Writing: Past and Present

[boltmonster]

For those of you born in a decade that you are familiar with:

What makes present-day writing of comic books different/better than what has come before?

[BatmanJones]

For those of you born in a decade that you are familiar with:

What makes present-day writing of comic books different/better than what has come before?

I'm more interested in hearing from those of you who are born in a decade you're not familiar with. I mean, what's that like?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

The audience has changed, so the writing has changed with it.

In the 30s & 40s, the audience was largely pre-pubescent kids and the stories reflected that in terms of sophistication. However, during WW2, a lot of soldiers got hooked, so more and more comics started appealing to a more adult audience with higher levels of horror, sex and violence, which caused the Comics Code to clamp down on all that.

As a result, the audience for comics went back to pre-pubescent kids in the 1950s, but with a growing segment of hardcore fans. Meanwhile, European comics could appeal fully to adult audiences and was able to outpace American comics by leaps and bounds in terms of craft and sophistication.

By the 60s, Marvel's deeper characterization and ongoing sopa opera with its more interconnected continuity had managed to retain those pre-pubescent kids into their teens and college years, which led to even more sophisticated writing and subject matter.

By the 70s & 80s, these former fans had now become the creators and writers themselves, so the comics became even more obsessed with past continuity and dealing with mature subject matter. However, it often dealt with that mature subject matter in a less than mature or sophisticated manner because these comics were based upon a foundation designed primarily for children. DC then started recruiting more and more British creators, who brought with them the greater sophistication of the European comics to the American superhero mainstream.

Once the direct market allowed comics to more fully embrace adult content, the one-two punch of Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns blew the lid off the concept of comics being for kids and both DC & Marvel's output has been a mixed bag of comics aimed at everyone from kids to teens to adults with wildly varying degrees of quality and success. However, it's undeniable that both companies have devoted most of their comics over the last few decades to appealing to their most hardcore readers, most of whom are men in the 40s.

Are the comics better or worse? That's all subjective.

[lemonpeace]

The audience has changed, so the writing has changed with it.

In the 30s & 40s, the audience was largely pre-pubescent kids and the stories reflected that in terms of sophistication. However, during WW2, a lot of soldiers got hooked, so more and more comics started appealing to a more adult audience with higher levels of horror, sex and violence, which caused the Comics Code to clamp down on all that.

As a result, the audience for comics went back to pre-pubescent kids in the 1950s, but with a growing segment of hardcore fans. Meanwhile, European comics could appeal fully to adult audiences and was able to outpace American comics by leaps and bounds in terms of craft and sophistication.

By the 60s, Marvel's deeper characterization and ongoing sopa opera with its more interconnected continuity had managed to retain those pre-pubescent kids into their teens and college years, which led to even more sophisticated writing and subject matter.

By the 70s & 80s, these former fans had now become the creators and writers themselves, so the comics became even more obsessed with past continuity and dealing with mature subject matter. However, it often dealt with that mature subject matter in a less than mature or sophisticated manner because these comics were based upon a foundation designed primarily for children. DC then started recruiting more and more British creators, who brought with them the greater sophistication of the European comics to the American superhero mainstream.

Once the direct market allowed comics to more fully embrace adult content, the one-two punch of Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns blew the lid off the concept of comics being for kids and both DC & Marvel's output has been a mixed bag of comics aimed at everyone from kids to teens to adults with wildly varying degrees of quality and success. However, it's undeniable that both companies have devoted most of their comics over the last few decades to appealing to their most hardcore readers, most of whom are men in the 40s.

Are the comics better or worse? That's all subjective.

I just need to acknowledge and emphasize how perfect this answer is; because it's perfect.

[Restingvoice]

As a kid, I like the simplistic story of Golden and Silver Age
As an adult, I like the more complex storytelling in today's comic... and I still enjoy the more simplistic story because they're just fun and relaxing.

I only rolled my eyes when it got too ridiculous, such as Joker stitching together dead bodies of Arkham prison guards in Death of The Family to make a map, the number of martial arts Batman can master, how he can just climb out of a jet turbine, and just Batjerk and Batgod in general.

Also, having random sci-fi and magic shenanigans work when they're just making simple one-shot stories to make you laugh. It doesn't work when they're trying to be serious, or when they try to fit the more silly stuff in a more serious setting.

[iron chimp]

I very much doubt European comics in 50s outstripped their USA counterparts given usa was biggest engine of sci fi and westerns in the decade and their work would be a fundamental influence across the rest of the world through Wally wood, Alex raymond etc.

In the UK we barely had any underground / comix / indie press while USA was producing Robert crumb, Gilbert Shelton etc in 60s and 70s who would again be pivotal figures in Europe.