Comic books are a strange beast. For the longest time, superheroes weren't the major genre comics had. As time went on, other interests became more prominent, and so there were Westerns and there were Sci-Fi comics, and there were Romance comics, and (just before superheroes came back as the big thing in comics in the 60s) there were Monster comics, and so on and so forth. Even when Superheroes came back, there would occasionally be something called the "fad super" a traditional superhero who had some basic hook based around a silly fad, trying to capitalize on the fad's successes. Marvel's Dazzler (disco), or Ghost Rider (stunt-cycling and horror stories), or Rocket Racer and Night Thrasher (skateboarding), DC's Vibe (breakdancing), heck, even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ninjas initially, but the "four word humanoid team" name thing that rode the wave of TMNT's success was a fad of its own that quickly descended into parody). As you can see, just because a super hero's concept is based around a cultural fad that often has vanished from the cultural consciousness even only a few years after its creation (or may already be on the downswing by the time comics get to it) doesn't mean the hero is a bad idea and will fade away. Strong writing can keep a character going long after his or her fad has died. And that brings us to America's Got Powers #1, by Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch.
Showing posts with label new comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new comics. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Modern Fad Awesome
Comic books are a strange beast. For the longest time, superheroes weren't the major genre comics had. As time went on, other interests became more prominent, and so there were Westerns and there were Sci-Fi comics, and there were Romance comics, and (just before superheroes came back as the big thing in comics in the 60s) there were Monster comics, and so on and so forth. Even when Superheroes came back, there would occasionally be something called the "fad super" a traditional superhero who had some basic hook based around a silly fad, trying to capitalize on the fad's successes. Marvel's Dazzler (disco), or Ghost Rider (stunt-cycling and horror stories), or Rocket Racer and Night Thrasher (skateboarding), DC's Vibe (breakdancing), heck, even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ninjas initially, but the "four word humanoid team" name thing that rode the wave of TMNT's success was a fad of its own that quickly descended into parody). As you can see, just because a super hero's concept is based around a cultural fad that often has vanished from the cultural consciousness even only a few years after its creation (or may already be on the downswing by the time comics get to it) doesn't mean the hero is a bad idea and will fade away. Strong writing can keep a character going long after his or her fad has died. And that brings us to America's Got Powers #1, by Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Comic Book Awesome Can Come In Different Flavors
I wasn't planning on doing this until next week. For one thing, I hadn't decided on a full format for this place. The concept of celebrating awesomeness in comics and awesome comic books is a good idea, but how do I present the stuff I find? I have several ideas, but the only way to do it is to do it.
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