Comics vs Reality...whats your feeling..

[SUPERECWFAN1]

When I got into comics awhile back I got into them for the stories. In fact as a reader I enjoyed the battle of good vs evil. I started with Batman and expanded slowly out.

Over time my knowlodge grew and knew that the X-Men touched on real themes of being discriminated. But I always told myself I didn't read for that. I read for the stories . Thats why I read a lot of comics.

Over time comics did get real but as long as the stories were good and the issue didn't get shoved down my throat I read comics. Its part of the reason I dropped Green Arrow this past year. I felt Winick was pushing a message to hard as well as how he handled himself lately.

I read Green Lantern because of the adventures. Not for Terry Berg or any message put there. Of course is that wrong to expect comics to have a good vs evil storyline ? Thats why I started reading years ago .

Ohh well....guess I'm an old fan who liked Knightfall for what it was and enjoyed the Spider Clone because it was a fun storyline. And in all I'll stay the same . Comics to me are imgantive stories..thats what I read.

[Lubichev]

"It's Still Real To Me, Dammit!!"

[Tommy]

Personaly I like to be entertained. Note that I buy a lot of stuff like She-Hulk which makes no attempt to be realistic.

[Vesper]

I got into comics 'cause I had a monster crush on Dean Cain. Crushing reality informs me that he never married me, and went on to sire a kid with a porn star. :(

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Personaly I like to be entertained. Note that I buy a lot of stuff like She-Hulk which makes no attempt to be realistic.


I've been thinkin about getting the TPB of She-Hulk. It sounds pretty wild.

[Sharpandpointies]

I got into comics 'cause I had a monster crush on Dean Cain. Crushing reality informs me that he never married me, and went on to sire a kid with a porn star. :(

Sorry to hear about the destruction of your dreams, but do you mind if I put this in my sig?

[Cam63]

I got into comics 'cause I had a monster crush on Dean Cain. Crushing reality informs me that he never married me, and went on to sire a kid with a porn star. :(

Porn stars are people too, you know !

[Mia]

I like the fantasy mixed with a touch of verity. The fantasy part I like is that everyone is young (looking) and in shape and don't have to worry about bills. However I like the reality in terms as showing heroes who are layered and multi-dimensional, and have faults and virtues.

I think the whole Terry Berg thing was less reality than 'preaching'.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I like the fantasy mixed with a touch of verity. The fantasy part I like is that everyone is young (looking) and in shape and don't have to worry about bills. However I like the reality in terms as showing heroes who are layered and multi-dimensional, and have faults and virtues.

I think the whole Terry Berg thing was less reality than 'preaching'.


But Terry went on Oprah dang it! He could have been Green Lantern. ;)

[JKCarrier]

The problem is, when writers talk about putting "realism" into their stories, it's always the darkest, nastiest, sleaziest things they can find. I don't know about you, but my real life includes plenty of happy, funny, silly moments as well as serious ones. Why is Batman (dark and angry most of the time) any more "realistic" than She-Hulk (light and happy most the time)? Wouldn't a truly realistic comic would have both kinds of moments?

[Ponda]

I guess the things that should be realistic are whichever things are universal... emotions, challenges, conflict, indecision...

The things that shouldn't be realistic are things that are specific to our time and place... presidents, food chains, wars, fashion trends...

It's not a hard & fast rule, though. I've enjoyed plenty of stories with realistic presidents and unrealistic emotions. "Elektra: Assassin," for one.

[PatrickG]

Comics win... But only courtesy of prep time.

[PatrickG]

I guess the things that should be realistic are whichever things are universal... emotions, challenges, conflict, indecision...

The things that shouldn't be realistic are things that are specific to our time and place... presidents, food chains, wars, fashion trends...

It's not a hard & fast rule, though. I've enjoyed plenty of stories with realistic presidents and unrealistic emotions. "Elektra: Assassin," for one.

It's only the defeatists and the cynics who think those things are any more universal than ideals, victories, narriw escapes and resolution.

I think it should be requisite to write super-heroes than you practically orgasm on your own optimism.

Comic writers and artists, to me, have every reason in the world to burst into the room screaming alliterative ten dollar words with a mad gleam in their eyes.

If they aren't doing that, something is wrong with them, the current state of their life or their work environment.

This should be an industry that makes Robin Williams at the height of his coke habit look like Droopy the Dog by comparison.

[Ponda]

It's only the defeatists and the cynics who think those things are any more universal than ideals, victories, narriw escapes and resolution.

By the patterning that I used, those things would indeed fit in the "should be realistic" category. We're not in disagreement on that bit.

[Vesper]

Sorry to hear about the destruction of your dreams, but do you mind if I put this in my sig?

er...go for it. Only a little boggled!

I did discover Army of Darkness via Lois and Clark though, so all was not lost!

(And porn stars are SO NOT people. Cam, you liar!)

[Dennis]

i'm going to read a lot more sci fi and fantasy. the real world is just depressing. the real world has minorities and whatnot. fantasy is pretty and all white. there's no gangsta rap and hip hop culture in fantasy worlds. i want to read about elegant redheaded ladies drinking tea and braiding their hair, and blonde guys riding their horses and sharpening their swords, and old men and women researching ancient tomes and doing spells. i want to read about a future where it's all white dammit! even in firefly, the characters speak chinese, but you don't actually have to see any chinese people around. fantasy rocks.

[Cam63]

Quote by Vesper: " And porn stars are SO NOT people. Cam, you liar ! "

If you tickle them, do they not laugh ?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I read comics for fantasy and escapism. But I need just enough reality to the character's personalities to connect with them. So, I guess I like seeing "real" characters experience increasingly fantastic situations. I don't really need to see superheroes tackling gay bashing or racism or global warming or sexual harrassment or anything like that. I see enough of that in real life.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I read comics for fantasy and escapism. But I need just enough reality to the character's personalities to connect with them. So, I guess I like seeing "real" characters experience increasingly fantastic situations. I don't really need to see superheroes tackling gay bashing or racism or global warming or sexual harrassment or anything like that. I see enough of that in real life.


Hell yeah!! Thats my 2 cents baby. Theres enough horrible things in the news and on TV. Comics should be escapism and thats why I read. :D

[Lonewalker]

I read comics for stories, but dislike when they're convoluted (boy I love that word). And not that I don't like complexity, it's just that I don't stand when the writer wants the story to be complex and it isn't and makes a whole mess.

Lately that's how I feel about all that's happening in DC and Marvel alike, so I just get TPBs. And boy do I got a lot last Christmas...

[Ian Boothby]

Quote by Vesper: " And porn stars are SO NOT people. Cam, you liar ! "

If you tickle them, do they not laugh ?

If you pay them to laugh.

[YoGo]

Quote by Vesper: " And porn stars are SO NOT people. Cam, you liar ! "

If you tickle them, do they not laugh ?

They might just kick you in the face for disturbing them during lunch break all of a sudden and spilling hot coffee all down their toned and tanned bodies.

[Alex Dragon]

For me 60% of why I read comics is for the art. But the kind of of stories I tend to like more often are the ones that stick closest to reality. In the case of superhero comics the only fantasy element I want is the powers and ability of the characters. I'm really not too keen on stories where all these big battles and chaos happens and there are no real casualties and everything is back to normal the next issue. I'm not too crazy about stories always having a happy ending. Don't like one note villains that do what they do because the are "evil" or "the bad guy". No desire to see all heroes always do the right thing because "We're better than they are...". I'd rather logic drive the stories rather than using a string of unlikely coinsidences to make thing work or happen. I like to see more realistic reactions from characters than "comic booky" ones. Realistic adult themes and stories are my prefence but only when handled correctly.
I want to point out that none of this applies to comedy or "lite" stories which are a totally different beast.

I even prefer more "realistic" art. The more "cartoony" something drawn tends to take the seriousness out it for me. Seeing someone look like Fred Flinstone get hit has much less impact with me than seeing a Bryan Hitch drawn character get hit.

For as long as I've been reading comics one of the few times I've been creeped out by something was reading the last 2 issues of Kevin Smith's Spidey/Black Cat book. The story seemed to take a very sharp and strange turn in those last 2 issues and now we have a story talking about male and female rape, incest, and having characters masterbate (for no logical reason that I can see). I was just creeped out by all this being thrown into the story. Not only that but it all seems forced and unnecessary. This has been probably the only time I read something in a comic that made me feel that way. It's not the type of story that makes you think or sheds light on a problem or has a strong message. It just has a slimey feel to me.

[onizuka]

I read comics for fantasy and escapism. But I need just enough reality to the character's personalities to connect with them. So, I guess I like seeing "real" characters experience increasingly fantastic situations. I don't really need to see superheroes tackling gay bashing or racism or global warming or sexual harrassment or anything like that. I see enough of that in real life.

that's right on the money

[Gumbo Maximillian]

Always thought comics were comparable to any other medium out there so if some one wants to do a story about racism or whatever, go ahead, in the end the only thing that truely matters is if it is done well or not.

[Lonewalker]

I concur with ya, Gumbo. The comics medium is large and vast, anything is possible.