Early Marvel Age x Silver Age

[ShinDangaioh]

Yes, the off-series of DC did get away with a lot(Egg Fu? Dr. Yes?). Probably why I enjoyed them over DC's mainstream and all of Marvel's offerings, save Ghost Rider

BTW I retract the comment of DC not putting out a comic with a borderline psycho as a main character.

Early 1970's a series of stories featuring a Carib Indian pirate called Captain Fear.

[Mike W]

Capt. Fear,as I recall, wasn't really a superheroic comic either, but I only remember reading an issue or two YEARS ago, so I could be wrong.

For that matter, Marvel produced Tomb of Dracula and the like. So let me re-phrase. You did not have nearly as many villains/psychos getting their own books and they were not passed off as heroes.

Regardless, I still think that the nostalgia factor is the main thing. We tend to remember things through rose colored glasses because we usually try to block out/forget the bad things and remember the good ones. So eventually, all we remember is the good things and the "good old days".

[Kristopher]

Capt. Fear,as I recall, wasn't really a superheroic comic either, but I only remember reading an issue or two YEARS ago, so I could be wrong.

For that matter, Marvel produced Tomb of Dracula and the like. So let me re-phrase. You did not have nearly as many villains/psychos getting their own books and they were not passed off as heroes.

Regardless, I still think that the nostalgia factor is the main thing. We tend to remember things through rose colored glasses because we usually try to block out/forget the bad things and remember the good ones. So eventually, all we remember is the good things and the "good old days".

Is this another one of those things where I'm wierd?

Because I don't seem, at least to myself, to think that way. I tend to remember the worst parts most readily.

[ShinDangaioh]

Capt. Fear,as I recall, wasn't really a superheroic comic either, but I only remember reading an issue or two YEARS ago, so I could be wrong.

No, you're correct that Captain Fear wasn't a hero.

For that matter, Marvel produced Tomb of Dracula and the like. So let me re-phrase. You did not have nearly as many villains/psychos getting their own books and they were not passed off as heroes.

And in the case where a villian did get their own series(Kobra for example), you knew the guy was a villian.

Regardless, I still think that the nostalgia factor is the main thing. We tend to remember things through rose colored glasses because we usually try to block out/forget the bad things and remember the good ones. So eventually, all we remember is the good things and the "good old days".

Me? I want to finish theese stories that I only have a piece of

Nolstagia is a big factor, I'll admit. Part of the rose-colored nonsense comes from the cartoon shows aimed at children and the Adam West Batman.

The live-action Wonder Woman show? Uh. World War II?

If you want to put a little more 'Silver Age' DC into your Hero games, toss in sabatouers from a foriegn country. 'Silver Age' DC heroes used a lot of trickery to win a fight. Despite all of their powers, their minds were used quite often.

[Northstar]

The elements you point out are personally the reasons I preferred Marvel characters to DC when I started reading comics in the 70's. Most of them communicated as more three dimensional.

But comics today are another level up. (or down, perhaps) Characters go beyond just being ill tempered or idiosyncratic. They are sometimes fully neurotic, perverse or just plain a**holes. And superheroes commonly die in the stories of today. (Three Avengers biting it in the span of two issues, as happened in Disassembled, would -never- have taken place in the Silver age.) They rarely did in the Silver Marvel mags-- it was more likely supporting characters or villains that bit the dust, not the main characters.

Btw, congrats on expanding your horizons. Personally, I think it's a relief in many ways to be over 30 and freed of the onus of affected coolness...

[austenandrews]

This is exactly why I cringe when people describe the "Silver Age" as spanning the 50's to the 70's or even the 80's. It's ridiculous to ascribe some common set of characteristics to heroes across that time frame. Comics (at least Marvel comics) underwent a pretty drastic change in the mid-late 60's that to me undeniably sets them apart from what came before.

[Mike W]

Is this another one of those things where I'm wierd?

Because I don't seem, at least to myself, to think that way. I tend to remember the worst parts most readily.

Yeah, a bit. But we already knew you were weird. Seriously, I have the same problem. Although, truth be told, I tend to block out a LOT. On average though, most people do remember the good times more than the bad.

[Supreme]

This is exactly why I cringe when people describe the "Silver Age" as spanning the 50's to the 70's or even the 80's. It's ridiculous to ascribe some common set of characteristics to heroes across that time frame. Comics (at least Marvel comics) underwent a pretty drastic change in the mid-late 60's that to me undeniably sets them apart from what came before.

I would say that you can't extend DC's Silver Age to the 70s. Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano ended that by sending Batman back to the streets of Gotham to fight crime, Robin off to college to grow up, told Green Lantern he was a de facto racist, and got Speedy hooked on drugs (who else?). The art and the stories both became really gritty and urban (as opposed to the suburban feel of the 50s). DC comics from that period became VERY issue-conscious (and preachy, for my money). They also slipped in sales. The #1 selling comic of 1970 was Archie. If that doesn't signal a change in era...

Marvel (or at least Spider-Man from what I can tell) did it's transition into the issues in the early 70s as well, but they retained most of the same people so the overall style didn't change much (except for the change from Ditko to Romita for art). Spider-Man himself remained more or less unchanged as a character.

[Hugh Neilson]

Marvel (or at least Spider-Man from what I can tell) did it's transition into the issues in the early 70s as well, but they retained most of the same people so the overall style didn't change much (except for the change from Ditko to Romita for art). Spider-Man himself remained more or less unchanged as a character.

While DC made Speedy a junkie, Marvel turned Harry Osborne into one. Marvel, in fact, was the first, and that storyline is generally credited with breaking the comics code. Early '70's Spidey also killed first Cap[tain Stacy and then Gwen Stacy, the latter dying in Spidey's arms after he failed to save her. It also showed Spidey nearly cross the line and kill the Green Goblin (who died anyway, accidentally, more or less by his own hand).

I don't think DC had sole ownership of issues in the '70s.