recently...i have been getting into old comics. Im starting with marvel cus i generally like marvel more and dc kinda kills my longing to go back when i know everything is reset(im still gonna read them eventually, but, yeah) So anyway i started with avengers. I could not find a place to start and chose at random. I think i chose somewhere close to the 90s, i kinda regret that. Because, after i ssumed i finished it up to the modern days, i went straight to uncanny x men. this time, i decided to instead ask the internet for help on where to start and they placed me at the start of Dark Phoenix. im still not done with x men, cus along with that i gotta read x force, x factor, x- men.....dont know why there is 2 x men, but whatever. I branch off each of these and read them all when they gather up in a mashup anyway, here is what i came to say. I have found my starting point. I dont think i can read any comics past the point of 1980. The reason is......the over explanation. I have no problem reading, but i find myself reading the same thing ovr and over. Its like the old comics were afraid u willl some how forget about everyones powers and take the time to tell u EACH ISSUE. Even the characters say it continuosly themselves. jesus christ if i have to hear rogue tell some "eeek. dont touch me darlin. If u do ill absorb yah powers and psyche" one more damn time ill flip. which is a good thing cus i have reached 1995, where they stopped all that noonsense. Its like they didnt trust u enough to know what the character was doing, so they just...over explain endless about what there doing, how there gonna do it, why it worked, and then they gloat. Every single character takes the time to tell us everything about themselves again each issue. God. Plus that was only the early 80s. Which is why i wont even dare go past that. I mean, i still enjoyed the overall story, but jesus. It taks some weight on your brain. i also noticed that comics got a bit more, i dont know, more daring in the 1980s? They took more risk and stuff with there characters. The dialogue got a bit better during these times and lass..goofy one would say.More realistic. Something a person would actually say. Basically they became a bit more self aware i think ;v. If anything, it was alot more simple to understand a comic back den. Because they didnt have so many GOD DAMN stories mixed up wiith other heroes where u had to read 7 other damn issues just to get it all like today. at best its only 4 :v. I dont know whether i should go back to avengers and start from the 1980s, cause it already took me forever just to go from then to now. X men is taking 2x longer due to all the damn issues correlating with it. I also weighing to read the flash or spider-man next. Or maybe the sandman which surprisingly has incredible art for its time. But yeah....the point is. Do you somewhat agree with what i said, i mean dont take it as just a marvel thing, cus it isnt, it happens in both marvel and DC. I read a tiny bit of flash before all the over explanation made me black out. Also, how far back can you go in comics if u mind me asking....-sigh- why did i write an essay. cant even get motivated to write a damn essay for my English class.
That type of exposition was necessary though, because every comic could be someone's first... It's less important now that people have access to bios of just about every character with a quick internet search. I'd also say rather then read the older books just read a series like Kurt Busiek's Marvels(1994) that features stories that takes a look back at the history of the Marvel Universe from a new perspective. For X-Men I would go with Joss Whedon's run, which also does callbacks to Chris Claremont's run. The Sandman will always be highly recommended but it's not the usual subject matter, as it's not about superheroes. The format itself is somewhat different from other comics as well, it's usually an anthology style of self-contained short stories that comments and relates to the main thread revolving around Sandman. For instance a volume may contain several stories about a subject matter, each with a different outcome that will then relate to the Sandman's current plight and choices.
i dont like comics with just heroes. as long as it has a good story, im okay with it. but yeah, the whole over explanation was tolerable after a while. But only because they stopped making the characters say it 5 times each issue. instead they just put yellow boxes explaining their powers everything a character was introduced. Which i can ignore with ease. Problem is, they for some reason explain it in fights. Explained how they did whatthey did in their thoughts(sometimes to heir enemies). My professor constantly tell us To show and not tell when writing a story. Something like that should be far more easier to do in comics right?
Yea, one would think it should be easier with pictures, but it's not exactly like writing about everyday things that we can relate to... Some of the abilities of superheroes are just plain weird. I'm sure writers get sick of explaining the same things over and over again too and sometimes just can't think of a creative way. Migraine headache or Psionic Attack?!
