I've seen it brought up before, and I see where it's coming from. Back in the '80s, there was a sense of "realness" to the Marvel Comics, specifically how New York City was both written and portrayed, that today's comics lack. A lot has changed since the '80s, both in the comics and in the real world, and I thought it'd be interesting to discuss.

I was reading some '80s era comics the other day, specifically Spider-Man and Daredevil, and I felt a sense that this is New York City in the art. Something about it popped out, from the skyscrapers of East Side Manhattan to the lower areas such as Queens, and of course whether it's large scale chases across wide spaces or in smaller areas from alleyways or home settings, I just get a better sense that they're in a representation of NYC.

In today's comics, it doesn't feel quite as, shall we say, real? I sometimes feel it's more of a generic, almost futuristic metropolis that's a sandbox for the heroes to be in. That's no knock on today's comics, because I mainly read comics made today, but this was definitely a plus when reading the older ones. Considering this was pointed out to me before I actively started noticing, I'm know the only one who saw this.

So that begs the question, what makes this the case?

I personally think a major part is back then, internet wasn't a thing, and the writers and artists were either NYC natives or have moved in and around that area to work, making them intimately familiar with the locale. Marvel always had its roots in East Coast culture, and looking at the writers and artists of that era...

Tom DeFalco (Queens, New York)
Ann Nocenti (Manhattan, New York)
Jim Owsley/Christopher Priest (Queens, New York)
Jim Shooter (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Bill Sienkiewicz (Hainesville, New Jersey)
Chris Claremont (Long Island, New York)
Frank Miller (Montpelier, Vermont)
Klaus Janson (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Jo Duffy (New York City, New York)
J. M. DeMatteis (Brooklyn, New York)
Ron Frenz (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Bill Mantlo (Brooklyn, New York)
Ed Hannigan (Newport, Rhode Island)
Peter Allen David (New Jersey)

There were definitely exceptions, like Walt Simonson (Tennessee), Louise Simonson (Georgia), Bob McLeod (Florida), Mark Gruenwald (Wisconsin) and John Byrne (Canada), among others, but overall I feel like a major factor is that many of Marvel's talent back then were either native New Yorkers, or were from a very close area to the city, and after they moved to that area for the job, only became more familiar with the locale. Of course, you can go further back then that -- the earliest days of Marvel were also this, considering that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are New York natives, while Steve Ditko was a New Yorker by way of Pennsylvania.

Compare this to today, where many writers and artists are from all over the world, and may not have even been to NYC apart from maybe attending New York Comic-Con or something like that as a matter of business. Brian Michael Bendis, the star writer for Marvel for over a decade, is an Ohioan who settled in Portland, Oregon for his entire career. Many artists in particular are international, from Central or South America, Eastern Europe or Asia, which is pretty far away from NYC as you know.

While it's definitely good that more creators are able to shine, and be more connected than ever, it does have a side effect in how NYC is portrayed. NYC in today's Marvel is said to be a fantasy version of the real thing, as opposed to it being a real world setting that houses the superhero action. It doesn't help that a lot of the real world progression undermines Marvel, making things seem odd. Such as the gentrification of New York City, and rising costs of living, making the street level heroes' careers improbable. Same with how many of the tech geniuses are based in NYC, as opposed to the more modern standard of Silicon Valley or Boston.

I guess this is definitely a selling point for reading the older comics again, apart from the stories themselves, is the feel they have that's unique and hard to replicate now. The best comparison is that today's NYC in Marvel is like a doubled version in a movie filmed elsewhere, while back then it was filmed on location.

What do you think of this? Anything you'd like to add? Discuss.