Nickolaidas
Member
I’ve been reading Marvel Comics ever since I was a little boy. Spider-Man, Captain America, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Avengers ... all these were heroes I loved reading about, their clashes with their mortal enemies, and the trials they had to go through, which I absorbed and were helping me become a better person. Or at least, believe I was becoming one. After a while, I followed DC Comics as well, though not as intensely as I did with Marvel.
And I think most comic book fans born in the 80s (or even the 70s) will probably be able to sympathize with what I am about to say:
Aside from a few street-heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, I am mostly incapable of following the storylines of more otherworldly heroes, and completely incapable of following through the storylines of more obscure/niche characters these days.
Storylines were simpler. Dialogue and narration was easier. A bad guy was doing something or vexing the hero somehow, and it was up to him and his buddies to save the day. Simple plans, most of the time, but other times something spicier. Dialogue and narration was easy to follow and for things you have missed, there were detailed boxes which told you what happened and in what series/issue. Each character was unique and identifiable.
Now it’s a complete, utter clusterfuck.
Most major characters have like eight different versions of them. Batman has like, three Robins, one Nightwing, a Batwoman, a Batgirl, a Batboy ... and at least twenty versions of him from other realities and timelines (seriously, fuck the Multiverse). Almost all storylines are about characters stumbling upon themselves from other realities who storm in and cause a bruhaha, timelines converging, knock-off heroes, clones, duplicates ... it’s a fucking mess I just can’t follow.
Narration and dialogue have also advanced to the point I’m having a hard time understanding what is being said and whom it concerns. I was reading House of X (Power of X, don’t really remember) a limited series about the X-Men forming their own nation on Krakoa or something, and half of the dialogue is lost on me. There are so many innuendos and subtle hints about past events or people that I cannot understand what is really being said. Maybe I’m getting too old for this shit, maybe it’s because English isn’t my native language, but I recently downloaded all the old Amazing Spider-Man issues, and I was amazed at how simple and fun these old stories used to be. In the last ten years, however, it has been a whirlwind of stories which change the status quo so much and so fast that I cannot keep track. At all.
I have no idea how many Ghost Riders are active right now. There’s one in Hell, there’s one with the Avengers, there’s one who helped the Punisher take out Hydra and Zemo, there’s a cosmic Ghost Rider from the future who is actually Frank Castle ... it’s a fucking mess. And don’t get me started on Batman, Spider-Man, Venom and Superman. Spider-Man literally had an ‘events’ which were basically about him and other fifty Spider-Men (and women) fight vampires or some crap like that. And now even the movies begin to introduce the Multiverse. I HATE the fucking Multiverse!
I also hate how some writers ignore the past of a character and his evolution, and act as if nothing has happened with said character. Helmut Zemo had an amazing run in Thunderbolts and almost achieved godhood. Now he's a poor bastard who got wasted by the Punisher, of all people. A character who outwitted the Grandmaster got wasted by. The Fucking. Punisher. Do the writers have any idea who the character they're writing was in the past?
There was also a lot more stability in the choice of the artists. An artist would stick around to a series for 10 years back then, while now they jump from series to series like there’s no tomorrow. It’s impossible to invest in a comic book series because of the art - the artist will have left for another project within a year or less. You’ll be lucky to find an artist sticking with a project for two years or more.
I love comic books but I think my two favorite comic book companies have become too complicated for me to follow. Except for a handful of titles.
Anyone else who longs for the days comic books were simpler?
And I think most comic book fans born in the 80s (or even the 70s) will probably be able to sympathize with what I am about to say:
Aside from a few street-heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, I am mostly incapable of following the storylines of more otherworldly heroes, and completely incapable of following through the storylines of more obscure/niche characters these days.
Storylines were simpler. Dialogue and narration was easier. A bad guy was doing something or vexing the hero somehow, and it was up to him and his buddies to save the day. Simple plans, most of the time, but other times something spicier. Dialogue and narration was easy to follow and for things you have missed, there were detailed boxes which told you what happened and in what series/issue. Each character was unique and identifiable.
Now it’s a complete, utter clusterfuck.
Most major characters have like eight different versions of them. Batman has like, three Robins, one Nightwing, a Batwoman, a Batgirl, a Batboy ... and at least twenty versions of him from other realities and timelines (seriously, fuck the Multiverse). Almost all storylines are about characters stumbling upon themselves from other realities who storm in and cause a bruhaha, timelines converging, knock-off heroes, clones, duplicates ... it’s a fucking mess I just can’t follow.
Narration and dialogue have also advanced to the point I’m having a hard time understanding what is being said and whom it concerns. I was reading House of X (Power of X, don’t really remember) a limited series about the X-Men forming their own nation on Krakoa or something, and half of the dialogue is lost on me. There are so many innuendos and subtle hints about past events or people that I cannot understand what is really being said. Maybe I’m getting too old for this shit, maybe it’s because English isn’t my native language, but I recently downloaded all the old Amazing Spider-Man issues, and I was amazed at how simple and fun these old stories used to be. In the last ten years, however, it has been a whirlwind of stories which change the status quo so much and so fast that I cannot keep track. At all.
I have no idea how many Ghost Riders are active right now. There’s one in Hell, there’s one with the Avengers, there’s one who helped the Punisher take out Hydra and Zemo, there’s a cosmic Ghost Rider from the future who is actually Frank Castle ... it’s a fucking mess. And don’t get me started on Batman, Spider-Man, Venom and Superman. Spider-Man literally had an ‘events’ which were basically about him and other fifty Spider-Men (and women) fight vampires or some crap like that. And now even the movies begin to introduce the Multiverse. I HATE the fucking Multiverse!
I also hate how some writers ignore the past of a character and his evolution, and act as if nothing has happened with said character. Helmut Zemo had an amazing run in Thunderbolts and almost achieved godhood. Now he's a poor bastard who got wasted by the Punisher, of all people. A character who outwitted the Grandmaster got wasted by. The Fucking. Punisher. Do the writers have any idea who the character they're writing was in the past?
There was also a lot more stability in the choice of the artists. An artist would stick around to a series for 10 years back then, while now they jump from series to series like there’s no tomorrow. It’s impossible to invest in a comic book series because of the art - the artist will have left for another project within a year or less. You’ll be lucky to find an artist sticking with a project for two years or more.
I love comic books but I think my two favorite comic book companies have become too complicated for me to follow. Except for a handful of titles.
Anyone else who longs for the days comic books were simpler?
