Are Comics TOO Serious?

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[@changvasejarik62]

Honestly I think the problem is a lack of discipline and perspective. That the people in charge don’t put enough of themselves into the product and that the writers don’t take enough care with maintaining a proper continuity.

[@TheComicsPals]

Are you unhappy with the current state of the big 2?

[@changvasejarik62]

@@TheComicsPals it’s less about satisfaction and more to do with they have nothing to keep my interest. After doomsday clock and Ironman 2020 it all just felt pointless and hollow to me.

[@comicsjoe0409]

Im all for having fun but i don't want cheesy and campy. I'm a Marvel reader mostly and i still want the "World out of our window" feel to it. So if they can still make feel rral while also comic booky then its a win for me

[@TheComicsPals]

I'm with you on that Joe.

[@juggergrimm]

New Frontier vs Civil War Bright, hopeful, classic but talks about war, racism, sexism, and other topics. Vs Gritty, modern and hopeless that doesn't really talk about issues other than a little handwave at things in passing

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

A combination of fun and serious is good in many comics. For some IPS there will be more of one than another. I do think that a small number of very serious comics or very fun comics that have little of the other is also good for a comic book universe. Generally I don't like silly/goofy characters or long runs,because I destinguish a difference between fin and goofy, and don't like goofyness for the most part, but do enjoy good comic strips...

[@TheComicsPals]

Agreed wholeheartedly.

[@RLucas3000]

I’m subscribing because I have so much to say, but it’s so late. If you want to know the comic that broke the fun in comics forever, it was Captain America 160 (only my second issue!), the first appearance of the villain Solar. It doesn’t get any credit (or should I say blame), but it changed comics forever. The comics code had already been wounded by that point, by Spidey and Speedy and Tomb of Dracula, by Cap 160 Baned the back of the CCA. I have deep appreciation for all sorts of comics, but I have to steel myself to read fantastic comics like The Authority because of the sheer bloodthirsty-ness of it. Or the powerful, but utter darkness of the story where Wolverine had to kill the boy whose power accidentally killed everyone in his small home town. I mostly create my own teams, scenarios, etc. And I tend to like villains that don’t wholesale slaughter innocents. Hey! The heroes DID NOT blow up that school! It was the villain Nitro! The young heroes got blamed because they didn’t defeat him quick enough, or lure him far away from the school. It could have happened to any team, honestly.

[@TheComicsPals]

Hey, I appreciate the lengthy, thoughtful comment. I understand this sentiment and I respect that everyone's tolerance is different. I just believe that all kinds of stories can be told within the prism of superheroes, and we need a mixture of them all to get a full picture of these characters.

[@GitShiddy]

Superheroes, as a genre, are morality tales for children. They should be light to ingest & have meaning to digest. I don't believe there's an inherent need/want for fun or escapism necessarily (personally I think escapism in 'motions at the state of the world' is kinda irresponsible). It's hope. That's what we want to see; irrespective of tone, subject matter, and within Superhero comics. irrespective of which character. We need them to have a morality that isn't consistently shattered/sullied/muddied/questioned but is a guide. Not necessarily unflappable for all but certainly a morality shown in such a way that it betters us. The "Dark Ages" of deconstructionism anti-morality heroics of the 2000s with grossly amoral/immoral comics of Heroes doing everything from killing children, invading countries, killing each other, betrayal, backstabbing, hell even destroying whole universes as "necessity"...we're passed the need for that cynicism. And because of it's prevalence now we need to reestablish for everyone what heroism looks like. For me that's the thing to take seriously in comics & let the character & story dictate the weight of the tone.

[@TheComicsPals]

I'm not sure I agree on what they "should be" in that I think superhero comics can be anything, and I personally wouldn't have fallen as hard for the industry if it weren't for some of the more challenging books. That said, what I love about superheroes is that any kind of story can be told in the space, and when there's a bit for balance every kind of reader can be served.

[@GitShiddy]

@@TheComicsPals I agree with everything you said so maybe I should provide a touch of clarity. By "should be light to ingest" I'm mainly thinking it should be inviting to read. So aesthetically, pacing, layout etc. it should make you want more. Have meaning to digest...I feel all art & story should have some substance, some humanity. And as I always feel I need to clarify when I say "morality tales for children" doesn't mean they can't be challenging even to adults. People underestimate/coddle the comprehension of kids. I mean Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales are dark, but also morality tales for kids. So even if a "should be" seems like a box because of the grammar. In my mind that "should be" box is more than large enough to fit the genre & is less cumbersome than the management decisions these companies put on story now. Which for the most part isn't overbearing.

[@TheComicsPals]

@@GitShiddy Understood. How do you feel about the current offerings from the big 2?

[@GitShiddy]

@@TheComicsPals I'm not a Wednesday Warrior so I'm quite out of the loop. But everything going on with Superman right now is the thing I'm on about. Excluding Marvel's Red Band gimmick (which I'm not against per se just think it's already lame), I feel the Big 2 are completely off the edgelord & the creators are actively thinking "Let's make this hopeful". Perhaps because of or in spite of that, it does have this unfortunate thing where few things are being talked about as epic/timeless/hype (apart from Ultimate Spider-Man & maybe Ultimates). On the flipside though if I was every Wednesday I feel like it'd just be a nice place to be. A strange case of being content without necessarily being blown away.

[@HobbiesofaMan]

I think the answer is no, comics have not gotten too serious. I think the people telling the stories are just worse at making the tone and balance work for the topics they are trying to talk about. You need seriousness for levity to exist, you need dark for light, or evil for good, in terms of contrast and satisfaction in your reading experience, and I don't think that it's being balanced correctly in most comics now a days

[@TheComicsPals]

I agree, but I also don't think all stories require balance. Some things need to be handled seriously in order for them to be function effectively as stories. I think some MCU movies for example are hampered but the idea that there MUST be a balance in tone.

[@HobbiesofaMan]

@@TheComicsPals Yeah, I think that's true. You made a good point. Thanks for responding to me, it's really cool of y'all to take the time to do so 🙏🏽

[@TheComicsPals]

@@HobbiesofaMan You're welcome man! Thanks for checking us out.

[@ernestposey7427]

Most of these writers lack broad imaginations. They're writing comic books based on their favorite movies or what Frank Miller or Alan Moore did. They've gotten far too comfortable with inner monologue boxes doing the heavy lifting for them. Men like Walt disney, Stephen king, rod serling, all pushed beyond the first idea that popped into their heads. Think about it, should Superman need an entire family to defeat brainiac? The best these current clowns can do is dream up a new goblin. Wow.

[@TheComicsPals]

Do you enjoy modern comics in general?

[@ernestposey7427]

@@TheComicsPals good question. I am enjoying many of today's comics. It's mostly the big two that get the failing grade. I'm liking Words Finest or the recent superior Spider-Man. Both titles have kept me guessing. BTW... This video was great, I always enjoy your show.

[@TheComicsPals]

​@@ernestposey7427 So you've become more of an indie reader? Thank you for watching us! I appreciate the kind words

[@TonyTunes95]

We need more tier lists ASAP . Avengers hero tier list , X men villain tier list , Justice League Villain tier list , X Men arc tier lists , Avengers arc tier list ect .

[@TheComicsPals]

We don't tend to do them too often, but we'll get to one soonish! Have you checked out the other tier lists we've done beyond the X-Men one from last month?

[@TonyTunes95]

@@TheComicsPals of course I have, that’s why I suggested it ! Loved those videos it was awesome hearing all the different opinions.

[@TheComicsPals]

@@TonyTunes95 Thanks a lot Tony! Appreciate your enthusiasm.

[@blunteastwood]

Why don't you put these episodes on your Podcast feed?

[@TheComicsPals]

These shorter videos are meant to be exclusive to KZbin: first for our Channel Members and then for all of our subscribers. Do you listen to us mostly on the podcast feed?

[@themultiversalmagpie7827]

Comics aren’t too serious tho it could use some more laughs, no it’s too crap that’s the problem

[@TheComicsPals]

So you don't enjoy comics?

[@themultiversalmagpie7827]

@@TheComicsPals love them actually, I just think rn they suck, not all mind you I love avengers twilight, wolverine madripoor knights, I even like some of the Ryan north fantastic four at least at the beginning, rn some comics being made rn are not even trying for be interesting like the Spiderman gang war, or this vampire nonsense (which dc wants to copy 😑) I think if comics want to survive they need to do what manga does which is Frankly everything, we went very far on superheroes so let’s just market it on all kinds of different adventures, they could even throw like Batman in a cyberpunk universe or Wonder Woman in a fantasy world, I’m not even saying to stop superheroes I’m just saying we don’t have to limit comics to masks, also sorry for the ramble