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Are there any Non-Super Hero genres in American comic books?

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Izaak Since: Apr, 2009
#1: Apr 27th 2013 at 11:06:50 PM

Been reading on my "American Comic Books" history for a bit and am wondering if the CCA is directly responsible why there's only super hero & gag genres around. Or am I mistaken?

AetherMaster Since: Sep, 2009
#2: Apr 27th 2013 at 11:56:58 PM

There are plenty if you look in a newspaper's comic section. The superhero genre just happens to have stayed the most popular nowadays.

There's Disney comics (which are incredibly popular in Europe), Peanuts, plenty of other comics like The Boondocks and others that are comedy.

TheEvilDrBolty Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
#3: Apr 27th 2013 at 11:58:43 PM

Yes, the CCA is the reason superhero comics came to dominate the genre. That said, there's plenty else right now - in fact, the NY Times bestseller list for graphic novels is full of the other stuff (memoir from Allison Bechdel; horror in the form of The Walking Dead; and paranormal hijinx in the form of Chew), and there's all sorts of other quirky stuff out there (Mouse Guard, artistic works like Blankets and Black Hole). And of course, the entire Vertigo line - Transmetropolitan and Fables provide unique sci-fi and urban fantasy, respectively.

You can be forgiven for thinking there's nothing else - superheroes dominate the market in a manner that's frankly kind of ludicrous. But there is plenty more out there.

Robbery Since: Jul, 2012
#4: Apr 28th 2013 at 12:00:12 AM

There are lots of non-superhero genres in American comics, though super-heroes loom largest in the public consciousness because they originated in comics and have perhaps consistently been the most visible.

Historically, though, the CCA put an end to a lot of horror, science fiction, and crime comics (you can look up the code if you want to find out why). The ranks of super-heroes were significantly reduced by it as well (or just succumbed to an aging audience and creative stagnation, though not for as long as a lot of people seem to like to think; the time between the end of the "Golden Age" and the beginning of the "Silver Age" is only something like 5 or 6 years) Even so, publishers tended to push the boundaries as much as they possibly could. I'd imagine super-heroes and humor weathered the Code-storm better than most because they could adapt to the fanciful and un-imitable really well (super-heroes) or were fairly inoffensive to begin with (humor).

But, again, super-heroes are far from the only genre in American comics.

RedM Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
#5: Apr 28th 2013 at 12:04:19 AM

Well, superheroes are definitely the biggest genre, but you've got horror, sci-fi, etc. The Walking Dead, Scott Pilgrim, etc. And of course, webcomics are pretty broad in terms of genre.

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TeChameleon Since: Jan, 2001
#7: Apr 28th 2013 at 6:16:27 PM

A couple of other genres that are more popular than you might expect are Sword And Sorcery (the Savage Sword Of Conan, Warlord, Groo The Wanderer, Red Sonja, Usagi Yojimbo [which, despite the name, is an American comic]), High Fantasy (Bone, Elric, Sandman, Lucifer, Elfquest), more Urban Fantasy (Books Of Magick, Preacher [okay, sorta borderline, but it's not Swords and Sorcery and it's not high fantasy...], Hellboy [oddball overlap with superheroism there, but I'd argue it falls more under Urban Fantasy]). And a lot of these have been around for a while- Groo, for example, has had nearly the same creative team for the last 30 years (the colourist changed once less than five years in. That's it)

Then there's horror (30DaysOfNight, Hell Blazer, The Walking Dead), odd... sci-fi-ish... things (We3), stuff that I'm not even sure how to classify (Pride Of Baghdad)... oh, and Westerns. Lots and lots of Westerns (Rawhide Kid, Jonah Hex, Kid Colt, etc. ad infinitum >.O). Plus, look up, well, just about anything by Will Eisner (A Contract With God, The Spirit, Life On Another Planet, Dropsie Avenue, Life In The Big City)... not a superhero to be seen (unless you want to make an argument for the Spirit, which is frankly kind of debateable).

edited 28th Apr '13 6:17:55 PM by TeChameleon

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