Having read that really fascinating blog from the post-release thread on Crank 2 about post-post-modernism, I got to thinking about the different ages of comic books. There's obviously not as much scholarship on comic books as there is for literature, but there's a similar confusion in both literature and comic books right now as to what paradigm we're experiencing.
The comic book ages go something like this: Golden Age (1938-1954), Silver Age (1956-1970), Bronze Age (1971-1985), and the Modern Age (1986-?). The Modern Age has generally been associated with both the grim&gritty of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, as well as the massive cross-overs and variant/hologram covers of the '90s. Much like how it's been proposed that literature (and film, and whatever) has moved from post-modernism to post-post-modernism, I'd like to propose that comics have officially moved into their own post-modern age.
I'd say the paradigm shift happened sometime circa 2000, with the first X-Men movie. With that event, as well as the start of Joe Quesada's reign, Marvel began focusing more on modernizing (black leather costumes, hip Indie/British writers) and appealing to new fans that would be drawn in by the movies (The Ultimate line). These new writers (Morrison, Bendis, Millar) did this with a more down-to-earth approach, usually with thinly veiled political commentary (Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign).
DC, meanwhile, went the opposite direction, choosing to focus more on retro spectacle. Although some would blame Geoff Johns for this, I would pinpoint Batman's switch back to his original symbol post-No Man's Land as a sign of things to come. With Jeph Loeb's restoration of the evil mad scientist Lex Luthor in 2004, Geoff Johns was all set to revive Hal Jordan as Green Lantern in 2005, opening the flood gates for a Silver Age revival. This has, however, been simultaneously infused with a troubling degree of violence, in general but specifically towards women (death of Sue Sibny, "death" of Stephanie Brown, etc.)
So considering these ages, permeated with certain trends, tend to last about fifteen years, what do you think we're approaching? Will 2015 see another paradigm shift, a backlash against the current movie tie-in fascination on Marvel's part and nostalgia on DC's?
Sorry for the long winded post, just been on my mind. Bear in mind I didn't even mention any companies outside the Big Two, so feel free to bring them in.
The comic book ages go something like this: Golden Age (1938-1954), Silver Age (1956-1970), Bronze Age (1971-1985), and the Modern Age (1986-?). The Modern Age has generally been associated with both the grim&gritty of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, as well as the massive cross-overs and variant/hologram covers of the '90s. Much like how it's been proposed that literature (and film, and whatever) has moved from post-modernism to post-post-modernism, I'd like to propose that comics have officially moved into their own post-modern age.
I'd say the paradigm shift happened sometime circa 2000, with the first X-Men movie. With that event, as well as the start of Joe Quesada's reign, Marvel began focusing more on modernizing (black leather costumes, hip Indie/British writers) and appealing to new fans that would be drawn in by the movies (The Ultimate line). These new writers (Morrison, Bendis, Millar) did this with a more down-to-earth approach, usually with thinly veiled political commentary (Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign).
DC, meanwhile, went the opposite direction, choosing to focus more on retro spectacle. Although some would blame Geoff Johns for this, I would pinpoint Batman's switch back to his original symbol post-No Man's Land as a sign of things to come. With Jeph Loeb's restoration of the evil mad scientist Lex Luthor in 2004, Geoff Johns was all set to revive Hal Jordan as Green Lantern in 2005, opening the flood gates for a Silver Age revival. This has, however, been simultaneously infused with a troubling degree of violence, in general but specifically towards women (death of Sue Sibny, "death" of Stephanie Brown, etc.)
So considering these ages, permeated with certain trends, tend to last about fifteen years, what do you think we're approaching? Will 2015 see another paradigm shift, a backlash against the current movie tie-in fascination on Marvel's part and nostalgia on DC's?
Sorry for the long winded post, just been on my mind. Bear in mind I didn't even mention any companies outside the Big Two, so feel free to bring them in.
