If comics would not be dominated by superheroes

[Wadjda]

I know it's alternate history and they are utterly dominant right now, but what genres do you think would be dominant?
My guess would science fiction and and historical fiction including alternate timelines. Those are things that are expensive to make in a visual medium and with right creators it can look amazing in comics.

What is your guess?

 

[JoeZhang]

I know it's alternate history and they are utterly dominant right now, but what genres do you think would be dominant?
My guess would science fiction and and historical fiction including alternate timelines. Those are things that are expensive to make in a visual medium and with right creators it can look amazing in comics.

What is your guess?

Us non-americans don't have to guess because it's the world we live in - Interested in the adventure of a billionaire and his corporation? Maybe your tastes run to sci-fi.

So the answer for me isn't dominance by one genre but simply a wider range like we see with novels.

 

[Nociod]

When I was growing up in the 90's, we didn't buy the comics with superheroes. If you wanted comics, you bought Donald Duck. (Once I got a little older I also started to buy "the phantom". I only got my hands on comics like Spiderman or Superman when I vent on vacation to Canada).

It seems that kids here now have much more variation, and they are also influenced by asian countries. Naruto seems to be a popular comic these days-

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Watchmen actually addressed this. In an alternate history where costumed heroes were a real thing, nobody was interested in superheroes. Instead, there was a pirate comic interspersed with the main narrative. I would imagine it means the popular comics were the "Thrilling Adventure Story" type.

 

[trekkiedane]

Us non-americans don't have to guess because it's the world we live in /.../
Maybe your tastes run to sci-fi.

So the answer for me isn't dominance by one genre but simply a wider range like we see with novels.

Back in the eighties (and before that) we used to laugh at the "superhero" genre (not that we don't still do that, but it has matured significantly since then) while we were reading French, Belgian, Spanish, Italian, whatnot or local (well, I'm Danish) albums...

While leafing through a supehero-booklet wasn't entirely unfunny, we read Valérian and Laureline (I still do), Milo Manara, Comés, Jodorowsky, Horacio Altuna, Franquin, Bretécher, Giménez, König, Schuiten, Pratt, Varenne [NSFW], Pétillon, Tardi, Morris...


So I'm guessing that if comics weren't dominated by superpowers they would be something like some of the things the people I mentioned made.

 

[Mike Farley]

If you take the time to walk past the Marvel/DC section in your LCS you can find a whole world of comics not dominated by the super-hero. Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, biographies...there's a whole world of non-capes and cowls out there.

 

[Wadjda]

I know but DC and Marvel owns most of the market in America at least.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Mickey Mouse is a superhero?

 

[trekkiedane]

Mickey Mouse is a superhero?

Strange you should ask... around here Mickey Mouse was mostly known for being a sort off super-detective

 

[selina]

I agree with JoeZhang and trekkiedane. For someone outside the US, comics are not dominated by superheros at all, for which I am grateful. There are a lot of cultural influences, so the genres are widespread and you can get fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction, thrilling, funny or more serious settings. Some of the more well-known comics are The Adventures of Asterix.

While I've read almost all of the Asterix comics, I prefer more serious ones. One of my favorite comic book is called "Sambre". It is about an impossible love between a rich man and a poor girl. The whole thing takes place in France during the February Revolution of 1848.

 

[Santaman]

I know it's alternate history and they are utterly dominant right now, but what genres do you think would be dominant?
My guess would science fiction and and historical fiction including alternate timelines. Those are things that are expensive to make in a visual medium and with right creators it can look amazing in comics.

What is your guess?

Us non-americans don't have to guess because it's the world we live in - Interested in the adventure of a billionaire and his corporation? Maybe your tastes run to sci-fi.

So the answer for me isn't dominance by one genre but simply a wider range like we see with novels.

I remember those.

more non superhero:

Lets see, a comic about a crazy bunch of motor drivers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bar_Team

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_(comics)
Gaston is brilliant fun and the absolute anti hero

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Tsuno
Yoko Tsuno

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix
Asterix & Obelix

So many, Dani Futuro, Arad and Maya, The Gentlemen, etc etc.

 

[Hound of UIster]

I know but DC and Marvel owns most of the market in America at least.

Most of the direct market, but that is changing. They are losing ground fast thanks to the indie boom. They are also non-existent or have given up in more mainstream retail venues.

 

[trekkiedane]

@Santaman^Cant get over that I forgot Uderzo!
(But at least I did remember Franquin )

That looks so good, selina, I'll have to look up Bernard Hislaire in the library when I get back home (going away for a week in a couple of hours).

 

[selina]

Do that . My library has only a very small section that is dedicated to comics, so I hope you have more luck there.

 

[CorporalClegg]

If comics weren't dominated by super heroes, I might actually read some.

 

[trekkiedane]

^

And if there weren't so many 'superheroes' in films, I might go see a movie once in a while

 

[Wadjda]

If comics weren't dominated by super heroes, I might actually read some.

How would the superhero dominance stop you from reading the Losers or Northlanders?

 

[Hound of UIster]

Some people still think it's the 90s and that Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld are all the rage.

 

[Thestral]

To be fair, even in the US one of the most dominant comics right now isn't superheroes, but survival horror.

 

[Gotham Central]

For starters, people need to stop dissing capes. I love them, they are a lot of fun. Not every cape is the same. I challenge anyone to read the current Hawkeye series and say its a typical cape comic. Or read something like Powers or Astro City which are about capes but without them being the main focus.

That said there are ALOT of non cape stories in American comics. Even the big two do plenty of non-cape stories outside of their respective universes.

For a trippy non cape story...try Afterlife with Archie. You'll never look at the residents of Riverdale the same way again

I'm also loving Alex and Ada...which is a great subdued scifi story.

Saga is a scifi fantasy epic that has received critical acclaim.

The Massive is a good post apocalyptic thriller.

Plus just about every genre TV/Film/Video Game series has their own comic spinoff.