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<blockquote data-quote="AFGNCAAP" data-source="post: 1332966" data-attributes="member: 871">I think that it'll take a long period of time (50+ years) before the character could truly be deemed a classic.&nbsp; I think that the stories will have to endure the test of time, as well as a change in the &quot;targeted&quot; readership (i.e., the same category of readers, but generations or so down the line), to see if it holds up as well.Would I deem Drizzt a classic?&nbsp; Probably not.&nbsp; Though I enjoyed the stories, they seem rooted in the D&amp;D game--something which a particular audience (D&amp;D/RPG players) may get easily, but outside that audience (i.e., readers who don't/never played D&amp;D/RPGs) they may lose their currency (so to speak).I'm tempted to say that Drizzt is more likely to be an &quot;iconic&quot; character rather than a classic--then again, I'm tempted to say that about a lot of fantasy characters (esp. ones such as Conan &amp; Elric--the lone heroes who face countless odds &amp; survive).&nbsp; In a way, they are well-liked &amp; well-loved characters, but they aren't truly &quot;complete&quot; characters--they don't technically change, per se (a very common phenomenon with comic book characters).&nbsp; It's part of the appeal of the character--Conan will always be Conan, Batman will always be Batman, Wolverine will always be Wolverine, etc.&nbsp; These characters are appealing, yet static (and, to a degree, it's why they maintain their appeal).&nbsp; And, it seems like their stories will never end.&nbsp; Great for comics, serials, TV &amp; movie series, etc., but that doesn't always equal great literature.&nbsp; There'll be several stories about them, yet the stories never really change--it usually deals with the character doing their usual thing.&nbsp; Action heroes like Mad Max, McLane from the Die Hard series, or Riggs from the Lethal Weapon series fit this mold, too.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AFGNCAAP, post: 1332966, member: 871"] I think that it'll take a long period of time (50+ years) before the character could truly be deemed a classic. I think that the stories will have to endure the test of time, as well as a change in the "targeted" readership (i.e., the same category of readers, but generations or so down the line), to see if it holds up as well. Would I deem Drizzt a classic? Probably not. Though I enjoyed the stories, they seem rooted in the D&D game--something which a particular audience (D&D/RPG players) may get easily, but outside that audience (i.e., readers who don't/never played D&D/RPGs) they may lose their currency (so to speak). I'm tempted to say that Drizzt is more likely to be an "iconic" character rather than a classic--then again, I'm tempted to say that about a lot of fantasy characters (esp. ones such as Conan & Elric--the lone heroes who face countless odds & survive). In a way, they are well-liked & well-loved characters, but they aren't truly "complete" characters--they don't technically change, per se (a very common phenomenon with comic book characters). It's part of the appeal of the character--Conan will always be Conan, Batman will always be Batman, Wolverine will always be Wolverine, etc. These characters are appealing, yet static (and, to a degree, it's why they maintain their appeal). And, it seems like their stories will never end. Great for comics, serials, TV & movie series, etc., but that doesn't always equal great literature. There'll be several stories about them, yet the stories never really change--it usually deals with the character doing their usual thing. Action heroes like Mad Max, McLane from the [I]Die Hard[/I] series, or Riggs from the [I]Lethal Weapon[/I] series fit this mold, too. [/QUOTE]

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