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superboyprime
"Even though superheroes dominate the American market, there’s so much interesting stuff going on in other genres and indie books that I don’t think it’s fair for me to identify a 'trend.' That said, I think that the big companies certainly know who they’re marketing their books to, and a large segment of that audience tends to like their heroes a little edgier. I certainly fall into that land. So if there is a trend towards anti-heroes or darker material, it’s almost explicitly market-driven, not to mention shortsighted. We’re not going to get new readers (a/k/a kids) if every book is about classic superheroes being dissected and darkened. By no means do I think every superhero book should be vanilla ice cream, but there’s a reason that we all fell in love with comics when we were young. They addressed plenty of social issues and had a lot to say about the world at large, but as a whole they weren’t bleak. It’s that lack of hope that I find troublesome, and the idea that superheroes and the ideals they represent are 'corny.' Fiction can serve many functions, and doling out hope and inspiration 22 pages at a time isn’t a bad thing at all. But again, there are plenty of books to check out that embrace an optimistic take on the world, super or otherwise." - Joe Kelly
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