Superheroes — why?

Actually, from what I've read, it wasn't that romance comics faded in popularity, it was that publishers had a harder and harder time finding people to work on them. The creative field for comics was even more overwhelmingly male then than now, and most of them just plain didn't want to work on romance comics.

The "Seduction of the Innocent" argument is sound as far as horror, crime, western, and war comics go, but it doesn't explain the decline of interest in, say, humor comics and funny animal comics. This is not to say, of course, that none of the above genres were published between '45 and '85, obviously they were, but clearly interest waned considerably (and yes, I know Disney comics thrived in the international markets). Why did super-heroes, of the genres still publishable more or less unhindered by the code, succeed better than the others?

Funny animals were portrayed much better in animation at the time. It was still the golden age of Looney Tunes, Disney and Walter Lantz, and next to those animated works, the motionless and often subpar animal funnies of the time were lacking.

Superheroes, back then, were a comics' exclusivity. Other than very rare exceptions like George Reeves' Superman, TV and movies just weren't made for superheroes at that time. They were an all comics beast, unlike western, romance or war, and the comics market capitalized on that thirst for that kind of stories that couldn't be quenched anywhere else.

The code got superheroes back in the lime light after other genres took it but its doubtful superheroes were ever going to go away forever. Superman has been in numerous successful cartoons(from technicolor shorts, to the DCAU animated series), TV shows(Lois and Clark, Smallville) and films(at least five from the US alone). Not to mention other critically acclaimed, money making superhero shows like The Incredibles, Power Puff Girls or Viewtiful Joe.

This very website was owes its existence to a superhero of non comic book origin(Buffy The Vampire Slayer). The difference is, while superheroes show in other mediums, comics are the only one they dominate, and American comics are the only comics they dominate. The comics code choked out almost all the competing genres and the last two big American companies, Marvel and DC, decided they were going to specialize in Superheroes.

That's why funny animals fell out, because Marvel and DC decided that wasn't the niche they wanted(never mind funny animals and superheroes are not mutually exclusive). But there are no big companies left in American comics, both Marvel and DC went bankrupt and were bought out by Disney and Warner Brothers, who are more concerned with famous characters(Superman, ect) than other things people might be interested in reading about.(everything besides the shared universe full of big named superheroes).

All that's left are independent companies, maybe one day one of them will hit pay dirt and become big(Darkhorse and Image are trying). Maybe they'll do it with something besides long running superhero stories. Maybe all they need is for a few hundred comic fans to give them a chance. There is a comic out of Michigan about a Wild Child being Raised ByDragons. You may have heard of a certain professional wrestling graphic novel series from Georgia.

edit:this got really long before I realized what a text wall it was.

edited 24th Apr '12 2:56:31 AM by Cider

I think a better question would be why only (or mostly, whatever) superheroes. It is bizare, not very many other(successful) mediums are so tied to one genre (and some would argue that comics are a very unsuccessfull medium). I dunno, but it can't be simply due to the comics code or Marval and DC being cowardly or unimaginative. Superheroes seem to be popular with people no matter what, animated shows and movies seem to show that. Most people who watch those don't read the comics. There must be something special about superheroes.

Superheroes have evolved into a really potent Power Fantasy. Bright costumes, athletic bodies, unambiguously good/evil characters (or, even when they're gray, one is almost always a A Lighter Shade of Gray), god-like power, the ability to let loose and be awesome, and the knowledge that your life is validated because you fulfill a very noble purpose. And in stories where there's a Secret Identity, there's also the fantasy of still living as an ordinary Muggle while the rest of the world (the annoying bullies, parents, teachers, bosses, and others) has no idea who they're really messing with.

The formula works because it's extremely powerful. And usually, the only people who have a problem with it and/or question it are those who it wouldn't have appealed to anyway or people who have stayed long enough to break the Seven-Year Rule.

edited 23rd Apr '12 6:19:22 AM by KingZeal

@Posts 26 and 29: Humour doesn't give action or adventure; superheroes do. Reading Mickey Mouse is good for a laugh, but it's s different experience to reading, say, Spider-Man.

As has been said, the comics code effectively banned westerns, horror, and crime comics, but superheroes were easy enough to rework into family-friendly entertainment.

The other big factor was Marvel's early work. In the 60s, Marvel actually eschewed Comic-Book Time and had their characters age and develop. Peter Parker and Johnny Storm graduated from high school and went on to college, the original X-Men grew from teenager to adults and started training new recruits (Source and other pages on the same site).

Maybe the genre just isn't meant for me.

Maybe you should experience it instead of trying to figure it out. When you break ti down, a lot of stuff doesn't sound fun, like roller coasters or swimming.

To each his own! Out of curiosity, do you consider Sonic The Hedgehog a furry? If you do, you might want to consider looking at comics starring him.

Like I had said in another thread, I think the Comic Book industry around here could benefit from going into other genres. For instance, I'm a man, and I have read romance stories without any shame. Romance stories in comic book format would be interesting to me.

How about horror? Twisted Tales is loaded with High Octane Nightmare Fuel...and it's aimed for adults instead of kids!

I already do read the Sonic comics and have for years. I also read Usagi Yojimbo and Fish Police among others.

Twen, the good guy always wins, it's kind of a fundamental rule of fiction. Unless it's a Tragedy (and those are quite rare) the good guy always wins in the end. And due to the nature of Superhero comics, they never end, so there really is never an overall "victory" to the narrative, although individual arcs and the like have there own stories; it's best to compare them to Tv shows. each episode has its own story but they are lumped into seasons and the like and could technically go on forever. But yeah I dont see how you have a problem with that, the same "issue" comes up in every long form media.

Thread Hop

Anyway if you want an intro to what Comics are about 52 is a good starting point for them since they take a "sitcom" like approach to a gang of d and c listers in real time, it comes with guides at the back so you can follow your favorites to.

If you want to hop into Marvel then you have a lot of places to go into. Do to the nature of teh genre its VERY flexible (you couldn't have 200 books with the same story after all) so if you like funny furries you have the Zoo Crew if you like Crime Dramas you have Gotham Central if you like Space Opera you have Aniliation etc.

And I've read Archie Sonic, it's basically a superhero book.

edited 24th Apr '12 3:30:17 AM by CodeRobin

Do yourself a favor and check out BOOM! Studios' Darkwing Duck series. The whole run should be collected in TPB by now.

I should probably check out the cartoon first. It somehow completely eluded me growing up.

Darkwing Duck was awesome. I loved that show. It just wasn't long enough.

Apparently, the new comic series is pretty cool, too.

"It just wasn't long enough."

That's what she said.

I know you asked this many posts ago, but look for Cutey Bunny, by Joshua Quagmire. It's a comedic, furry, superhero comic. Seems to be exactly what you asked for.

Though it may not be the easiest series to find...

edited 9th May '12 11:58:47 PM by SuperHeroineAddict

'Mazing Man JLI, Squirl Girl, Super Girl Adventures in the 8th Grade, Tiny Titans, Superman Family adventures....

"Though it may not be the easiest series to find..."

Hey, I found Tales from the Aniverse (a short-lived furry series IN SPACE! published here in Michigan — I know the artist) with no problem. I think I can find Cutey Bunny.

edited 10th May '12 5:04:50 PM by Twentington

Funny and... furry...

Uh...
Howard Theduck hasn't done that much since the 70's.

Squirrelgirl should be appearing in the new line of New Avengers, however her stay is tentative at best since she's the super-powered baby-sitter to a baby that's about to be removed from the line. That's not to say her old stuff isn't funny, though most of the jokes assume familiarity with Marvel in general...

Uh...

I really don't know.

Also, for an outsider looking in, I know superhero comics look very flawed, but really, the Archie Sonic Comics suffer the same problems. Dear God, sometimes I just wanted to hurt the writers last time I did an archive binge (I only read Sonic once a year. I prefer reading a lot at once rather than a little over time).

Scourge was cool, though.

edited 11th May '12 12:48:18 PM by Zeromaeus

Post 41 mentioned Cutey Bunny. I actually found #2 and #3 at a con yesterday, and they seem pretty good.

edited 20th May '12 6:19:28 PM by Twentington

Because its an interesting genre full of creativity with unique characters, plots, and mythos?

Anything sounds stupid when you simplify it like that. (Why do you like action movies? Its just explosions! Why do you like horror, its just people getting killed!)

You ask why, I ask why not.

What's there not to love about Superman. What's not to love about Batman.

Sure there's "Stop Having Fun" Guys that say "oh well, Superman is too strong and uninteresting and his personality is too goody goody and he's unrealistic and wah wah wah." but I say fie on them. They're the reason Irredeemable exists. What would happen if Superman were portrayed realistically or some bologna like that. Fie on you, Mark Waid!

I personally can't pinpoint any one thing I love about superheroes. It's everything. It's the saving the day. It's the powers. It's the villains! It's the struggles. It's all that and so much more.

edited 6th Jul '12 3:37:08 PM by Eagal

I find the idea that a person like Superman can't exist in real life to be the worst flavor of cynicism. And probably why I love the character so much. A mentally normal man wanting to use his talents to help others and maintain his idealism in an increasingly cynical world is a million times more relatable than Daredevil or Batman.

Aren't Captain America and Spider-man the same way?

edited 7th Jul '12 11:39:55 AM by gregyo

I find Superman to be an incredibly boring character. He's simply too perfect.