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Why does the Superhero genre appeal to YOU and most comic fans?

Posted by David Duarte on July 27, 2010 at 8:47pm in GENERALMISC

More than say non-superhero comics like fiction? Or non-fiction? Horror? Science fiction? Comedy? Other genre's?

I guess I am trying to understand why is the superhero genre so appealing, more than other genre's in comics, especially when I see so many comics with good reviews from the press but they seem to get so little attention from those who love to talk about comics.

 

But I haven't read that much superhero comics anyways.


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  • Anne Langston July 29, 2010 at 5:30am
    hmmmm, I don't read a lot of manga, but that makes sense..... I would imagine that they're very different than the romance comics of the 50s and 60s, which were anthologies, sometimes with two or three stories in the issue, and tended to be very formulaic. With lots and lots of melodrama.

    Buzz Dixon said:
    I think a pretty strong argument can be made that love comics came back in the form of multi-volume manga.
  • Anne Langston July 28, 2010 at 6:01pm
    First, I don't know that the superhero genre is more appealing than other genres, or that it gets more attention from those who love to talk about comics. What I would say is that there are two companies who are well established and have the lion's share of the business, and they have come to publish mostly in the superhero genre. I believe part of the appeal is very simply familiarity, to tell you the truth. Why it appeals to me--well, it isn't the powers, really. It's the telling of a human story contrasted with the outlandish aspects such as powers. It's the idea that, for instance, Clark Kent is a hero not because of the powers he has, but because he had amazing parents. Or that Peter Parker can climb walls and has super strength, but has to live with the fact that because of a bad decision he made, his uncle died. Or that Barbara Gordon could, after becoming a paraplegic, use her knowledge and abilities to become Oracle. But I also appreciate other genres, and get nostalgic over my youth, when their were superhero comics, comedy, kids' comics, light horror, wild west, war comics, and love comics. (Okay, no one needs to bring back the love comics, because they were really, really cheesy. But the variety was pretty neat, and I personally would like everyone to take a chance and buy a genre they don't know.) I think another factor is that in the past, there were attempts to do other genres that just weren't very good, and people's perceptions were warped by that.
  • Leslie Ezeh July 28, 2010 at 4:50pm
    The straight laced superheroes don't appeal to me actually; was never a big fan of characters like Superman. I really love reading about anti-heroes and anti-heroines: gotta love a good redemption story, Christ-inspired or not.
  • Calvary Comics July 28, 2010 at 3:14pm
    God has given the governing authorities the power of the sword (see Romans 13:1-4).

    A Christian super-hero comic for children (like the one I mentioned in the prior post) has heroes who are supposed to be recognized law enforcement agents who take on super-villains which ordinary troops couldn't handle.

    I suppose Superman and Batman represent, on some level, Messiah- and Barabbas-types of wish fulfillment on the part of their creators: one who comes "from above" to right wrongs, and the other a do-it-yourself-man who takes matters into his own hands, with or without the governing authorities' consent.
  • Calvary Comics July 28, 2010 at 2:49am
    Power fantasies by/for those who largely feel they've been marginalized by society, I suppose.

    Haven't been a fan of super-hero comics since the Bronze Age (late '60s-early '70s) really.

    Knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord and Saviour is far greater joy, comfort, and assurance than anything a super-hero fantasy can offer. With HIm all things are possible, and the indwelling Holy Spirit gives those who are yielded to Him a foretaste of heaven. To me the real super-heroes are the heroes of the faith, missionaries who have wrought wonders by God's power, seeing spiritual strongholds torn down and true revival in various nations. There's so much going on even now that most of the church in the western world is clueless about, as they instead indulge in countless hours of vacuous entertainment.

    On the other hand, I've seen a few Christian super-hero comics that can be a useful witnessing tool for children (the award-winning "Johnny Grav and the Visioneer" by Mike Nappa and Dennis Jensen, for example).

    Alec
    www.calvarycomics.com
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