Can they? Sure...but do they? Usually not. It's difficult enough to realize the almost imperceptible growth that happens in ourselves over the years.
Really great novelists can do a good job with character growth...but as your question alludes, they usually only have to spread the development out over a relatively short series of books, not a decades-upon-decades series of monthly publications.
Combine that with the fact that comics, by their nature, tend to be primarily a visual medium with a story-telling component, and the challenge to quality long-term character development is amplified even more.
They can, but it usually involves a dramatic change or event that makes them question who they have been for all these years. Sometimes characters stray from their normal path and take a long trip back to their core selves. The growth might be something as basic as a "return to normal" after a journey of self-discovery.
What I mean to say is.... I find it hard to imagine a character who is around for decades to continue experiencing personal growth, especially in comics when it is a long run series.
Replies
Can they? Sure...but do they? Usually not. It's difficult enough to realize the almost imperceptible growth that happens in ourselves over the years.
Really great novelists can do a good job with character growth...but as your question alludes, they usually only have to spread the development out over a relatively short series of books, not a decades-upon-decades series of monthly publications.
Combine that with the fact that comics, by their nature, tend to be primarily a visual medium with a story-telling component, and the challenge to quality long-term character development is amplified even more.
They can, but it usually involves a dramatic change or event that makes them question who they have been for all these years. Sometimes characters stray from their normal path and take a long trip back to their core selves. The growth might be something as basic as a "return to normal" after a journey of self-discovery.