Update

Tropical Storm Ivan hit and seems to be finally be moving on, some flooding in places but everything seems to be okay for the most part. Can't believe how people panic, and do such foolish things.

Only way the storm has really done something other than rain on me, was forcing increased hours at work because of call-ins who were too worried to come in. Which meant more money, but very tired hands as a data encoder for the US Postal Service.

Odd comic book ramble of the day

Today's superhero comics, especially DC's, seems to be going back to older concepts that were popular for the company in the 60s, 70s and to a lesser degree the early 80s.

Some fans say this is an attempt to have the books be like they were when they captured young readers imaginations in those times. Will that really work though?

I wonder at times if the reason why comics have lost a generation or more over time, is that so many are still relying on what interested readers all those decades ago. Seeming to not really realize that readers tastes have changed, and what interested one group as kids may not (and likely will not) interest kids a generation or more down the road.

I look at my nieces and nephew for an example of this. I loved G. I Joe and Transformers as a kid, and thought the old "Jem" cartoon was a really fun show. Yet during their recent revival, I tried to share that interest with my younger relatives and they had no interest in it.

I look at what does seem to interest them, Spongebob Squarepants or Survivor, and I scratch my head trying to see the appeal. Which has me wondering why some readers think that just because they loved a comic as a kid in the 1960s, that their children will like the same exact thing in the here and now.

Of course while some of the fans believe that, I imagine DC and Marvel probably know what audience they are now going for with those anyway. Look at Marvel for instance which has not one, or two but four titles dealing with individual takes on the Fantastic Four.

Seeming to understand that many of today's superhero comic readers don't want new ideas or even new stories. So Marvel especially knows that they can sell basically the same exact thing over and over again to the same audience.

Which has made the circle of "comic life" shorter and shorter. I wonder what will happen first. Will the creators rebel from having no creative freedom? Or will readers wake up and realize the are buying the same exact book every month? Only time will tell.