A new mainstream
A new mainstream |
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Page 21 of 23  Cover to Give Me Liberty (Dark Horse, 1990). Art: Dave Gibbons. A more politically aware tale, set in a science fictional future, with a black heroine. Why the Image titles should have been such hits is not difficult to explain. They were essentially re-runs of Marvel formulas produced by the biggest names in the business. (Later, other top creators joined, such as Erik Larsen, Marc Silvestri and Whilce Portacio.) But they also had their own attractions. Many of the story lines, for example, tapped into fashionable horror and science fiction themes: the character Spawn is a kind of Mephisto figure, who is not above dismembering those who displease him, while some titles had definite cyberpunk references. Also, the artwork, as well as representing the peak of the fan aesthetic, was coloured by computer in an unusual and striking fashion. These factors all combined to make the imprint appear 'now' and happening. So what are we to make of the new mainstream comics of the 1990s? In some ways, the Marvel/DC Comics/Image axis was merely perpetuating formulas that had been around since the beginning of the superhero genre. But in others, there was a new sensibility afoot. Violence was much more a part of the stories, and the essential innocence of the old-style superhero tales had been replaced by a kind of hip cynicism. An article in the fanzine The Comics Journal, from 1991, asked where it would all lead: At stake is the continued status of superheroes as bona fide American myth - they risk their essence by mythologizing the Reagan era's precepts..If publishers keep pandering to ... bloodlust, superheroes will lose the glamor and the glory readers associate with the red, white and blue ... and retain only the guilty thrill induced by the grisly, gory red." The other thing that is striking about this period is the extent to which comics have become tied to other media. Film especially has become crucially important, as publishers have increasingly put their faith in the fact that comics characters can make even bigger bucks as celluloid heroes. This was always the case to a degree, of course, but in the late 1980s and 1990s, publishers have ruthlessly exploited their situation as part of (or as sister companies of) larger multi-national media corporations which have the capacity for film-making. For example, DC Comics is owned by Time Warner, Marvel is owned by the same organization that owns New World Pictures, while Dark Horse has close links with 20th Century Fox.  Hard Boiled (Dark Horse, 1992). Art: Geof Darrow. This story of a cyborg with a big gun was indeed hard boiled: a balletically choreographed exercise in ultra-violence.  Hard Boiled |