Where have all the superheroes gone?
A few weeks ago now I attended the 2016 Fan Expo in Toronto along with roughly 140k other enthusiastic fans. As it is every year, it's an experience being shoulder to shoulder with so many people that share common interests.
It got me to thinking though, as I looked around at all the cosplayers decked out in their finest representations of their favourite superheroes, where have all the superheroes gone?
If that seems an odd question to pose at a time when comic characters are enjoying their greatest ever popularity in movies and television and merchandise, I assure you it's not.
If you think about the characters that are enjoying this popularity and when they were created you see a disturbing statistic.
Of course it all began with Superman way back in 1938; the creation of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Much is owed to these pioneers of an entire genre.
Batman swiftly followed in 1939 from the creative minds of Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Then with the onset of the war Joe Simon and the King, Jack Kirby, gave us Captain America (later to be revived by Marvel Comics in 1964). William Moulton Marston would give us Wonder Woman in 1942; the first female superhero.
And for awhile there was nothing until the silver age ushered in a cornucopia of new and renewed heroes alike. This creative age spanned roughly 14 years between 1956 and 1970 and gave the world such popular heroes as The Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Daredevil, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Justice League among others. The great minds of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox, and Steve Ditko among so many others made this age what it was.
But look at that list and you can see the statistic. Almost every popular character was created more than 40 years ago! Even Wolverine who has attained enormous popularity over the years was "born" in 1974. Deadpool, he of the hit movie, was created in 1991 and that is still 25 years ago!
So at a time of such enormous popularity where have all the superheroes gone? Why do we not see any new characters being created? I have three theories on the subject which I will share with you all next week in part two of this blog.
Until then feel free to post any thoughts you might have in the comments below.
Before I go though, on the subject of fantasy, I'd like to take a moment to correct an oversight on my part. A few weeks back I posted some promotion for authors with new or upcoming releases and forgot to mention the very talented Alexa Whitewolf and her new release Avalon Dreams
For anyone with an interest in the Arthurian legends I'd recommend picking up this book for its fresh and innovative take on the endearing legends of yore. It's a longer read but the reviews so far indicate it's definitely worth your time!
Excelsior!
It got me to thinking though, as I looked around at all the cosplayers decked out in their finest representations of their favourite superheroes, where have all the superheroes gone?
If that seems an odd question to pose at a time when comic characters are enjoying their greatest ever popularity in movies and television and merchandise, I assure you it's not.
If you think about the characters that are enjoying this popularity and when they were created you see a disturbing statistic.
Of course it all began with Superman way back in 1938; the creation of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Much is owed to these pioneers of an entire genre.
Batman swiftly followed in 1939 from the creative minds of Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Then with the onset of the war Joe Simon and the King, Jack Kirby, gave us Captain America (later to be revived by Marvel Comics in 1964). William Moulton Marston would give us Wonder Woman in 1942; the first female superhero.
And for awhile there was nothing until the silver age ushered in a cornucopia of new and renewed heroes alike. This creative age spanned roughly 14 years between 1956 and 1970 and gave the world such popular heroes as The Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Daredevil, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Justice League among others. The great minds of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox, and Steve Ditko among so many others made this age what it was.
But look at that list and you can see the statistic. Almost every popular character was created more than 40 years ago! Even Wolverine who has attained enormous popularity over the years was "born" in 1974. Deadpool, he of the hit movie, was created in 1991 and that is still 25 years ago!
So at a time of such enormous popularity where have all the superheroes gone? Why do we not see any new characters being created? I have three theories on the subject which I will share with you all next week in part two of this blog.
Until then feel free to post any thoughts you might have in the comments below.
Before I go though, on the subject of fantasy, I'd like to take a moment to correct an oversight on my part. A few weeks back I posted some promotion for authors with new or upcoming releases and forgot to mention the very talented Alexa Whitewolf and her new release Avalon Dreams
For anyone with an interest in the Arthurian legends I'd recommend picking up this book for its fresh and innovative take on the endearing legends of yore. It's a longer read but the reviews so far indicate it's definitely worth your time!
Excelsior!
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Good point Marie!! And not one of the theories I'd considered. Nostalgia for those thirty somethings (like me) definitely plays a role. I've bought many books that I fondly remember from childhood.Thanks for participating :)
If you look at super-heroes and -heroines in an economic continuum, then comics/graphic novels/manga have a higher capital investment cost than novels and therefore there are fewer new entrants into the field--that is, less innovation and fewer original works. It costs more to produce a book of color illustrations than black and white text. In the current educational system (as well as in the past--although an unsubstantiated supposition on my part), writing and reading are the foundational subjects and art and drawing are electives. Consequently, the skilled labor pool--skilled because this production is not something anyone can do with a few weeks of training--from which to draw in order to turn the raw material, an idea, into a consumable product is smaller and thus more expensive.So, why is manga so popular in Japan (it does have a significant presence in the US as well)? The main ones are lower production costs, wider distribution of profits, and market size. Manga is mainly in black and white illustrations and sometimes the amount of shading (aka "inking") is even reduced to speed production. On the other hand, US comics are always in color. Insofar as the distribution of profits is concerned, manga artists retained rights to their manga, whereas the US comics publishers (until the 1990s) retained the rights and artists are employees of the publishers (Manga: The Complete Guide, xx). I might also argue that the market for manga is larger in Japan than the US market for comics, most likely caused by the stifling effects of the Comics Code Authority in US. (I'm too lazy to dig up a reference for it. Maybe an oblique reference in Thompson, xx, might suffice.) Combining these factors together, the lack of innovation in superheroes and -heroines is foundationally caused by economics.
Great comments Alex!! The comics code is an angle I never considered but I'm sure had an effect on those entering the medium in the '80s but the code has been forgotten for at least a decade now and still nothing.I think you're spot on with the economics...they are at the root of one of my theories.
Once again, good stuff :)
Do you have pictures from the expo? Sounds like fun! :)
Marie wrote: "Do you have pictures from the expo? Sounds like fun! :)"yes, pics of cosplayers!
No photos of my own I'm afraid :( I'm always too immersed in everything going on to remember to whip out my phone for a snap or two. But...let's see if I can do this correctly (as Annie so graciously showed me) and attach some online photos here.
The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)
J.D. wrote: "The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)"yay!
those pics of the storm troopers rock!
J.D. wrote: "The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)"A new superhero!? Do share :)
Alex G wrote: "J.D. wrote: "The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)"yay!
those pics of the storm troopers rock!"
The work cosplayers put into their costumes is astounding...they look like they belong in the movie!
Eldon wrote: "J.D. wrote: "The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)"A new superhero!? Do share :)"
Yep!
Baltimore homicide cop Jill Andersen doubles as the costumed vigilante Bounty. When she was in the Army, she volunteered for an experiment called Project Fusion -- which gifted her with super strength, increased agility, speed, infrared sight, a supercomputer embedded in her brain, and a titanium-reinforced skeleton.
People who have read my books consider them a cross between Daredevil and Castle (which is interesting, considering there's no love story here). Jill's series is currently three books in: Bounty, Blood Ties, and Behind the Badge (including the Kindle-exclusive short story Boundless.
I'm currently working on both book 4, Behind the Mask, and book 5, Betrayed.
J.D. wrote: "Eldon wrote: "J.D. wrote: "The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)"A new superhero!? Do share :)"
Yep!
Baltimore homicide cop Jill Andersen doubles as the costumed vigilante [book: Boun..."
Sounds intriguing! A couple of questions though. Jill seems to have quite the power set; do you ever find it hard to place her in situations where she'd actually be in danger? Sort of the same problem that Superman writers face.
And have you ever considered taking your story back to where the genre began (i.e. comic books) or as Alex pointed out are the barriers to entry too great?
Eldon wrote: "J.D. wrote: "Eldon wrote: "J.D. wrote: "The protagonist of my novels is a superhero! :)"A new superhero!? Do share :)"
Yep!
Baltimore homicide cop Jill Andersen doubles as the costumed vigilant..."
It just so happens that both Bounty and Blood Ties touch on just how invulnerable Jill might be. She's certainly not invincible -- I mean, the titanium skeleton's a nice perk, but it only goes but so far. She's still capable of being physically harmed in other ways.
And funny you should ask the second question, because I've just started on the script for a potential Bounty graphic novel. It's in the really early stages, but the ball is rolling on that.
J.D. wrote: "And funny you should ask the second question, because I've just started on the script for a potential Bounty graphic novel. It's in the really early stages, but the ball is rolling on that."Awesome news J.D.!!
First, thanks for sharing, Eldon! Really appreciate the shout out :)Second, my take on the whole superhero might be simplistic but...there's nothing building creativity nowadays. Hollywood movies, if you guys noticed, consist mainly of remakes and restarts of old plots. (I mean, how many Spiderman movies do we need??)
I feel like a lot of the artists that previously created these superheros and comics, are in today's world frowned upon. We've become more material, more "my house is bigger than yours", and the 9-5 jobs are more popular than, say, a temp job while trying to make it big as a graphic designer or author or comic book... person. You'll have to excuse my lack of technical terms, I mean no offense.
One example: my four years in university, if nothing else, taught me that to get the good grades and the piece of paper, you can forget individual/critical thought, and rather rehash your prof's ideas. That's all they want, to stroke their own egos. If you repeat, verbatim, in your essays their own words, you pass. If, God forbid, you have a unique thought... you fail.
That was my experience in 2010-2014. And it nearly killed my creative spirit. I can't imagine what it does for even more artistic persons than me.
But that's my take on it. Creativity is squashed before it even starts burgeoning - in schools and real life alike. And one consequence, among others, is the lack of new ideas on the market: no new movies, no new superheros, nada. Nothing that gets past the perfect formula Hollywood looks for.
Alexa wrote: "First, thanks for sharing, Eldon! Really appreciate the shout out :)Second, my take on the whole superhero might be simplistic but...there's nothing building creativity nowadays. Hollywood movies..."
You're not wrong.
And I will say -- there are TONS of superheroes who I think are worthy of their own Hollywood big-budget feature film, but likely never will... because for some strange reason, Hollywood thinks we want to see the same five or six over and over and over again (honestly, how many freaking Batmans do we need?). There is a glaring lack of diversity in Hollywood when it comes to superheroes, and while the same can be said of comics, that medium is at least showing signs of improvement and change.
J.D. wrote: "Alexa wrote: "First, thanks for sharing, Eldon! Really appreciate the shout out :)Second, my take on the whole superhero might be simplistic but...there's nothing building creativity nowadays. Ho..."
Funnily enough, I just edited my comment to add how they can't get past Hollywood's idea of a super budget film. So, so true J.D. I'm always amazed when I run into someone who lists me all the superheros that have remained in the shadows... It's sad, really.
Alexa wrote: "Creativity is squashed before it even starts burgeoning - in schools and real life alike. And one consequence, among others, is the lack of new ideas on the market: no new movies, no new superheros, nada. Nothing that gets past the perfect formula Hollywood looks for."Excellent contribution Alexa! The lack of creativity is something I'm going to touch on in my second part so I won't go into too much detail here but just say that the reasons behind this lack of creativity are systemic to the business and don't look to be changing anytime soon.
As for Hollywood blockbusters...they have saturated the market with a wealth of overdone and retread movies but each one makes the all mighty dollar so I can't blame the studios. We are in the midst of a bubble right now, and like all bubbles, no one on the inside is capable of seeing that it is a bubble. Once it breaks, Hollywood will move onto the next big thing but until then...remake away!!
*refuses to give up on my crusade for a big-budget Batwoman movie*
J.H. Williams III wrote some great Batwoman stories that would make an amazing movie. Despite the ridiculous amounts of money that Time Warner is making off their DC universe movies though I don't see them straying from the formula and taking a chance on an unknown superhero.And that is a shame :(
Then again, they made Suicide Squad and Marvel succeeded with Guardians of the Galaxy so you never know!!
Eldon wrote: "J.H. Williams III wrote some great Batwoman stories that would make an amazing movie. Despite the ridiculous amounts of money that Time Warner is making off their DC universe movies though I don't ..."That's my hope; if Hollywood can make a talking raccoon work, it can definitely make a movie about a Jewish, open lesbian superhero work.
Interesting about Batwoman though is essentially she's a derivation of the male character Batman (which happens a lot in comics). I mean she's an intriguing character in her own right; why didn't they give her an original name?
Something intriguing ... well, I don't know, maybe something like "The Black Canary..."
Graeme wrote: "Something intriguing ... well, I don't know, maybe something like "The Black Canary...""Black Canary actually exists all ready...DC character. But they could've called her something original for sure. Perhaps it goes back to the lack of creativity?
Graeme wrote: "When did Jessica Jones show up?"Jessica Jones debuted in 2001. A solid character but is more of a spy than a superhero and nevertheless has so far failed to attain higher levels of recognition. Her TV show may change that.
Eldon wrote: "Interesting about Batwoman though is essentially she's a derivation of the male character Batman (which happens a lot in comics). I mean she's an intriguing character in her own right; why didn't t..."The funny thing is, Batwoman was originally created way back in the day because people were concerned that Batman was gay -- there were serious homoerotic undertones to his book. So DC created Batwoman as a way to "prove" that Batman wasn't gay. Nowadays, Batwoman is one of the most prominent LGBT superheroes.
J.D. wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Interesting about Batwoman though is essentially she's a derivation of the male character Batman (which happens a lot in comics). I mean she's an intriguing character in her own right..."The irony of it all :)
McDonalds used this as a business model with Happy Meals long ago. Get the kids to have fond memories of going to McDonalds for a Happy Meal (I mean, it's called a "Happy" meal for crying out loud), and playing in the Playland, and you will have repeat customers in the next generations.
It is smart to resurrect some things like superheros from the past when you can cater to that nostalgia.