Are We In A New Age Of Comics?

[Joker]

The golden age ended after WWII, when they fell out of popularity, and it's commonly accepted that the silver age ended with DC's Crisis On Infinite Earths. So, with comics reaching a popularity they havent seen in decades, and both major companies doing universe changing/continuity changing events, would you say that what we had been reffering to as the modern age is now officialy over, and we are in a brand new age? And if so, what would the age that just ended be called? The Bronze age? I would actually suggest the Dark Age because of a few reasons. The first being the horrid storylines of the 90's, and the fact that everyone needed to be dark and edgy thanks to crap like spawn. Also, it was a dark time for the industry in general with it almost falling totally apart right after the "boom" in the 90's with Marvel even filing for bankruptcy and such. So, what's your guys opinion on this?

 

[Harlekin]

I thought it was pretty much accepted that the Silver Age ended with the death of Gwen Stacy.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

there's already a bronze age.thats as commonly used as modern age. i just think it's accepted that we're still in it. cpmics are still dark, realistic and gritty as a whole. the whole event thing isnt new either, its a sign of all the bronze age years.

 

[Darthphere]

I think comics today are as good as they ever have been and ill leave it at that.

 

[Joker]

I think comics today are as good as they ever have been and ill leave it at that.

I agree, right now they're alot better than they were in the 90's...with stuff like the clone saga and onslaught, and all the other horrible things they did. And comics are still dark and gritty, but that seems to be changing a bit with DC now anyway returning to some silver age themes with a modern day storytelling style.

 

[Darthphere]

I agree, right now they're alot better than they were in the 90's...with stuff like the clone saga and onslaught, and all the other horrible things they did. And comics are still dark and gritty, but that seems to be changing a bit with DC now anyway returning to some silver age themes with a modern day storytelling style.

Theres something for everyone and the comic book market is pretty much the most diverse its ever been. You have dark stuff, humor, superhero action, magic/fanstasy. Theres really something for everyone to enjoy, and I dont think you could really have said that in the past.

 

[Xofenroht]

I agree with Darth.

Besides, this is the Bronze Age being the 3rd age of comics and all.

What I think people are trying to do is be creative in coining a name for the comics we have today. I really don't think it requires one. Although, this is the age where comics are being accepted as actual pieces of literature. My senior year of highschool, I did my final essay/research paper on how Neil Gaiman made a contribution to British Literature. You definitely could not have done such a thing in the Silver Age, let alone the Golden Age.

 

[Themanofbat]

I thought it was pretty much accepted that the Silver Age ended with the death of Gwen Stacy.

The Golden Age ended with Showcase #4 (1956), with the first appearance of Barry Allen as the Flash, thus starting the Silver Age, which did indeed end with the death of Gwen Stacy (1973).

 

[Darthphere]

Awesome.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

The Golden Age ended with Showcase #4 (1956), with the first appearance of Barry Allen as the Flash, thus starting the Silver Age, which did indeed end with the death of Gwen Stacy (1973).

(1)how do you know all this stuff?? who are you??? (apart from the man that recommended bat books to me. btw Face the Face's conclusion sucked.)

(2) Who decides these things?

 

[Themanofbat]

(1)how do you know all this stuff?? who are you??? (apart from the man that recommended bat books to me. btw Face the Face's conclusion sucked.)

(2) Who decides these things?

(1) Back when the Hype actually had year end awards nominated by the posters and voted by the posters, I was the winner of Hype Poster with the Best Comic Book Knowledge in 2001, 2002 as well as 2003.

I've been reading practically every Marvel, DC comics since 1975, and independants since 1981.

Who am I? I'm Batman.

(2) The same people that say you need to drink 8 glasses of water per day and that eggs are good/bad for you.

 

[boywonder13]

This post is mean tto clarify the different ages of comics:

Golden Age 1938 - late 1950s- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Comics

Silver Age of Comics - Late 1950s to the late 60s/early 70s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Age_of_Comic_Books

modern day - 1970s - ????
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Age_of_Comic_Books

 

[MyPokerShirt]

u cuda just sed "look at wikipedia" :P

 

[boywonder13]

I would say the 70s to the 1993 or so would be an age I just don't know what call it. It ends wiht the Death of Superman and around the age of X-Men new popularity and th ebegging of the Clone Saga that would ravage Spider-Man comics!.The Industy also went into a horribel spiral with company problems and loads of other stuff happened.

The Modern AGe of comics is a name we can't use forever so I propose we call it the Reformation age were comics became more than just childrens entertaintment.............

so u heard it here first the reformation age of comics 1970s to 1993 I would call than onwards the dark ages from 1994 (starting with the clone saga) to sometime now or maybe the block buster age cause Marvel and DC are constantly doing huge arcs that change their universes every year!!!

 

[Harlekin]

Why not just call the 70s to 1993 the Bronze Age, and keep calling this the modern age?

 

[Darthphere]

Why not just call the 70s to 1993 the Bronze Age, and keep calling this the modern age?

Seriously.

 

[boywonder13]

Than what next the Iron Age or something for nowadays.....

THey dont have to be followed by that pattern of ages like Golden Age and Silver Age. Calling say the Reformation age shows that it is an important part in histroy where comics changed and change they did.

from wikipedia:

1970: Marvel began publishing its Conan The Barbarian comics.
1971: DC Comics introduces the character of Swamp Thing in its House of Secrets title.
1972: Marvel begins to publish Tomb of Dracula.
1972: First issue of Swamp Thing published.
1975: Len Wein and David Cockrum recreate the X-Men, introducing a multi-ethnic cast, many of whom are still some of the most recognizeable characters in the comics world. The team debuted in Giant Sized X Men,
1976: The New Nostalgia Journal, which would later become The Comics Journal, is published.
1977: Dave Sim begins work on his Cerebus The Aardvark title. The book would run for 300 issues, ending in 2004, and both the book and its creator would become both revered and controversial in the comics world.
1978: Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve, premieres.

1980s

1981: The Brothers Hernandez self publish the first issue of Love and Rockets, a title that would become one of the most popular independent/alternative comics of the modern age.
1984: Alan Moore takes over writing on Swamp Thing
1984: Marvel begins releasing the first "big event" storyline, Secret Wars, which would, along with Crisis on Infinite Earths, popularize big events, and make them a staple in the industry.
1985: DC begins to publish Crisis on Infinite Earths, which would drastically restructure the DC universe, and popularize the epic crossover in the comics industry along with Secret Wars.
1986: DC publishes Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, setting a new grim tone for Batman.
1986: DC Comics begins publishing Watchmen, seen by many as a pivotal title of the Modern Age.
1986: Dark Horse Comics is founded. It would come to be the third largest comic publisher in the U.S., and would be known for its line of film-based comics (notably Alien and Predator), its small line of Manga, and the titles Sin City (Frank Miller) and Hellboy (Mike Mignola.)
1987: The first volume of Art Spiegelman's Maus is published. It would become one of the most famous graphic novels of the modern age.
1988: Neil Gaiman's The Sandman debuts.
1988-1989: Batman: A Death in the Family published. The storyline called for readers to phone a 900 number to decide the fate of then-Robin Jason Todd. The majority decided he should die, so he was brutally murdered by the Joker.
1989: Tim Burton's Batman film premieres, to commercial success and critical acclaim.
1989: Fantagraphics Books publishes the first issue of Daniel Clowes' Eightball, which would became a famous alternative comic, and would serialize a number of Clowes' most famous stories, including "Ghost World" and "David Boring".
[edit]
1990s
1990: The first issue of Hate by Peter Bagge is published by Fantagraphics books. The comic would come to be associated with the Seattle Grunge scene, which was becoming popularized by bands such as Nirvana and Alice in Chains.
1991: The X-Men universe is radically reinvented, with a new X-Men monthly series running alongside of the Uncanny X-Men, a new X Factor lineup, and the creation of the follow up to The New Mutants, X-Force. Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee ascend to star status, partly because of their work on these titles. At this time, X-Men became a huge franchise and would remain so until the mid 90's, with toys and an animated series giving the series wide mainstream exposure by drawing in a new generation of fans.
1991: Jeff Smith begins publishing Bone, which would become well known in the comics world. It would end its run in 2004.
1991: Volume 2 of Maus is released.
1991: Frank Miller's Sin City begins, originally in Dark Horse Presents.
1992: Maus wins a Pulitzer Prize.
1992: Image Comics is founded by a number of former Marvel artists who were unsatisfied with how Marvel handled them and its books. The company would become controversial in the comics world, but had a huge number of fans following the work of the artists, whom published their own creations under the Image name. This same year, naturally, saw the first issues of many of the best known image titles, including Spawn, Youngblood, and W.I.L.D. Cats
1992: November - The Death of Superman in Superman #75.
1993: DC launches its Vertigo imprint.

 

[boywonder13]

Than the period after 1993 could be called the Dark Ages from than onto 200, or we can call it Modern Day comics, but what the hell will they call it 30-40 years down.

This age is mixed with ups and downs in the comic book industry and how it rises and falls, up and down.

Dark Ages 1993- 2000

If that is to short for an era which I don't think it is heres a listof stuf that happened.

1994: October - The Spider-Man Clone Saga begins.
1995: Sam Kieth begins publishing The Maxx via Image Comics.
1996: December - The Spider-Man Clone Saga ends.
1996: Amidst a sales slump, the speculators crash, and massive downsizing in the industry, Marvel officially declares bankruptcy.
1996: The Amalgam Comics run, an infusion of DC Comics and Marvel Comics, begins
1997: Batman and Robin premieres in theatres, and is a huge financial and critical flop, causing Warner Bros. to put the Batman franchise on hold by Warner Bros. studios. There would not be another Batman film until 2005, with Batman Begins. The flop of Batman and Robin resulted in studios exercising more caution in adapting comics to film.
1997: The Amalgam Comics run ends, with a total 24 books published

1998 and 1999 im not sure or can remember what happened thos years again.

So Reformation Age 1973 - 1993
Dark Ages 1993-2000

thats my two cents on the new ages of comics

 

[boywonder13]

Or ACtually you could call it the Dark Ages thats a much better name!!! Cuase it sucked!

 

[UK_Stu]

I was under the impression these were the comic ages, I guess its not quite right though if 73 was the end of the silver age (Gwen's death). anyway...

1938-1956 Golden Age
1957-1969 Silver Age
1970-1979 Bronze Age
1980 - NOW Modern age

 

[MyPokerShirt]

bronze age and modern age are considered the same. and keepin repeatin "reformation age", boywonder, isnt gonna make it catch on.lol.

i think older modern comics generally get called bronze and newer ones get called modern. there needs to be a groundbreaking event (that sticks), like death of gwen stacy and COIE for a new age to begin, methinks.

 

[boywonder13]

I was under the impression these were the comic ages, I guess its not quite right though if 73 was the end of the silver age (Gwen's death). anyway...

1938-1956 Golden Age
1957-1969 Silver Age
1970-1979 Bronze Age
1980 - NOW Modern age

The Golden Age and Silver age dates float around those dates but the Bronze has not been given two meanings one of it constisting of 70s/80s comics and some from the 70s to Modern day I dont belive in those oneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Age_of_Comic_Books

Bronze Age is believed to be Modern Age though I tink several breaks should occur in the over 30 year old comic book age.

1973- 1993 should be Reformation Age/Bronze Age

1994-2000 or should be the Dark Ages because thos 6 years were really a horrible time in comic book history.

2000- ???? - I dont know what it should be called.
------
If we go buy the Bronze age being from the 70s to erly 80s than

the next would be the Reformation from early 80s to 1993 or so.

THIS IS in my opinion.

 

[boywonder13]

bronze age and modern age are considered the same. and keepin repeatin "reformation age", boywonder, isnt gonna make it catch on.lol.

i think older modern comics generally get called bronze and newer ones get called modern. there needs to be a groundbreaking event (that sticks), like death of gwen stacy and COIE for a new age to begin, methinks.

REFORMATION AGE!!!
REFORMATION AGE!!!
REFORMATION AGE!!!
REFORMATION AGE!!!

(Sublimnal Messages) Reformation Age Good!

you can't say comics from the earyl 90s or even the late 90s are the same as they are today. Ater 2000 comics were different. The 90s is even different.

I would say a new age would start in 1994 when the Clone Saga Begins .

The Dark Age where Marvel would declare bankruptcty and crap.and than in 2000 Ultimate stuff was releaed and the comic book indusrty fixed itself.

 

[boywonder13]

Reformation Age (1973-1994)
Reformation Age (1973-1994)
Reformation Age (1973- 1994)

Reformation AGe
Reformation Age
reformation Age
------

Dark Ages (1994-2000)
Dark Ages (1994-2000)
Dark Ages (1994-2000)

;p

 

[UK_Stu]

This section off Wikipedia explains the whole Bronze age/modern age thing in a little more detail,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_book - check out 'The Comic Book in the United States' section. I've pasted the relevant part below:

"The Silver Age of Comic Books is generally considered to date from the first successful revival of the dormant superhero form — the debut of the Barry Allen Flash in Showcase #4 (Sept.-Oct. 1956) — and last through the early 1970s, during which time Marvel Comics revolutionized the medium with such naturalistic superheroes as the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. The beginnings of the Bronze and Modern ages are far more disputable. Indeed, some suggest that we are still in the Bronze Age. Starting points that have been suggested for the Bronze Age of comics are Conan #1 (Oct. 1970), Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 (Apr. 1970) or Amazing Spider-Man #96 (May 1971) (the non-Comics Code issue). The start of the Modern Age (occasionally referred to as the Copper Age) has even more potential starting points, but is most likely the publication of Alan Moore's Watchmen in 1986."

Copper age? sounds a bit C*ap