Whatever kind of comics you wanna discuss, do it here, be it manga, archie comics, anarchy comics (Anarchy Comics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), etc...

But what I want to talk about is American comic books (Marvel, DC). You know, the kind that are associated with super heroes.

I'm not an expert and I'm very far from it but they're something I've wanted to get into for years but have been too intimidated by the quantity of 'em. No more though, even if it's downloading them, I shall read a bunch.
But what I REALLY wanna discuss, concerning them, is why they exist and the importance of them to North American culture.

*Keep in mind that like I said, I'm not an expert, the first thing I'm gonna mention is a theory I've seen kicked around and the second is just something I thought up tonight*

1: You think that the characters were created because of Americas fear and paranoia concerning both opposing forces and forces at home? Meaning these characters were created to install a feeling of safety among the readers, because there will be super heroes fighting for the good of America. For example, according to Wikipedia:

Quote:

Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) — on sale in December 1940, a year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and already showing Cap socking Hitler in the jaw — sold nearly one million copies. [4] Though preceded as a "patriotically themed superhero" by MLJ's The Shield, Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring of that wave of superheroes introduced in American comic books prior to and during World War II. With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis, Japanese and other threats to wartime America and the Allies, and joined Timely's fellow hit characters the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner as the company's primary stars.

I'm sure you could find more examples.

2: If you're American or Canadian, you should realize that we don't have the rich history/culture that other, older countries/nations have. I enjoy our art immensely but what do we have in regards to mythology? Other civilizations have a rich history of it (greek, roman, norse, egyptian, african, etc) and we have very little. Let's not forget that a lot of our fairy tales/fables have been watered down and are no longer violent (but some are, of course).

Could it be that these super hero comics are our mythology? They have all the components... godlike figures, branching stories, different interpretations of said stories, history. Obviously there are differences. But let's discuss the idea and flesh it out or dismiss it.

And if you wanna be technical, then yes, Christianity counts but I really don't think this is on the same level.


With that said. Who likes Deadpool, hm?

So Obdurate, I've been reading more comics since I've said that (polished off a few graphic novels, have another in the mail, been reading Spawn and Deadpool, read some Batman), and comics are my passion at the moment. I've read a novel or two since the first week of July but I've been mainly interested in comics.

I've got tons downloading (since I can't afford to go out and buy every issue of long series), like the Punisher, Swamp Thing, etc. I love opening it up and seeing what kinda art style it'll have... I feel it's more diverse than opening a book and seeing what kinda writing style someone has, but that's just me. Eventually I'll balance comics and normal books more evenly but for now I'm mostly comics.

I can't say I'm much for comics. Although I can see how they affect our culture and how our culture affects them.

My father has a TON of the old Ghost Rider comics in the cellar... maybe I'll break 'em out and see what their about.

As for comics, I don't think they were intended to become our mythology. But, I have thought about this before, and realized that they have become our "mythology", only of course like you said earlier, different. I do not know much about the subject, or atleast as much as it appears you know, so I will try to read up on the topic and try to keep this discussion open as it is interesting.

Oh, I'm not a comic genius. I've been flirting with the idea of getting into them for years but was too intimidated by the quantity of 'em. They aren't like other books where you can just pick up one and you haven't missed anything.

Tell me how Ghost Rider is when you read it. I'm not interested in him, really, but maybe the comics will be better than they sound. A flaming skull on a motorcycle with a chain just doesn't sound that interesting, but I don't know his backstory either and that's a major part of super heroes.

Yeah, I don't think they were meant to be our mythology either. They were just like every other artform really... meant to entertain, say a little something and possibly uplift the people (like Captain America punching Hitler, or Ironman being anti-communist when the "communists" were a threat).

A big problem with comics is the fact that they're often dismissed as just for kids but the graphic novels I have are... er, graphic. Tits, lots of blood, etc. Even the more mainstream comics like X-Men are fairly dark... like Nightcrawler teleporting and going through "hell" or whatever everytime he does it.
Not saying there aren't kids comics but y'know.

And one last thing to anybody who can't choose between DC or Marvel... this is what I've gathered about the two.
Marvel has better super heroes (X-Men, Deadpool, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, etc) but DC has better imprint comics that aren't part of a main series, like Watchmen, which is one of the greatest books ever written. And they have stuff like V for Vendetta.

Yeah, since most comics are popular with kids, people think that comics are just for kids who don't want to read a real book, but that is definitely not true. And a lot of good movies were inspired by comics (I don't mean like the Fantastic Four movies, I mean like The Matrix and V for Vendetta, and possibly the original Superman movies).

It's why I feel slightly shy when I tell people I'm really into comics now, because I'm expecting them to say "read a real book" or "aren't you too old." I'd just open up a page with lots of blood and show it to 'em.

Comics also have the added bonus of being able to have wordless panels and still maintain the ability to say a lot.

So here's some graphic novels I've read recently that I enjoy, for anybody who's interested:
Watchmen
City of Silence
Sandman Vol. 1 and 2 (of 10, I need to buy the rest).

I've got one called Maus ordered, and here comes wikipedia like usual:
Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a graphic novel. It recounts the struggle of Spiegelman's father to survive the Holocaust as a Polish Jew and draws largely on his father's recollections of his experiences. The book also follows the author's troubled relationship with his father and the way the effects of war reverberate through generations of a family.

And it uses animals to represent the Germans, the British, the French, the Swedes, etc. I'm expecting this to be a really painful (in a good way) read. I can't wait.

Yeah, did you see the movie? It gives the basic background story of how he sold his soul to the devil, all for the love of his father. His father had cancer and there was no cure. The devil made a contract that was signed in the Rider's blood that said if the Devil cured his father's cancer, he would have to work for the devil. The rider was younger at this time and he just wanted to help his father, so he agreed. The devil killed his father, saying that his father no longer suffers from the cancer. Now, the rider is older and must fulfill his contract...

That's what I got from the movie. I gotta see if its at all similar to the actual comics.

Oh right. That doesn't sound too bad, actually. I'm sure that the movie changed it a bit, since they always do but there may be strands of it that are similar. Like the movie Constantine... John Constantine, in the comics, is a humanist with a hate for both heaven and hell but in the movie he's a devout catholic. I think companies often change the characters around to fit in with the average joe, but I could be wrong.

I haven't seen the movie, btw.

I'm also reading Spawn which has an equally heart wrenching backstory, but I'm only a few issues in so maybe it'll all change as he pieces everything together.

I saw the end of Constantine on HBO once, but not enough to really understand what it was all about. I didn't know that was a comic first.