogerTheDodger. Although the comic did have it's highest readership before these characters were introduced but none of the characters from before the aforementioned four remain in the comic or are as popular (or long running) as these four.

* ''Comicbook/SonicTheHedgehog'', although based on the darker ''[[Series/SonicTheHedgehog SatAM]]'', started out as light comedy in the vein of ''{{Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog}}''. It slowly grew more serious as it went on, adding more serious elements and having more of a continuing plot.