And here we go...
I've been reading comics most of my life. As I've grown up so have the comics. To the point where the realism (ie violence and sex) is comparable to what you see on television or in the movies. Heroes aren't very pure and villains aren't just criminals, they're monsters. Some would say this is good writing, I call it inappropriate. The heroes being sold in comics are also the heroes being sold as action figures in toy stores and in cartoons on children's television. You can't market a product to children and then sell a similar product meant for only an adult audience. Its wrong.
Its tempting sometimes to just give up on comics but thats not my way and it shouldn't be yours. Comic books have a major influence in our society and they should be subject to the same rules that music and movies are being forced to follow. Content should be clearly labeled and a product meant for one audience shouldn't be reworked for another. that's what I'm going to try and do. I don't read all comics but of the ones I do, if I see something that stands out as inappropriate (which is often) I'll post it here. Whether I can keep this up I'll be honest and say I don't know. But I'll give it my best.
Its tempting sometimes to just give up on comics but thats not my way and it shouldn't be yours. Comic books have a major influence in our society and they should be subject to the same rules that music and movies are being forced to follow. Content should be clearly labeled and a product meant for one audience shouldn't be reworked for another. that's what I'm going to try and do. I don't read all comics but of the ones I do, if I see something that stands out as inappropriate (which is often) I'll post it here. Whether I can keep this up I'll be honest and say I don't know. But I'll give it my best.
posted by Greg McClay at 9:51 PM
6 Comments:
Oh great, another self-styled arbiter of morality with an infantile view of comics as a children's medium who wants to push his views of what's appropriate on everyone else. It's been done, mate.
There's nothing more obnoxious then someone saying 'friend' or 'mate' when they obviously don't know what it means.
Whether what I'm doing has been done before or not. I'm still doing it.
Actually there is something more obnoxious, pal. It's the self-righteous attitude of those who wish to impose their moral code on others, buddy.
Moral codes like state and federal laws? Like movies rating systems and music rating systems? Like basic manners?
THANK YOU! My wife and I are expecting our first child, and I've wanted to raise the kid with the same characters I grew up with. Unfortunately, I don't think that's possible anymore; Spider-Man villains call for escorts after robbing banks, oral sex references turn up in Batman and Superman... I've accumulated a long list of my own, and I'm delighted to see I'm not the only voice out there saying this. I love my "mature-themed" comics as well (Preacher, Y: The Last Man, Hellblazer, 100 Bullets), and people have every right to have them available. If that's what you want to read there's plenty available in comic form without dragging it into Green Lantern or whatever.
I'd also point out "anonymous" claims our concerns reflect an "infantile view of comics" as a medium for children. He misunderstands what is being said. Mature themes are welcome in comics, but if a character is heavily marketed to children, the content of the comics they appear in should be appropriate. Nor do certain comics have to be "kid-specific"; rather, they could be all-ages accessable. Frank Miller's Daredevil or the Claremont/Byrne X-Men (to name a couple I grew up on) were both sophisticated in storytelling while remaining accessable to all ages, for example. Is anyone going to claim that "edgier" modern comics are more sophisticated than those books?
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