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Eric Jansen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2291
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| Posted: 24 July 2014 at 1:41am | IP Logged | 1
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A couple of other responses:
Hellboy is one original character that's come up since the Silver Age. Mignola was smart to keep him.
Captain America's Super-Soldier Serum has been deactivated at least three times I can think of (the last time being just 3 or 4 years ago) and, while he always shrinks, not once has he aged. Even the shrinking seems dumb to me, but the aging makes no sense whatsoever. Not really enjoying Rememder's run.
I am very surprised that no third company has really tried to start a new interconnected super-hero universe, not since Dark Horse's aborted line (20 years ago?).
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Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369
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| Posted: 24 July 2014 at 2:25am | IP Logged | 2
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Were the earlier creators and creations so vibrant that they can be
used and re-used and reinvented forever and ever, or is the audience
that reluctant and indifferent toward new stuff?
======
I think that isn't quite the question to ask. The earlier creators reused
stories all the time. The audience isn't indifferent, they've just seen the
show too many times.
When the earlier creators reused an idea, the audience turned over
every five to seven years. The current audience has been around for
twenty to thirty years.
So, to pander to an audience that's gotten wise on reused stories
mean you can't just tell a good story. You've got to up the ante. So
we've got event storytelling and stunt casting for story ideas. The
problem gets worse as the writer begins to think he's writing the next
great American novel.
These characters can endure a lot. But they weren't really designed to
be written for the same audience for so long. You've got to turn over
your readership and do it all over again.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132264
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| Posted: 24 July 2014 at 4:24am | IP Logged | 3
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As for reasonably popular DC and Marvel superheroes since the '70s who aren't derivative of some previous character and aren't pathetic:Starfire
Cyborg
Booster Gold (sometimes not pathetic)
Static
Rogue •• I think you are stretching "popular" beyond the parameters of this discussion. We've been talking characters of Spider-Man and, yes, Wolverine level. Ask any civilian who those two are, and you'll get a response. Ask about the characters on your list and. . . not so much.
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Doug Centers
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 5465
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| Posted: 24 July 2014 at 6:18am | IP Logged | 4
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"As for reasonably popular DC and Marvel superheroes since the '70s who aren't derivative of some previous character and aren't pathetic:"
...
I have 2 built in geiger counters in my household when it comes to what's popular outside the comic community; a teenage son and daughter. There are only two that are relevant other than the pre seventies list (and Wolverine). They are Deadpool and Harley Quinn. Both because of video games. My kids sought out there comics and only there comics. Also if you go into a tee-shirt shop you can see the amount of Deadpool merchandise it rivals even Spider-Man. My son has probably 4 shirts himself.
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Stephen Robinson
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5835
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| Posted: 24 July 2014 at 10:12am | IP Logged | 5
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Are there any comic book characters who have achieved
mainstream popularity (i.e. "known to civilians") who did
not have a successful TV show or movie? Part of it might be
chicken and the egg -- you have to be popular enough to
warrant the translation to another medium. And it occurs to
me that Spider-Man had his famous Saturday morning cartoon
just four years after his creation!
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Andrew W. Farago
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 July 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4067
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| Posted: 24 July 2014 at 2:54pm | IP Logged | 6
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Hellboy is one original character that's come up since the Silver Age. Mignola was smart to keep him.
There have been plenty of creator-owned characters with major staying power introduced since the 1980s. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for example, is one of the biggest properties in the world, definitely in the same ballpark as the top characters from the Big Two. Hellboy's had two successful movies, Spawn had a movie and a cult hit HBO series, Savage Dragon and WildCats had cheap-o animated cartoons, Walking Dead's the biggest thing on cable TV ever, Bone's sold over a million books worldwide, Raina Telgemeier's been dominating the YA charts for a few years, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, Wendy Pini's ElfQuest, Dave Sim's Cerebus...there have been a decent number of artists making a go of the creator-owned thing for 20-plus years.
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James Howell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 23 September 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 363
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| Posted: 25 July 2014 at 8:49pm | IP Logged | 7
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Can't we give poor Jack Kirby characters a rest? Creating new heroes/heroines is difficult, but not IMPOSSIBLE. Where's the imagination? So many jaded and closed minds dominating the medium, from fans and fan/pros alike. This is the ultimate reason why I don't buy comics anymore. The big 2 wants to inject diversity? Then do it FOR REAL, not as a lazy stunt for mainstream "acceptance". That's the problem with fans and fanboy pros who want to work in Hollywood, always trying to get the approval of people and interest groups who don't like, respect, or most importantly, BUY superhero comics. That self-hatred gets transferred not only in the books, but the heroes' personae themselves.
'
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