Eras and their endings
Owing to the events of Green Lantern Corps #42, is the Modern Age of Comics now over?
"With Kyle dead, I guess the Modern Age of comics has really given in to Silver Age 2.0."
--- a Newsarama reader weighs in on Green Lantern Corps #42
Would it be fair to say that eras in comic book history... ages, as the fans call them... must always end with a death?
The Golden Age of comics ended when the super hero genre died out in the 1950s. Yes, Superman and Batman were still being published, but the genre proper was dead and buried until the Silver Age began a decade later. Many pundits agree that period came to a close when Gwen Stacy died in Amazing Spider-Man #121. That gave way to the Bronze Age, whose curtain call is marked by three deaths: Barry Allen, Kara Zor-El and the classic interpretation of Superman (all courtesy of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Modern Age kicked off in 1986 or thereabouts, and continues to the present day.
Or does it?
Could it be argued the death of Kyle Rayner (should it be more than a one-month cliffhanger) is symbolic of the definitive end of the Modern Age and the once-and-for-all rise of the Retro Age? The Modern Age was a time wherein classic archetypal heroes were pushed aside to make room for newer, "hipper" versions of themselves. Kyle was one of the biggest symbols of this because he replaced Hal Jordan. That made him a lightning rod for fan opinion, be it positive or negative.
Since 2005, the tables have turned. Those newer characters are now being wiped away, altered or pushed to the side so the originals can take the spotlight. For example:
- Wally West has returned to the second tier in the Flash hierarchy, as he was in the Silver Age.
- Connor Hawke, the son of Oliver Queen, has been fundamentally altered (new powers; loss of archery skills) and is therefore no longer anyone's idea of a Green Arrow.
- Damage has been killed during Blackest Night while Atom Smasher, a Bronze Age character, has returned to prominence once more.
- Superboy's demeanor and attitude have shifted away from his 1990s version toward a more Silver Age style
- Tim Drake has adopted a new identity so that the son of Batman can be Robin; a Silver Age concept writ large.
- Spider-Man's Modern Age trappings (marriage, villains reforming, etc) have been replaced with a Silver/Bronze Age mix.
- Marvel's publishing plan is moving toward a classic Avengers roster after many years of shake-ups.
Do all of these represent a concerted effort - be it deliberate or subconscious - to bring about another seismic change in the super hero genre? Is the death of Kyle Rayner something people will look back on, in time, and mark as the moment those changes finally took hold? Are we now in the Retro Age of Comics?
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
(cross-posted at wednesdaycomics)
"With Kyle dead, I guess the Modern Age of comics has really given in to Silver Age 2.0."
--- a Newsarama reader weighs in on Green Lantern Corps #42
Would it be fair to say that eras in comic book history... ages, as the fans call them... must always end with a death?
The Golden Age of comics ended when the super hero genre died out in the 1950s. Yes, Superman and Batman were still being published, but the genre proper was dead and buried until the Silver Age began a decade later. Many pundits agree that period came to a close when Gwen Stacy died in Amazing Spider-Man #121. That gave way to the Bronze Age, whose curtain call is marked by three deaths: Barry Allen, Kara Zor-El and the classic interpretation of Superman (all courtesy of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Modern Age kicked off in 1986 or thereabouts, and continues to the present day.
Or does it?
Could it be argued the death of Kyle Rayner (should it be more than a one-month cliffhanger) is symbolic of the definitive end of the Modern Age and the once-and-for-all rise of the Retro Age? The Modern Age was a time wherein classic archetypal heroes were pushed aside to make room for newer, "hipper" versions of themselves. Kyle was one of the biggest symbols of this because he replaced Hal Jordan. That made him a lightning rod for fan opinion, be it positive or negative.
Since 2005, the tables have turned. Those newer characters are now being wiped away, altered or pushed to the side so the originals can take the spotlight. For example:
- Wally West has returned to the second tier in the Flash hierarchy, as he was in the Silver Age.
- Connor Hawke, the son of Oliver Queen, has been fundamentally altered (new powers; loss of archery skills) and is therefore no longer anyone's idea of a Green Arrow.
- Damage has been killed during Blackest Night while Atom Smasher, a Bronze Age character, has returned to prominence once more.
- Superboy's demeanor and attitude have shifted away from his 1990s version toward a more Silver Age style
- Tim Drake has adopted a new identity so that the son of Batman can be Robin; a Silver Age concept writ large.
- Spider-Man's Modern Age trappings (marriage, villains reforming, etc) have been replaced with a Silver/Bronze Age mix.
- Marvel's publishing plan is moving toward a classic Avengers roster after many years of shake-ups.
Do all of these represent a concerted effort - be it deliberate or subconscious - to bring about another seismic change in the super hero genre? Is the death of Kyle Rayner something people will look back on, in time, and mark as the moment those changes finally took hold? Are we now in the Retro Age of Comics?
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
(cross-posted at wednesdaycomics)