meh
It's about damn time I wrote in this thing. I've been too busy or sick to do otherwise for the last few weeks. I spent most of yesterday in bed, if you want an idea of how I've been feeling over the last couple days. Luckily, I was able to get some schoolwork done - I had to write a paper and study for an exam while under the influence of painkillers, which should tell you how much of a motherfucking badass I am. I also managed to get some work done in my current addiction, WWE Day of Reckoning 2 - I am now the Intercontinental Champion in Story Mode thankyouverymuch.* I have state forensics competition this weekend, as well as an exam on Monday I need to write two essays for along with a study guide, not to mention the paper I have due on Thursday...but I'm actually alright with all of this, because once I'm done with it I can actually, you know, calm down.
I saw this and had a couple of immediate thoughts:
1) Hey, cool, a Fantastic Four cartoon.
2) It's aimed at kids aged 6-11? A lot of people are going to be pissed.
Which got me thinking: do superheroes have to be dark and gritty? Lord knows that's the trend lately, what with Wonder Woman snapping people's necks, Spidey biting heads, and numerous rapes and murders throughout the DCU. And yeah, the target audience for a lot of the comics is older now, and have more "mature"*** tastes that would seemingly demand a darker tone. But is it really necessary? Sure, there's a place for it - I can't imagine a shiny, happy Batman. But at the same time, I wonder if it's even a wise idea, or even a right one. Let's face it, superheroes appeal to kids. A lot. And kids are the market that will have to be reached if the comics industry will continue to thrive, since they'll grow up with it and continue to support it as they age. But when seemingly 98% of the stuff on the newsstands is violent, misogynistic, or both, it makes me wonder if the comics industry isn't starting down a path similar to what happened in the early 90's, where everything was dark and gritty and the comics industry nearly died.
Now, let me make this clear: I don't have anything against dark comics. I love Ultimates - a lot - and I loved Dark Knight Returns and stuff like that. In a perfect world, there'd be a market for the more traditional stuff as well as the dark stuff. But lately it seems like EVERYTHING is trying to break down the superhero myth and make these characters violent sadists. Sure, there's some kids stuff on the stands, but it lacks the quality of the more "grown-up" stuff. In fact, the only thing I can think of that's really truly appropriate for young kids without being condescending or insulting would be the stuff Dan Slott writes - particularly The Thing. It just starts to feel like everything out there is written to appeal to the 30 year-old guy who loves violence, blood, and gore, and we're starting to lose out on storytelling for shock value. I mean, Identity Crisis was cool, but Infinite Crisis makes my head hurt - not only from the DCU babble I don't understand because I haven't been reading DC for the last two decades, but all the pointless and gruesome deaths.
So I don't know. Maybe we'll pull up from this nadir. Maybe I'm wrong. But sometimes I think superheroes were more fun when you knew who the bad guys were.****
* - Yeah, it's a wrestling game. I make no bones about that. It's also a hell of a lot of fun, and definitely one of the best fighting-type games I've played in a while. So take your sour lemon face and your tut-tutting about professional wrestling and hit the bricks, fella.**
** - It's gotten me thinking about rebooting PSRWF again, and that's probably not for the best - though I came up with a pretty brilliant damn idea.
*** - "Mature" meaning ILIKEMESOMEBOOBIESLOLZ
**** - Bryan is sort of a hypocrite because he's already preordered Civil War.
I saw this and had a couple of immediate thoughts:
1) Hey, cool, a Fantastic Four cartoon.
2) It's aimed at kids aged 6-11? A lot of people are going to be pissed.
Which got me thinking: do superheroes have to be dark and gritty? Lord knows that's the trend lately, what with Wonder Woman snapping people's necks, Spidey biting heads, and numerous rapes and murders throughout the DCU. And yeah, the target audience for a lot of the comics is older now, and have more "mature"*** tastes that would seemingly demand a darker tone. But is it really necessary? Sure, there's a place for it - I can't imagine a shiny, happy Batman. But at the same time, I wonder if it's even a wise idea, or even a right one. Let's face it, superheroes appeal to kids. A lot. And kids are the market that will have to be reached if the comics industry will continue to thrive, since they'll grow up with it and continue to support it as they age. But when seemingly 98% of the stuff on the newsstands is violent, misogynistic, or both, it makes me wonder if the comics industry isn't starting down a path similar to what happened in the early 90's, where everything was dark and gritty and the comics industry nearly died.
Now, let me make this clear: I don't have anything against dark comics. I love Ultimates - a lot - and I loved Dark Knight Returns and stuff like that. In a perfect world, there'd be a market for the more traditional stuff as well as the dark stuff. But lately it seems like EVERYTHING is trying to break down the superhero myth and make these characters violent sadists. Sure, there's some kids stuff on the stands, but it lacks the quality of the more "grown-up" stuff. In fact, the only thing I can think of that's really truly appropriate for young kids without being condescending or insulting would be the stuff Dan Slott writes - particularly The Thing. It just starts to feel like everything out there is written to appeal to the 30 year-old guy who loves violence, blood, and gore, and we're starting to lose out on storytelling for shock value. I mean, Identity Crisis was cool, but Infinite Crisis makes my head hurt - not only from the DCU babble I don't understand because I haven't been reading DC for the last two decades, but all the pointless and gruesome deaths.
So I don't know. Maybe we'll pull up from this nadir. Maybe I'm wrong. But sometimes I think superheroes were more fun when you knew who the bad guys were.****
* - Yeah, it's a wrestling game. I make no bones about that. It's also a hell of a lot of fun, and definitely one of the best fighting-type games I've played in a while. So take your sour lemon face and your tut-tutting about professional wrestling and hit the bricks, fella.**
** - It's gotten me thinking about rebooting PSRWF again, and that's probably not for the best - though I came up with a pretty brilliant damn idea.
*** - "Mature" meaning ILIKEMESOMEBOOBIESLOLZ
**** - Bryan is sort of a hypocrite because he's already preordered Civil War.