If comics would not be dominated by superheroes

[auntiehill]

I imagine, if there had never been a "Superhero" genre, there would have been a lot more early comics like Tin Tin.

 

[Wadjda]

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.

I am fine with capes they are just way to dominant for my taste. Also i don't understand the brand loyalty for some superheroes that were created wery long ago. It would be awesome if Aztek or Dynamo 5 or other newer capes would be more prominent.

 

[MNM]

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?

It wouldnt It's just the typical condescending comment you get in these discussions.

That poster could go out right now and buy lots of comics that dont even have a sniff of a superhero in them if he wanted to.

 

[Velocity]

When I was a child in the 50s/60s, my mother (who called science fiction "that dumb stuff") would buy us comic books like Little Lulu, and Rocky and Bullwinkle. Never capes but also never Disney.

I never understood why science fiction was "dumber" than other fiction. Well, at least she did let me watch Star Trek when she ruled the tv.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Yeah, when I first stated reading American comics there was variety: Horror, Humor, Westerns, War, Adventure, Science Fiction, Romance and of course Superheroes. The superhero genre was in the middle of a comeback after several down years and the genre was being redefined at DC and especially Marvel. It stuck a cord with the audience and came to dominate the industry. Unlike the other genres, "capes" are somewhat unique to the medium, so maybe thats why they became the dominate genre. They can also adopt the tropes of other genres, which is what helped make Marvel's heroes different. Spider-Man borrowed from romance and teen comics for a different take.

Hard to say what would happen without the capes. Comics were very reactive and often looked to film and later TV to decide what to publish. If monsters were popular, they published monster books. If Westerns were popular, they published Western books. They probably would continue to do this shifting content with each trend..