Comics and Superhero Gaming

[boerngrim]

A term I ran across (well two actually) one of which is from Kurt Busiek - and it describes the kind of comics that Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek are best at; taking the good bits of the iron age (really nasty villains, some dark bits, more "realistic") and the silver/bronze age (Heroes are heroic, and ideals are in place).

Gilded Iron or Tarnished Silver (or Neo-silver).

How about "Electrum Era"?

 

[mikelaff]

It's generally bad form to name an age while it's still going on, but I will say that we're going to be in trouble if we keep downgrading out metals. What'll be left for the 2070's? The Tin Foil Age?

There are a few big trends in the last decade: Big cosmic threats. (See Authority, Infinite Crisis.) Super serious anti-heroes in leather. (See Authority, New X-Men, Ultimates, Supreme Power.) "Realistic" explanations for super powers. (See Authority, Ultimates.) Revisiting classic continuity with revisionist, modern take. (See Identity Crisis, Secret Invasion, Planetary sort of, but sadly not the Authority.)

Defining writers of the last 10 years: Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Geoff Johns, Warren Ellis, Brian Bendis, Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, and that guy who created the Authority.

An iconic "modern superhero" RPG campaign would probably involve a juxtaposition between edgy modern heroes, the "good old days" that turn out to be a lot more complicated than you would have thought, and a huge menace that ties the two eras together.

(So far my effort to push the industry back towards Giffen-DeMatteis-esque hi-jinx and pathos has been in vain.)

I loved Archenemies.Thanks for writing that.

I thought the Giffen-DeMatteis run on JL/ JLI/JLE (and, lest we forget, Justice League Antarctica) was one of the best things to come out of the 80s and 90s. Somehow - it always gets left out when people are talking about the Iron Age.

 

[am181d]

You forgot Frank Miller. He could definitely take the place of one of your multiple Warrens.

Frank Miller's great, but he's really a defining voice of the 80s. Yes, his influence is still being felt today, but so are Alan Moore's and Neil Gaiman's, etc.

(Though, in retrospect, I suppose you could make this same argument to take Grant Morrison OFF my list as a lot of his seminal works came out in the 90s.)

I guess it boils down to how you define "Now" -- a concept that's ephemeral by nature.

 

[am181d]

You wrote that?!?! I've been trying to find that book ever since I first read about it on CBR.

If Amazon is to be believed, there are used copies available for as little as forty-five cents. A ringing endorsement!

I loved Archenemies.Thanks for writing that.

Thanks for reading it!

I thought the Giffen-DeMatteis run on JL/ JLI/JLE (and, lest we forget, Justice League Antarctica) was one of the best things to come out of the 80s and 90s. Somehow - it always gets left out when people are talking about the Iron Age.

Absolutely. Those guys are my heroes. (I also love Giffen's work on the "Five Years Later" LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES. It's the total polar opposite of his JLI run, and it really shows the depth of his talent.)

 

[GMforPowergamers]

If Amazon is to be believed, there are used copies available for as little as forty-five cents. A ringing endorsement.

Anyone selling them are nuts...I loved the story I still havee all 4 issues. (I especialy love that the hero thought the villian new his ID...

 

[Vigilance]

I guess it boils down to how you define "Now" -- a concept that's ephemeral by nature.

Well, I'm not saying nothing has changed. I just feel like writers now are doing the same things started by Claremont and Miller, and heck, we'll throw in Marv Wolfman for his New Teen Titans run too.

More dramatic writing (less exposition- writing like a screenplay), more serious tone, more long form storytelling and then add the birth of the company-wide crossover with Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths.

To my mind, there's nothing major going on today radically different from what those guys started. They're just taking what Claremont-Miller did and refining it, pushing it further.

You could say that stories today are more adult and I'd agree but even then, that was because Jim Shooter was THE LAW, not because Miller wouldnt have preferred to do something more adult.

 

[am181d]

Well, I'm not saying nothing has changed. I just feel like writers now are doing the same things started by Claremont and Miller, and heck, we'll throw in Marv Wolfman for his New Teen Titans run too.

Absolutely. Claremont, Byrne, Wolfman, Perez, Miller, etc. laid the groundwork for a lot of what we still think of as modern storytelling today. Some of it still reads "modern" today, though some of it comes across a bit stilted and expositional. (By contrast, many of today's comics fail in the other direction, where not much happens from issue to issue.)

 

[Wolfwood2]

In the new millennium, especially as typified by the attitude of Marvel's "Ultimate" universe and largely mirrored in the attitudes of Marvel's summer movies Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, is this still considered the "Iron Age"? Or have we moved on to something new? And if so, what is it called? And how would you typify its shared characteristics as they apply to a role-playing game?

I think a key element of the modern era is a fascination with the notion of legacy and mining the past, both within the fictional universe of comics and in terms of extracting gems from old stories. In so many stories today, writers are going back to weird and fantastic ideas from earlier eras of comics, washing the crud off of them, and trying to make them work in a modern context. In a way, isn't the the entire point of the Ultimate universe?

But like I said, it's not just a meta-thing. Even in-story, a lot of today's comics are focused on character roots. Iron Fist does stories about prior Iron Fists, Green Lantern revisits the origins of its lead, Ultimate Origins is establishing a new backstory for the entire Ultimates universe, and even the current 'big events' from Marvel and DC are all about the past. Skrulls have been around a long time, and 'Final Crisis' reflects from the first Crisis.

Applying this to a roleplaying game means emphasizing the notion of legacy. Make past heroes important to the PCs of today. Work with the players to establish meaty backstories for their characters and draw upon that. If aliens invade, then somebody somewhere in the game universe has heard of them before and can tell the PCs how to stop them.

 

[Vigilance]

Absolutely. Claremont, Byrne, Wolfman, Perez, Miller, etc. laid the groundwork for a lot of what we still think of as modern storytelling today. Some of it still reads "modern" today, though some of it comes across a bit stilted and expositional. (By contrast, many of today's comics fail in the other direction, where not much happens from issue to issue.)

Amen brother. Secret Invasion has been driving me CRAZY. I dont actually get the mini-series, but I am subscribed to both avengers books, and Bendis is writing all these "between the raindrops" stories.

It's driving me insane. Id rather be lost. Last issue? How did Henry Pym become a skrull. The entire issue.

 

[mikelaff]

Amen brother. Secret Invasion has been driving me CRAZY. I dont actually get the mini-series, but I am subscribed to both avengers books, and Bendis is writing all these "between the raindrops" stories.

It's driving me insane. Id rather be lost. Last issue? How did Henry Pym become a skrull. The entire issue.

I agree that it's frustrating.

Also - Ultimates just redid the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Ultimates-Vol-Homeland-Security/dp/078511078X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b"]shapechanging alien invasion bit [/ame]a few years back and it did it awfully well. That was - what? - 2003? 2004? it's still fairly fresh in the mind - and Secret Invasion feels a bit like an also-ran in comparison.

I'll still take it over the mess that is Final Crisis (or Batman R.I.P for that matter.) YMMV