Modern Age of Comic Books
Encyclopedia
The Modern Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period in the history of mainstream American comic books generally considered to last from the mid-1980s until present day. In this period, comic book
characters generally became darker and more psychologically complex, creators became better-known and active in changing the industry, independent comics flourished, and larger publishing houses became more commercialized.
An alternate names for this period is the Dark Age of Comic Books, due to the popularity and artistic influence of grim titles, such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
and Watchmen
. Proponents of this view point out a wave of "Silver Age
nostalgia" that first appeared during this time and has since permeated mainstream comic books.
would overlap with the infancy of the Modern Age. The work of creators such as John Byrne (Alpha Flight
, Fantastic Four
), Chris Claremont
(Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men
), and Frank Miller
(Daredevil
) would reach fruition in the Bronze Age but their impact was still felt in the Modern Age. The Uncanny X-Men is the most definitive example of this impact as Bronze Age characters such as Wolverine
and Sabretooth
would have a huge influence on the Marvel Universe
in the 1980s and beyond.
For DC, an event such as Crisis on Infinite Earths
is the bridge that joins the two ages together. The result was the cancellation of The Flash (with issue 350), Superman
(with issue 423), and Wonder Woman
(with issue 329). The post-Crisis world would have Wally West
as the new Flash, John Byrne writing a brand-new Superman series, and George Pérez
working on a new Wonder Woman series. Batman would also get a makeover as the Batman: Year One
storyline would be one of the most popular Batman stories ever published, with an animated adaptation of Year One
released in 2011.
In rough chronological order by the beginning of the trend, here are some important developments that occurred during the Modern Age, many of which are interrelated:
as Editor in Chief at Marvel Comics
saw the departure of key creators at Marvel such as Steve Gerber
, Marv Wolfman
, and others. In these new companies (Pacific
, Eclipse
, First
) creators were free to create very personal stories. Mike Grell
's Jon Sable
Freelance, Howard Chaykin
's American Flagg!
, Mike Baron
and Steve Rude
's Nexus
, and Timothy Truman
's GrimJack
attracted some attention and garnered a number of awards. These creators were going to be attracted by DC editor Mike Gold
to create defining works such as Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
by Grell, Blackhawk
by Chaykin, and Hawkworld
by Truman. With Alan Moore
, Frank Miller
, and Art Spiegelman
's Maus
(which would later receive the Pulitzer Prize
), this period marks the summit of the artform per comics expert Scott McCloud
.
and science fiction
titles were absent from the mainstream comics market since the establishment of the restrictive Comics Code in the 1950s though independents like Gold Key comics
did start doing horror titles as early as 1965. In the early 1970s, during the Bronze Age of Comic Books
, Marvel revived these genres with their new fantasy and horror comics, including Conan the Barbarian
by Roy Thomas, and The Tomb of Dracula. Steve Gerber’s work on Man-Thing
and Howard the Duck
was also very influential in this period based on its philosophical impact of questioning society. These titles would be the foundation for what was to come in the mid-1980s (the beginning of the Modern Age).
Starting with Alan Moore
’s groundbreaking work on DC Comics
's Swamp Thing
in the early 1980s, horror comic books incorporated elements of science fiction/fantasy and strove to a new artistic standard. Other examples include Neil Gaiman
’s The Sandman (followed a few years later by Garth Ennis
and Steve Dillon
’s Preacher
). These new comics transcended easily identifiable genres.
Striving to apply some label to these titles, some of which did have at a similar feel and approach, some people began to use the phrase "sophisticated suspense". DC’s Vertigo line, under the editorship of Karen Berger
, was launched in 1993, with the goal of specializing in this genre.
Existing titles such as Animal Man
, Doom Patrol
, Hellblazer
, and Shade, the Changing Man
were absorbed into this new line. Later in the decade, popular titles such as The Books of Magic
, The Dreaming
, The Invisibles
, Lucifer
, and Sandman Mystery Theatre
would continue to exert Vertigo’s influence. Vertigo would prove to be a very influential line of comics as it would continue to be published into the 21st Century. Titles such as 100 Bullets
, American Virgin
, Fables, Y: The Last Man
, and the publishing of Harvey Pekar
’s American Splendor
would cement Vertigo’s reputation as a viable alternative to the superhero genre.
During the 2000s, a number of successful movie adaptations of comic books, partly due to improvements in special effect technology, helped to extend their market audience, attracting the attention of many new readers who previously had not been interested in comic books. This also lead to an avalanche of other comic book adaptations which included previously lesser known Vertigo titles, notably Constantine (based on the comic book Hellblazer
) and V for Vendetta
.
es such as the X-Men’s Wolverine
, the Punisher
and writer/artist Frank Miller
’s darker version of Daredevil
challenged the previous model of the superhero as a cheerful humanitarian. Miller also created Elektra
who straddled the conventional boundary between love interest and villain
.
Two artistically influential DC Comics
limited series
contributed to the trend: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
, also by Frank Miller and Watchmen
by Alan Moore
and Dave Gibbons
, both of which were series of impressive psychological depth that starred troubled heroes.
By the early 1990s, anti-heroes had become the rule rather than the exception, and among the most popular were Marvel comics
' Cable
and Venom
and Image Comics
' Spawn
, although some fans complained that too many of them were unlikable psychopaths of little depth and originality.
Some critics believe that this trend was a move towards emotional realism, where the idea of a person selflessly using their extraordinary abilities on a quest for good was no longer believable, but a person with a deep psychological impulse to destroy criminals was.
The trend of creating characters with more psychological depth that were less black-and-white also affected supervillain
s. For example, the Joker
, Batman's nemesis, was portrayed less as an evil criminal and more as a mentally ill psychopath who can't control his actions, Marvel Comics' galactic planet-eater Galactus
became a force of nature who means no personal malice in his feedings, and the X-Men's nemesis Magneto
became more benign and sympathetic as a man who fights for an oppressed people, albeit through means others deem unacceptable.
had become one of the most popular titles in comics. Marvel decided to build on this success by creating a number of spin-off
titles, sometimes collectively referred to as "X-Books". These early X-Books included New Mutants
(which would later become X-Force
), X-Factor
, Excalibur
, and a Wolverine
solo series.
By the early 1990s, X-Men had become the biggest franchise in comics, and by the middle of the decade over a dozen X-Men-related comic books, both continuing and limited series
, were published each month. On an almost annual basis from 1986 until 1999, one storyline crossed-over
into almost every X-Book for two to three months. These "X-Overs" usually led to a spike in sales.
This sales boom resulted in a great deal of merchandising, such as action figure
s, video games and trading card
s. This success was thanks in no small part to the Fox Network's animated X-Men series, which debuted in 1992 and drew in a large number of younger fans.
The sales boom began to wane in the mid to late 1990s, due to the crash of the speculators market and the effect it had on the industry. Marvel declared bankruptcy
, and as a result, scaled back all of their franchises, including X-Men. A number of "X-books" were canceled, and the amount of limited series published, as well as general merchandise, was reduced.
In the early 2000s, a series of blockbuster X-Men movies
have kept the X-Men franchise healthy, and have resulted in a larger market presence outside of comics. In 1999-2000, a new animated series, X-Men: Evolution
debuted, while new toys have been developed and sold since the success of the first X-Men feature film. The comic books themselves have been reinvented in series such as Grant Morrison
's New X-Men
and the Ultimate X-Men
, which, like Marvel's other "Ultimate
" series, is an alternate universe story, starting the X-Men tale anew. This was done for X-Men, and other books, because Marvel feared that the long and complex histories of the established storylines of certain titles were scaring off new readers.
's The New Teen Titans series of the 1980s show the influence of the X-Men as do 1990s Image Comics
teams such as Youngblood
, WildC.A.T.s
, and Gen¹³
. By the peak of the X-Men's popularity in the early 1990s, the team's chemistry was often imitated and many series featured Cyclops
, Wolverine
, Storm and Rogue
styled characters.
Also, many series tried to imitate the model the X-Men carved as a franchise. Marvel and DC expanded popular properties, such as Punisher
, Spider-Man
, Batman
, and Superman
into networks of spin-off books in the mid-to-late 1980s. Like the X-Books, some of these spin-offs highlighted a concept or supporting character(s)
from a parent series, while others were simply additional monthly series featuring a popular character. In another similarity to the X-Books, these franchises regularly featured crossovers, where one storyline overlapped into every title in the “family” for a few months.
With regards to storylines overlapping, the Superman stories from 1991–2000 were written on a weekly basis. One needed to buy Superman
, Adventures of Superman, Action Comics
, and Superman: The Man of Steel
(and eventually, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
) to keep up with any existing storylines. If a collector only bought Action Comics, they would only get twenty-five percent of the story. A triangle was featured on the cover of every Superman title with a number on it. This number indicated which week of the year the Superman title was released.
was the first example as Supergirl died in issue 7, and long-time Flash (Barry Allen) died in issue 8. Specifically, Barry Allen signified the beginning of the Silver Age of Comics and his death was highly shocking at the time. Marvel Comics' Secret Wars
would usher in a new change as well as Spider-Man would wear a black costume.
The interest in the speculator market of a new Spider-Man costume led to other changes for Marvel characters in the 1980s. Iron Man
would have a silver and red armor in issue 200. Captain America
would be fired and would be reborn as the Captain, wearing a black outfit in issue 337 of the series. The Incredible Hulk
would revert to his original Grey skin color in issue 325. Issue 300 of the first Avengers
series resulted in a new lineup including Mister Fantastic
and the Invisible Woman
, of the Fantastic Four
. Within the decade, Wolverine
would switch to a brown and yellow costume, Thor
would be replaced by Thunderstrike
, Archangel
would emerge as the X-Men's Angel's dark counterpart and many other Marvel characters would have complete image overhauls. The changes to Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine and most other Marvel characters would be undone in the early 1990's.
The 1990s would bring similar changes to the DC Universe
, including the death of Superman in 1992 and the Knightfall storyline in Batman comics, during which Azrael
became the new Batman. Wonder Woman
lost a challenge and Diana was replaced by Artemis
as the new Wonder Woman until her death in issue 100. Guy Gardner
went from being a Green Lantern to drinking from a chalice in a cave and becoming Warrior. The only change that would last for more than ten years was when Hal Jordan became Parallax
and killed off all the Green Lanterns
, resulting in Kyle Rayner
becoming the new Green Lantern in issue 50 of the second series.
In addition to individual character or franchise/family wide makeovers, Crisis on Infinite Earths ushered in a popular trend of "rebooting", "remaking", or seriously reimagining the publisher wide universes every 5–10 years on varying scales. This often resulted in origins being retold, histories being rewritten, and so forth. These reinventions could be on as large a scale as suddenly retconning seminal story points and rewriting character histories, or simply introducing and/or killing off/writing out various important and minor elements of a universe. Crisis on Infinite Earths resulted in several miniseries' which explicitly retcon
ned character histories, such as Batman: Year One
, Superman: Man of Steel
, and Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals. An example of a less ambitious scale of changes is Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, which did not explicitly retcon or retell Green Arrow's history, but simply changed his setting and other elements of the present, leaving the past largely intact. This trend of publisher wide reinventions, which often consists of a new miniseries and various spinoff storylines in established books, continues today, with DC's recent Infinite Crisis
and the spinoff storylines - One Year Later
, 52
, and Countdown to Final Crisis
- and Marvel's House of M
and Civil War storylines, the results of which are still being felt in the Marvel Universe.
, co-creator of many of Marvel's most popular characters, came into dispute with Marvel over the disappearance of original pages of artwork from some of his most famous titles. Alan Moore
, Frank Miller
, and many other contemporary stars became vocal advocates for Kirby.
By the early 1990s, these events, as well as the influence of vocal proponents of independent publishing, helped to inspire a number of Marvel artists to form their own company, Image Comics
, which would serve as a prominent example of creator-owned
comics publishing. Marvel artists such as X-Men
’s Jim Lee
, The New Mutants/X-Force
’s Rob Liefeld
and Spider-Man
’s Todd McFarlane
were extremely popular and were idolized by younger readers in ways more common to professional athletes and rock musicians than comic book artists. Propelled by star power and upset that they did not own the popular characters they created for Marvel, several illustrators, including the above three formed Image Comics
in 1992, an umbrella label under which several autonomous, creator-owned companies existed. Image properties, such as WildC.A.T.s
, Gen¹³
, Witchblade
and especially McFarlane’s Spawn
provided brisk competition for long-standing superheroes. However, many criticized Image for prioritizing flashy artwork and cheap gimmicks over storytelling and originality. Image in particular is singled out by some critics for contributing to the conditions which led to the speculator market crashing, as Image titles favored alternative covers, foil covers, and other "collectible" comics.
Many popular creators followed Image's lead and attempted to use their star power to launch their own series; ones for which they would have licensing rights and editorial control. Chris Claremont
, famous for his long run as the writer of Uncanny X-Men
, created Sovereign Seven
for DC
; Joe Madureira, also made popular by Uncanny X-Men, launched Battle Chasers
for WildStorm Productions; and Kurt Busiek
, Alex Ross
, and Brent Anderson
created Astro City
for Image.
s ran reports that comic books were good financial investments and soon collectors were buying massive amounts of comics they thought would be valuable in the future.
Publishers responded by manufacturing collectors’ items, such as trading cards, and “limited editions” of certain issues featuring a special or variant cover. The first issues of Marvel Comics
' X-Force
, X-Men
, vol. 2 and Spider-Man
became some of the first and most notorious examples of this trend. Another trend which emerged was foil-stamped covers. The first Marvel comic book with a foil-stamped cover was the second volume of the Silver Surfer
, issue 50. A glow-in-the-dark cover for Ghost Rider
, volume 2, issue 15 appeared as well. This led a market boom, where retail shops and publishers made huge profits and many companies, large and small, expanded their lines. Image Comics
in particular became notorious for this, with many of its series debuting with alternative covers, wide use of embossed and foil covers and other "collectible" traits.
This trend was not confined to the books themselves, and many other pieces of merchandise, such as toys, particularly "chase" action figure
s (figures made in smaller runs than others in a particular line), trading card
s, and other items, were also expected to appreciate in value. McFarlane Toys was notable for this, as it created many variations in its high-quality toys, most of which were main characters or occasional guest stars in the Spawn series.
But few, in the glut of new series, possessed lasting artistic quality and the items that were predicted to be valuable did not become so, often because of huge print runs that made them commonplace. A crash occurred, sales plummeted, hundreds of retail stores closed and many publishers downsized. In 1996, Marvel Comics, the largest company in the industry, declared bankruptcy
(it has since rebounded). The industry has still not yet fully recovered from the speculator crash.
The crash also marked the relative downfall of the large franchises, inter-connected "families" of titles that lead to a glut of merchandising. While the big franchise titles still have a large amount of regular titles and merchandising attached to them, all of these things were notably scaled back after the crash. Several franchises have once again gained prominence, such as the X-Men, due in large part to the feature films X-Men
and X2
, and many DC heroes thanks to the success of various animated series' based on their characters, such as Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Teen Titans.
, collected editions in which several issues are bound together with a spine and often sold in bookstores as well as comic shops.
Some series were saved from cancellation solely because of sales of trade paperbacks, and storylines for many of the most popular series of today (DC’s JLA
and various Batman
series and Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man
and New X-Men
) are put into trade paperback instantly after the storyline ends.
Trade paperbacks are often even given volume numbers, making them a serializations of sorts. Due to this, many writers now consider their plots with the trade paperback edition in mind, scripting stories that last four to twelve issues, which could easily be read as a “graphic novel
.”
The popularity of trade paperbacks, has resulted in older material being reprinted as well. The Essential Marvel line of trade paperbacks has reprinted heroes such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four and has been able to introduce these Silver Age
stories to a new generation of fans. These editions tend to resemble a phone book in that these are very thick books and are black-and-white (to help keep the cost down).
DC Comics has followed suit by introducing a line called Showcase Presents
. The first four have included Superman, Green Lantern
, Jonah Hex
, and Metamorpho
the Elemental Man. Other characters have included Green Arrow
, The Superman
Family, the Teen Titans and the Elongated Man
.
, Neil Gaiman
, Alan Moore
, and Frank Miller
. Some, such as Gaiman, went on to write critically and commercially successful novels. Others, like Miller, became Hollywood screenwriters and directors.
Conversely, film and TV directors and producers became involved with comics. J. Michael Straczynski
, creator of TV's Babylon 5
, was recruited to write Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man
and, later Fantastic Four
Filmmaker Reginald Hudlin
became the writer of Marvel's Black Panther
. Joss Whedon
, creator of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wrote Marvel's Astonishing X-Men
and Runaways
, among other series. Richard Donner
, who directed the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s, became a writer on the Superman feature in Action Comics
in 2006, co-writing with comics writer (and Donner's former production assistant
) Geoff Johns
. Paul Dini
, producer and writer of Batman: The Animated Series
and Superman: The Animated Series
, started writing for DC in 1994 on special projects and took the helm as writer of Detective Comics
in 2006.
Comics writer Peter David
's career as a novelist developed concurrently with his comic-book career. Sandman writer Neil Gaiman
has also enjoyed success as a fantasy writer and number one New York Times Bestseller. Michael Chabon
who won the Pulitzer Prize with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, a novel about the start of the Golden Age of Comic Books
, then went on to write comics for DC and Dark Horse. Novelist Brad Meltzer
saw success in the comics field with the controversial miniseries Identity Crisis, as well as runs on Green Arrow
and Justice League of America.
, Legend of Kamui, and Mai the Psychic Girl
, the three titles that are generally associated with the first wave of manga translated into English. Along with Comico
and Eternity Comics
's adaptation of the Robotech
animated series, various other companies would release manga style comics such as Ben Dunn's Ninja High School
and Barry Blair
's Samurai. Dark Horse Comics
would release many translated manga during the 1990s. Marvel's Epic Comics
line would also license an English translation of Katsuhiro Otomo
's Akira
. As of the 2010s, most translated manga are distributed by subsidiaries of the original Japanese property owners, such as Kodansha, Shogakukan
or Bandai
. While manga translations were previously presented in the traditional American comic magazine format, most now appear in the digest size
publications traditional to manga. In some cases, the books are presented in the original form intended to be read from right to left.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
characters generally became darker and more psychologically complex, creators became better-known and active in changing the industry, independent comics flourished, and larger publishing houses became more commercialized.
An alternate names for this period is the Dark Age of Comic Books, due to the popularity and artistic influence of grim titles, such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a four-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller, originally published by DC Comics under the title Batman: The Dark Knight in 1986. When the issues were released in a collected edition later that year, the story title for the first issue...
and Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
. Proponents of this view point out a wave of "Silver Age
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
nostalgia" that first appeared during this time and has since permeated mainstream comic books.
Developments
Because the time period encompassing the Modern Age is not well defined, and in some cases disputed by both fans and most professionals, a comprehensive history is open to debate. Many influences from the Bronze Age of Comic BooksBronze Age of Comic Books
The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of mainstream American comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books....
would overlap with the infancy of the Modern Age. The work of creators such as John Byrne (Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
, Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
), Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
(Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
), and Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
(Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
) would reach fruition in the Bronze Age but their impact was still felt in the Modern Age. The Uncanny X-Men is the most definitive example of this impact as Bronze Age characters such as Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
and Sabretooth
Sabretooth (comics)
Sabretooth is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne. The character first appeared in Iron Fist #14...
would have a huge influence on the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
in the 1980s and beyond.
For DC, an event such as Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
is the bridge that joins the two ages together. The result was the cancellation of The Flash (with issue 350), Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
(with issue 423), and Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
(with issue 329). The post-Crisis world would have Wally West
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
as the new Flash, John Byrne writing a brand-new Superman series, and George Pérez
George Pérez
George Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
working on a new Wonder Woman series. Batman would also get a makeover as the Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One
"Year One", later referred to as "Batman: Year One", is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein...
storyline would be one of the most popular Batman stories ever published, with an animated adaptation of Year One
Batman: Year One (film)
Batman: Year One is a 2011 animated superhero film based on the four-issue story arc Batman: Year One printed in 1987. It premiered at Comic-Con on July 22 and was officially released October 18, 2011. The film was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu...
released in 2011.
In rough chronological order by the beginning of the trend, here are some important developments that occurred during the Modern Age, many of which are interrelated:
Rise of independent publishers
The late 1970s saw famed creators going to work for new independent publishers. The arrival of Jim ShooterJim Shooter
James Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...
as Editor in Chief at Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
saw the departure of key creators at Marvel such as Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
, Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
, and others. In these new companies (Pacific
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
, Eclipse
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
, First
First Comics
First Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable...
) creators were free to create very personal stories. Mike Grell
Mike Grell
Mike Grell is a comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Jon Sable Freelance.-Early life:...
's Jon Sable
Jon Sable
Jon Sable Freelance is an American comic book series, one of the first series created for the fledging publisher First Comics in 1983. It was written and drawn by Mike Grell and was a fully creator-owned title...
Freelance, Howard Chaykin
Howard Chaykin
Howard Victor Chaykin is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material...
's American Flagg!
American Flagg!
American Flagg! is an American comic book series created by writer-artist Howard Chaykin, published by First Comics from 1983 to 1989. A science fiction series and political satire, it and was set in the U.S., particularly Chicago, Illinois, in the early 2030s. Writers besides Chaykin included...
, Mike Baron
Mike Baron
Mike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger and Nexus. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.-Biography:Mike Baron broke into comics with an illustrated text piece in the 1974 debut issue of Marvel Comics's Comix Book...
and Steve Rude
Steve Rude
-Career:In 1981, Rude became widely known in the comics world when he and writer Mike Baron created Nexus, an independent science fiction comic book with a large supporting cast. For the series, Rude designed a dozen or so distinctive alien races, including the Thunes, the Amphibs, the Quattros,...
's Nexus
Nexus (comics)
Nexus is an American comic book series created by writer Mike Baron and penciler Steve Rude in 1981. The series is a combination of the superhero and science fiction genres, set 500 years in the future.-Publication history:...
, and Timothy Truman
Timothy Truman
Timothy Truman is an American writer, artist and musician. He is best known for his stories and Wild West-style comic book art, and in particular, for his work on Grimjack , Scout, and the reinvention of Jonah Hex, with Joe R. Lansdale...
's GrimJack
GrimJack
Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project...
attracted some attention and garnered a number of awards. These creators were going to be attracted by DC editor Mike Gold
Mike Gold (comics)
Michael Gold was media coordinator for the defense for the Chicago Conspiracy Trial, is a former Group Editor and Director of Editorial Development at DC Comics, co-founder of First Comics, and the co-founder and director of communication National Runaway Switchboard as well as a disk jockey in...
to create defining works such as Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters is a three-issue prestige format comic book miniseries published in 1987 by DC Comics. Written and drawn by Mike Grell, it stars the character Green Arrow.-Plot summary:...
by Grell, Blackhawk
Blackhawk (comics)
Blackhawk, a long-running comic book series, was also a film serial, a radio series and a novel. The comic book was published first by Quality Comics and later by DC Comics. The series was created by Will Eisner, Chuck Cuidera, and Bob Powell, but the artist most associated with the feature is Reed...
by Chaykin, and Hawkworld
Hawkworld
Hawkworld is a comic book series that was published by DC Comics. The initial story line was published as a three-issue mini-series and then, based on the high sales and interest level generated by this limited series, launched as an ongoing monthly book...
by Truman. With Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, and Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
's Maus
Maus
Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman, is a biography of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It alternates between descriptions of Vladek's life in Poland before and during the Second World War and Vladek's later life in the Rego Park neighborhood of...
(which would later receive the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
), this period marks the summit of the artform per comics expert Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium...
.
Fantasy, horror and "sophisticated suspense"
HorrorHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
titles were absent from the mainstream comics market since the establishment of the restrictive Comics Code in the 1950s though independents like Gold Key comics
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
did start doing horror titles as early as 1965. In the early 1970s, during the Bronze Age of Comic Books
Bronze Age of Comic Books
The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of mainstream American comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books....
, Marvel revived these genres with their new fantasy and horror comics, including Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
by Roy Thomas, and The Tomb of Dracula. Steve Gerber’s work on Man-Thing
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...
and Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny...
was also very influential in this period based on its philosophical impact of questioning society. These titles would be the foundation for what was to come in the mid-1980s (the beginning of the Modern Age).
Starting with Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
’s groundbreaking work on DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
's Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing, a fictional character, is a plant elemental in the created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century . The Swamp Thing then returned in his own series, set in the contemporary world and in...
in the early 1980s, horror comic books incorporated elements of science fiction/fantasy and strove to a new artistic standard. Other examples include Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
’s The Sandman (followed a few years later by Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise...
and Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
’s Preacher
Preacher (comics)
Preacher is a comic book series created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, published by the American comic book label Vertigo , with painted covers by Glenn Fabry....
). These new comics transcended easily identifiable genres.
Striving to apply some label to these titles, some of which did have at a similar feel and approach, some people began to use the phrase "sophisticated suspense". DC’s Vertigo line, under the editorship of Karen Berger
Karen Berger
Karen Berger is an American comic book editor. She is best known as the Executive Editor of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.-Biography:...
, was launched in 1993, with the goal of specializing in this genre.
Existing titles such as Animal Man
Animal Man
Animal Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily “borrow” the abilities of animals...
, Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
, Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
, and Shade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles....
were absorbed into this new line. Later in the decade, popular titles such as The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic
The Books of Magic is a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo...
, The Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
, The Invisibles
The Invisibles
The Invisibles is a comic book series that was published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication....
, Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
, and Sandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre
Sandman Mystery Theatre is a comic book series published by Vertigo, the mature-readers imprint of DC Comics. It ran for 70 issues between 1993 and 1999 and retells the adventures of the Sandman, a vigilante whose main weapon is a gun that fires sleeping gas, originally created by DC in the Golden...
would continue to exert Vertigo’s influence. Vertigo would prove to be a very influential line of comics as it would continue to be published into the 21st Century. Titles such as 100 Bullets
100 Bullets
100 Bullets is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso. It was published in the USA by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint and initially ran for one hundred issues...
, American Virgin
American Virgin (comics)
American Virgin was an American comic book series published by Vertigo Comics and written by Steven T. Seagle and illustrated by Becky Cloonan. The series launched on a monthly schedule in March 2006 and was canceled two years later...
, Fables, Y: The Last Man
Y: The Last Man
Y: The Last Man is a comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra published by Vertigo beginning in 2002. The series is about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth...
, and the publishing of Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an...
’s American Splendor
American Splendor
American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by the late Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the most recent in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals...
would cement Vertigo’s reputation as a viable alternative to the superhero genre.
During the 2000s, a number of successful movie adaptations of comic books, partly due to improvements in special effect technology, helped to extend their market audience, attracting the attention of many new readers who previously had not been interested in comic books. This also lead to an avalanche of other comic book adaptations which included previously lesser known Vertigo titles, notably Constantine (based on the comic book Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
) and V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government,...
.
The rise of anti-heroes
In the mid 1970s, Marvel anti-heroAnti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
es such as the X-Men’s Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, the Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
and writer/artist Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
’s darker version of Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
challenged the previous model of the superhero as a cheerful humanitarian. Miller also created Elektra
Elektra (comics)
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
who straddled the conventional boundary between love interest and villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
.
Two artistically influential DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
contributed to the trend: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a four-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller, originally published by DC Comics under the title Batman: The Dark Knight in 1986. When the issues were released in a collected edition later that year, the story title for the first issue...
, also by Frank Miller and Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
, both of which were series of impressive psychological depth that starred troubled heroes.
By the early 1990s, anti-heroes had become the rule rather than the exception, and among the most popular were Marvel comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
and Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
and Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
' Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
, although some fans complained that too many of them were unlikable psychopaths of little depth and originality.
Some critics believe that this trend was a move towards emotional realism, where the idea of a person selflessly using their extraordinary abilities on a quest for good was no longer believable, but a person with a deep psychological impulse to destroy criminals was.
The trend of creating characters with more psychological depth that were less black-and-white also affected supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s. For example, the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, Batman's nemesis, was portrayed less as an evil criminal and more as a mentally ill psychopath who can't control his actions, Marvel Comics' galactic planet-eater Galactus
Galactus
Galactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
became a force of nature who means no personal malice in his feedings, and the X-Men's nemesis Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
became more benign and sympathetic as a man who fights for an oppressed people, albeit through means others deem unacceptable.
Development of the X-Men franchise
By the mid-1980s, X-MenX-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
had become one of the most popular titles in comics. Marvel decided to build on this success by creating a number of spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
titles, sometimes collectively referred to as "X-Books". These early X-Books included New Mutants
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
(which would later become X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
), X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
, Excalibur
Excalibur (comics)
Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
, and a Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
solo series.
By the early 1990s, X-Men had become the biggest franchise in comics, and by the middle of the decade over a dozen X-Men-related comic books, both continuing and limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, were published each month. On an almost annual basis from 1986 until 1999, one storyline crossed-over
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
into almost every X-Book for two to three months. These "X-Overs" usually led to a spike in sales.
This sales boom resulted in a great deal of merchandising, such as action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s, video games and trading card
Trading card
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...
s. This success was thanks in no small part to the Fox Network's animated X-Men series, which debuted in 1992 and drew in a large number of younger fans.
The sales boom began to wane in the mid to late 1990s, due to the crash of the speculators market and the effect it had on the industry. Marvel declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, and as a result, scaled back all of their franchises, including X-Men. A number of "X-books" were canceled, and the amount of limited series published, as well as general merchandise, was reduced.
In the early 2000s, a series of blockbuster X-Men movies
X-Men (film series)
The X-Men film series consists of superhero films based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The films star an ensemble cast, focusing on Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who is drawn into the conflict between Professor Xavier and Magneto , who have opposing views on humanity's...
have kept the X-Men franchise healthy, and have resulted in a larger market presence outside of comics. In 1999-2000, a new animated series, X-Men: Evolution
X-Men: Evolution
X-Men: Evolution is an American animated television series about the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. In this incarnation many of the characters are teenagers rather than adults...
debuted, while new toys have been developed and sold since the success of the first X-Men feature film. The comic books themselves have been reinvented in series such as Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
's New X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
and the Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
, which, like Marvel's other "Ultimate
Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series...
" series, is an alternate universe story, starting the X-Men tale anew. This was done for X-Men, and other books, because Marvel feared that the long and complex histories of the established storylines of certain titles were scaring off new readers.
Effect on other comics
The success of the X-Men had several effects on the comic book industry. Series featuring superhero teams, especially ones in which internal friction contributed to storylines, became much more common. DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
's The New Teen Titans series of the 1980s show the influence of the X-Men as do 1990s Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
teams such as Youngblood
Youngblood (comics)
Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...
, WildC.A.T.s
Wildcats (comics)
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
, and Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
. By the peak of the X-Men's popularity in the early 1990s, the team's chemistry was often imitated and many series featured Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
, Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, Storm and Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
styled characters.
Also, many series tried to imitate the model the X-Men carved as a franchise. Marvel and DC expanded popular properties, such as Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
into networks of spin-off books in the mid-to-late 1980s. Like the X-Books, some of these spin-offs highlighted a concept or supporting character(s)
Supporting character
A supporting character is a character of a book, play, video game, movie, television or radio show or other form of storytelling usually used to give added dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character...
from a parent series, while others were simply additional monthly series featuring a popular character. In another similarity to the X-Books, these franchises regularly featured crossovers, where one storyline overlapped into every title in the “family” for a few months.
With regards to storylines overlapping, the Superman stories from 1991–2000 were written on a weekly basis. One needed to buy Superman
Superman (vol. 2)
Superman was an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The second volume of the previous ongoing Superman title, the series was published from cover dates January 1987 to April 2006, and ran for 228 issues...
, Adventures of Superman, Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
, and Superman: The Man of Steel
Superman: The Man of Steel
Superman: The Man of Steel is the title of a monthly American comic book series that ran 136 issues from 1991 to 2003. published by DC Comics, featuring Superman. As a consequence of introducing this series alongside its already existing titles, DC Comics was able to publish a new Superman comic...
(and eventually, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow is the title of a comic book series published by DC Comics that ran for 16 issues from 1995 to 1999, featuring the adventures of Superman. At the time, the four Superman titles were released weekly with an intertwining story...
) to keep up with any existing storylines. If a collector only bought Action Comics, they would only get twenty-five percent of the story. A triangle was featured on the cover of every Superman title with a number on it. This number indicated which week of the year the Superman title was released.
Makeovers and universe reboots
Complementing the creation of these franchises was the concept of redesigning the characters. The Modern Age of comics would usher in this era of change. The impact of Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
was the first example as Supergirl died in issue 7, and long-time Flash (Barry Allen) died in issue 8. Specifically, Barry Allen signified the beginning of the Silver Age of Comics and his death was highly shocking at the time. Marvel Comics' Secret Wars
Secret Wars
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is a twelve-issue comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter with art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton...
would usher in a new change as well as Spider-Man would wear a black costume.
The interest in the speculator market of a new Spider-Man costume led to other changes for Marvel characters in the 1980s. Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
would have a silver and red armor in issue 200. Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
would be fired and would be reborn as the Captain, wearing a black outfit in issue 337 of the series. The Incredible Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
would revert to his original Grey skin color in issue 325. Issue 300 of the first Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
series resulted in a new lineup including Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
and the Invisible Woman
Invisible Woman
Susan "Sue" Storm Richards is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first female superhero created by Marvel in the Silver Age of Comics...
, of the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
. Within the decade, Wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
would switch to a brown and yellow costume, Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
would be replaced by Thunderstrike
Thunderstrike
Thunderstrike can refer to:* A lightning strike.* One of several Marvel Comics superheroes with powers based on Thor:** Thunderstrike , the original Thunderstrike...
, Archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
would emerge as the X-Men's Angel's dark counterpart and many other Marvel characters would have complete image overhauls. The changes to Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine and most other Marvel characters would be undone in the early 1990's.
The 1990s would bring similar changes to the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, including the death of Superman in 1992 and the Knightfall storyline in Batman comics, during which Azrael
Azrael (comics)
Azrael is the name of several fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. They are a group of assassins who were created by The Order of St. Dumas to "enforce god's will"...
became the new Batman. Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
lost a challenge and Diana was replaced by Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
as the new Wonder Woman until her death in issue 100. Guy Gardner
Guy Gardner (comics)
Guy Gardner is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He is a core member of the Green Lantern family of characters, and for a time was also a significant member of the Justice League family of characters.He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Green Lantern...
went from being a Green Lantern to drinking from a chalice in a cave and becoming Warrior. The only change that would last for more than ten years was when Hal Jordan became Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
and killed off all the Green Lanterns
Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
, resulting in Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
becoming the new Green Lantern in issue 50 of the second series.
In addition to individual character or franchise/family wide makeovers, Crisis on Infinite Earths ushered in a popular trend of "rebooting", "remaking", or seriously reimagining the publisher wide universes every 5–10 years on varying scales. This often resulted in origins being retold, histories being rewritten, and so forth. These reinventions could be on as large a scale as suddenly retconning seminal story points and rewriting character histories, or simply introducing and/or killing off/writing out various important and minor elements of a universe. Crisis on Infinite Earths resulted in several miniseries' which explicitly retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned character histories, such as Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One
"Year One", later referred to as "Batman: Year One", is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein...
, Superman: Man of Steel
The Man of Steel (comic book)
The Man of Steel is a six-issue comic book limited series released in 1986 by DC Comics, several months after the twelve-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths completed. The Man of Steel was written and penciled by John Byrne and inked by Dick Giordano.-Overview:The mini-series was...
, and Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals. An example of a less ambitious scale of changes is Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, which did not explicitly retcon or retell Green Arrow's history, but simply changed his setting and other elements of the present, leaving the past largely intact. This trend of publisher wide reinventions, which often consists of a new miniseries and various spinoff storylines in established books, continues today, with DC's recent Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
and the spinoff storylines - One Year Later
One Year Later
"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
, 52
52 (comic book)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, and Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
- and Marvel's House of M
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
and Civil War storylines, the results of which are still being felt in the Marvel Universe.
Image Comics and creator rights disputes
In the mid-1980s, artist Jack KirbyJack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, co-creator of many of Marvel's most popular characters, came into dispute with Marvel over the disappearance of original pages of artwork from some of his most famous titles. Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, and many other contemporary stars became vocal advocates for Kirby.
By the early 1990s, these events, as well as the influence of vocal proponents of independent publishing, helped to inspire a number of Marvel artists to form their own company, Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, which would serve as a prominent example of creator-owned
Creator ownership
Creator ownership is an arrangement in which the creator or creators of a work of fiction retain full ownership of the material, regardless of whether it is self-published or by a corporate publisher. In some fields of publishing, such as fiction writing, creator ownership is a standard arrangement...
comics publishing. Marvel artists such as X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
’s Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
, The New Mutants/X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
’s Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
’s Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
were extremely popular and were idolized by younger readers in ways more common to professional athletes and rock musicians than comic book artists. Propelled by star power and upset that they did not own the popular characters they created for Marvel, several illustrators, including the above three formed Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
in 1992, an umbrella label under which several autonomous, creator-owned companies existed. Image properties, such as WildC.A.T.s
Wildcats (comics)
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
, Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
, Witchblade
Witchblade
Witchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
and especially McFarlane’s Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
provided brisk competition for long-standing superheroes. However, many criticized Image for prioritizing flashy artwork and cheap gimmicks over storytelling and originality. Image in particular is singled out by some critics for contributing to the conditions which led to the speculator market crashing, as Image titles favored alternative covers, foil covers, and other "collectible" comics.
Many popular creators followed Image's lead and attempted to use their star power to launch their own series; ones for which they would have licensing rights and editorial control. Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
, famous for his long run as the writer of Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
, created Sovereign Seven
Sovereign Seven
Sovereign Seven is a creator-owned American comic book series, created by Chris Claremont and Dwayne Turner, and published by DC Comics.-Publication history:...
for DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
; Joe Madureira, also made popular by Uncanny X-Men, launched Battle Chasers
Battle Chasers
Battle Chasers is an American fantasy comic book series by Joe Madureira, launched in April 1998. It was one of the most popular American comics series in the late 1990s, but suffered from extreme scheduling problems, with an average of about six months between issues, including a delay of 16...
for WildStorm Productions; and Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
, Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
, and Brent Anderson
Brent Anderson
Brent Anderson is an American comic book artist known for his work on X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills and the comic book series Astro City.- Early life :...
created Astro City
Astro City
Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
for Image.
The rise and fall of the speculator market
By the late 1980s, important comic books, such as the first appearance of a classic character or first issue of a long-running series, were sold for thousands of dollars. Mainstream newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s ran reports that comic books were good financial investments and soon collectors were buying massive amounts of comics they thought would be valuable in the future.
Publishers responded by manufacturing collectors’ items, such as trading cards, and “limited editions” of certain issues featuring a special or variant cover. The first issues of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
, X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, vol. 2 and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
became some of the first and most notorious examples of this trend. Another trend which emerged was foil-stamped covers. The first Marvel comic book with a foil-stamped cover was the second volume of the Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
, issue 50. A glow-in-the-dark cover for Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
, volume 2, issue 15 appeared as well. This led a market boom, where retail shops and publishers made huge profits and many companies, large and small, expanded their lines. Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
in particular became notorious for this, with many of its series debuting with alternative covers, wide use of embossed and foil covers and other "collectible" traits.
This trend was not confined to the books themselves, and many other pieces of merchandise, such as toys, particularly "chase" action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s (figures made in smaller runs than others in a particular line), trading card
Trading card
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...
s, and other items, were also expected to appreciate in value. McFarlane Toys was notable for this, as it created many variations in its high-quality toys, most of which were main characters or occasional guest stars in the Spawn series.
But few, in the glut of new series, possessed lasting artistic quality and the items that were predicted to be valuable did not become so, often because of huge print runs that made them commonplace. A crash occurred, sales plummeted, hundreds of retail stores closed and many publishers downsized. In 1996, Marvel Comics, the largest company in the industry, declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
(it has since rebounded). The industry has still not yet fully recovered from the speculator crash.
The crash also marked the relative downfall of the large franchises, inter-connected "families" of titles that lead to a glut of merchandising. While the big franchise titles still have a large amount of regular titles and merchandising attached to them, all of these things were notably scaled back after the crash. Several franchises have once again gained prominence, such as the X-Men, due in large part to the feature films X-Men
X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...
and X2
X2 (film)
X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series...
, and many DC heroes thanks to the success of various animated series' based on their characters, such as Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Teen Titans.
The rise of the trade paperback format
Although sales of comic books dropped in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, sales rose for trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
, collected editions in which several issues are bound together with a spine and often sold in bookstores as well as comic shops.
Some series were saved from cancellation solely because of sales of trade paperbacks, and storylines for many of the most popular series of today (DC’s JLA
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
and various Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
series and Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man was a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
and New X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
) are put into trade paperback instantly after the storyline ends.
Trade paperbacks are often even given volume numbers, making them a serializations of sorts. Due to this, many writers now consider their plots with the trade paperback edition in mind, scripting stories that last four to twelve issues, which could easily be read as a “graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
.”
The popularity of trade paperbacks, has resulted in older material being reprinted as well. The Essential Marvel line of trade paperbacks has reprinted heroes such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four and has been able to introduce these Silver Age
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
stories to a new generation of fans. These editions tend to resemble a phone book in that these are very thick books and are black-and-white (to help keep the cost down).
DC Comics has followed suit by introducing a line called Showcase Presents
Showcase presents
Showcase Presents is a line of black-and-white paperback books published by DC Comics at an average rate of two per month. Created to effectively be DC's version of Marvel Comics' Essential Marvel volumes, each book includes over 500 pages of reprints, primarily from the Silver Age...
. The first four have included Superman, Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
, and Metamorpho
Metamorpho
Metamorpho is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League.-Publication history:...
the Elemental Man. Other characters have included Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
, The Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
Family, the Teen Titans and the Elongated Man
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...
.
Comics creators' mainstream success
While many comic-book artists, and writers had become well-known by their readership as early as the 1940s, some comics creators in the late 1980s and the 1990s became known to the general population. These included Todd McFarlaneTodd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
, Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, and Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
. Some, such as Gaiman, went on to write critically and commercially successful novels. Others, like Miller, became Hollywood screenwriters and directors.
Conversely, film and TV directors and producers became involved with comics. J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
, creator of TV's Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, was recruited to write Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
and, later Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
Filmmaker Reginald Hudlin
Reginald Hudlin
Reginald Alan Hudlin is an American writer and film director.-Biography:Hudlin is the son of Helen , a teacher, and Warrington W. Hudlin, Sr., an insurance executive and teacher...
became the writer of Marvel's Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
. Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
, creator of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wrote Marvel's Astonishing X-Men
Astonishing X-Men
Astonishing X-Men is the name of three X-Men comic book series from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were limited series. The ongoing series began in 2004, with its first run written by Joss Whedon and art by John Cassaday. It was then written by Warren Ellis with art by Phil Jimenez. Daniel...
and Runaways
Runaways (comics)
Runaways is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series features a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are part of an evil crime group called the Pride. Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, the series debuted in April of 2003 as part of Marvel Comics'...
, among other series. Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
, who directed the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s, became a writer on the Superman feature in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
in 2006, co-writing with comics writer (and Donner's former production assistant
Production assistant
A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production...
) Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
. Paul Dini
Paul Dini
Paul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
, producer and writer of Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
and Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
, started writing for DC in 1994 on special projects and took the helm as writer of Detective Comics
Detective Comics
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
in 2006.
Comics writer Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
's career as a novelist developed concurrently with his comic-book career. Sandman writer Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
has also enjoyed success as a fantasy writer and number one New York Times Bestseller. Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
who won the Pulitzer Prize with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, a novel about the start of the Golden Age of Comic Books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
, then went on to write comics for DC and Dark Horse. Novelist Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer is a bestselling American political thriller novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator and award-winning comic book author.-Early life:...
saw success in the comics field with the controversial miniseries Identity Crisis, as well as runs on Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
and Justice League of America.
The influence of Japanese comics and animation
The mid to late 1980s would see the quiet introduction of various translated Japanese manga into North America. While not the first company to release translated manga, the first company to do so to a large degree was Eclipse which introduced Area 88Area 88
is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country...
, Legend of Kamui, and Mai the Psychic Girl
Mai the Psychic Girl
Mai, the Psychic Girl, known simply as in Japan, is a manga written by Kazuya Kudō and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami.The main character is Mai Kuju, a 14-year-old Japanese girl with powerful psychic abilities. She is being pursued by the Wisdom Alliance, an organization which secretly strives to...
, the three titles that are generally associated with the first wave of manga translated into English. Along with Comico
Comicó
Comicó is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina....
and Eternity Comics
Eternity Comics
Eternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties...
's adaptation of the Robotech
Robotech
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
animated series, various other companies would release manga style comics such as Ben Dunn's Ninja High School
Ninja High School
Ninja High School is a comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn, and currently published by Antarctic Press. It was at first published by Eternity Comics...
and Barry Blair
Barry Blair
Barry Blair was a Canadian comics publisher, artist and writer, known for launching Aircel Comics in the 1980s...
's Samurai. Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
would release many translated manga during the 1990s. Marvel's Epic Comics
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
line would also license an English translation of Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...
's Akira
Akira (manga)
is a manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil. Initially serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha...
. As of the 2010s, most translated manga are distributed by subsidiaries of the original Japanese property owners, such as Kodansha, Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
or Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
. While manga translations were previously presented in the traditional American comic magazine format, most now appear in the digest size
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
publications traditional to manga. In some cases, the books are presented in the original form intended to be read from right to left.