Marvel or DC? Not Mac or PC.

[Bustertheclown]

If we're talking strictly Marvel and DC, and none of their subsidiary imprints, then I'll have to go with neither. Superhero stuff has never interested me, but that's not the big reason. There's nothing worse in this world to me than assembly-line, revolving-door comic making. I try to give a read to various titles receiving buzz once in awhile, but I'm almost always disappointed. I just think that there is something wrong with an industry where a run on a given title by a writer or artist is measured in months, and not years. I guess if I were pressed to have to read superhero fare, I'd opt for Image stuff, because there are at least creators at Image who have a clear vested interest in their product, and have been working on the same property for sometimes more than a decade. That counts for a lot to me.

[Phact0rri]

This might earn me some mocking but DC because of their Wildstorm line.

not from me. sleeper IMHO is one of the greatest comics ever.

[RPin]

I liked both back in the 90's. Now I'm oblivious to both of them.

[IVstudios]

Why do you have to pick one or the other? Both have some good comics and some really bad comics and a lot of mediocre comics. I'd be asking what comics series are good, who cares who publishes them? It's not like if you buy Batman you are forbidden from every buying Spider-Man. DC doesn't come to your house and confiscate all your Marvel comics.

My personal Recommendations:

1. The Spirit - Feels very true to the original Eisner's Spirit with a modern setting. Though the last issue started to worry me because it looks like they are planning to work in the plot of the movie, which would be a horrible thing to do.

2. Four Eyes - Very interesting new comic about… Illegal underground Dragon fighting during the Great Depression? Trust me though, it's good. Not really a superhero comic though.

3. B.P.R.D. - A spin off of the Hellboy series. Waaaaaaaaaaay better than the mediocre first movie and the crappy second movie.

4. Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen - A mini-series. And it's over. But if you can track it down it's made of win.

[Herschel Dirtwater]

I grew up with Marvel (Spider-man, Iron Man, and Daredevil) but have also enjoyed some DC (Mike Grell's Green Arrow comes to mind). I would tilt toward Marvel but I'm really whizzed at them since they keep destroying everything and then fixing it with some magic or some other cheap gag.

HD

[McDuffies]

If we're talking strictly Marvel and DC, and none of their subsidiary imprints, then I'll have to go with neither. Superhero stuff has never interested me, but that's not the big reason. There's nothing worse in this world to me than assembly-line, revolving-door comic making. I try to give a read to various titles receiving buzz once in awhile, but I'm almost always disappointed. I just think that there is something wrong with an industry where a run on a given title by a writer or artist is measured in months, and not years. I guess if I were pressed to have to read superhero fare, I'd opt for Image stuff, because there are at least creators at Image who have a clear vested interest in their product, and have been working on the same property for sometimes more than a decade. That counts for a lot to me.

I thought of Image as a company founded by a bunch of artists strieving for creative freedom, only to continue to work exactly the same stuff as before. Which is in my book worse, in a big company it's a matter of struggle of individual artist with rigid system, but in a company like Image, it's pure, uncontrolled bad taste. Like being given a choice of various delicious meals, and opting for mcDonalds.

Why do you have to pick one or the other?

'Cause that's the question I asked?
Really I'm trying to figure the difference between the two in general terms, the difference in treatment of their characters and stuff.

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

NO MCDUFFIES YOU MAY ONLY ENJOY ONE YOU MUST DECIDE NOW

Superhero comics were something I always wanted to get into but never really did. My mom says probably DC but can't remember which comics belong to which.

[RobboAKAscooby]

I am definitely a DC fan (which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who reads my comic) especially the big 3 families but pretty much all of the DCU.
Used to be into Marvel growing up but kinda quit on them when GenX was cancelled.
Some of the independants are cool too.

[Bustertheclown]

I thought of Image as a company founded by a bunch of artists strieving for creative freedom, only to continue to work exactly the same stuff as before. Which is in my book worse, in a big company it's a matter of struggle of individual artist with rigid system, but in a company like Image, it's pure, uncontrolled bad taste. Like being given a choice of various delicious meals, and opting for mcDonalds.

But it's just superhero fare. If we were talking about a bunch of guys who broke off to start their own gig, because they wanted to raise the bar for the comic narrative, and then ended up with what Image gave us, I'd agree. However, that wasn't the case. It was a bunch of superhero book artists, who still wanted to do superhero books, but just wanted to own the superheroes they were writing and drawing. I see nothing wrong with what they did, and I certainly don't judge them critically for doing it.

[McDuffies]

But it's just superhero fare. If we were talking about a bunch of guys who broke off to start their own gig, because they wanted to raise the bar for the comic narrative, and then ended up with what Image gave us, I'd agree. However, that wasn't the case. It was a bunch of superhero book artists, who still wanted to do superhero books, but just wanted to own the superheroes they were writing and drawing. I see nothing wrong with what they did, and I certainly don't judge them critically for doing it.

I think their intention was to make good comic books though, and they failed. From what I've read, vintage Stan Lee will still be a more interesting read than average Image comic, which is just kind of sad. Or maybe I just didn't like direction in which they went - edgier, more exagerated, EXTREEEME... completely soulless.

[RPin]

Image comics were BAD, but so were any superhero comics back in the 90's, with the flashy, bulging muscles, OMG GRINDARK storylines, corny villains, ugly bodybuilding women, and the pouches. Oh my god the pouches, why did they need so many of them. But not everything at Image sucked like that. Spawn was good, Dragon was decent, and Gen 13 was tolerable.

[Killbert-Robby]

I quite enjoyed dragon, the one issue I have was pretty funny

[Mycoffeblacke]

DC has the big name classics like Batman, Superman, the Joker.. It's hard to compete with that, yet Marvel has.
My vote would have to go with Marvel, simply because they have most of my favorites, inlcuding Deadpool.
And if Spider-Man doesn't have one of the coolest costume designs ever, I don't know who does. I don't care if it was the 60s.

[Phact0rri]

3. B.P.R.D. - A spin off of the Hellboy series. Waaaaaaaaaaay better than the mediocre first movie and the crappy second movie.

Lobster Johnson > B.P.R.D

[IVstudios]

LJ is a Bad Ass, but he doesn't have an ongoing series.


Does he? If he does you must tell me!

[RobboAKAscooby]

Well I do have to thank Marvel for one thing, the hardbound "Spiderman Loves Mary-Jane"someone gave me for xmas last year does an excellent job of holding my scanner lid down.

[Bustertheclown]

I think their intention was to make good comic books though, and they failed.

No it wasn't. The primary intent behind the move at the time was purely financial. The founders of Image were all superstar artists making less than they thought they were worth at Marvel, and decided that creator control of a product sold solely based upon their celebrity would be lucrative. At no point that I can think of was quality control even mentioned, because honestly, that's not what comics in the 90's were ever about. If they were really in it to elevate comics as an artform, they wouldn't have led off the launch of Image with Youngblood.

Also, I think you're being too harsh on the company. Image has produced good titles, certainly good enough to be compared alongside Marvel or DC. As has already been mentioned, Spawn and Savage Dragon were both good reads right out of the gate. I managed to stick with Spawn for the first 100 issues before I called it quits. The MAXX is still high on my top 10 all-time favorite comics. These days, I don't do much comic buying, but I have run across a couple of The Walking Dead collections, and quite enjoyed them.

[Whiteneko3000]

I loved Marvel first, but then I turned to DC. I had a bad experience with chat RPing, which was essentially fanfiction done badly.

So it burned me on Marvel.

I like DC, but all the ones I like get canceled because no one buys them

A really good comic makes me think about life, but also makes me want to draw something (hopefully not fanart, but something)

Enjoying comic books is what got me into drawing in the first place. So I guess I owe my love for comics to Marvel.

What do you want to accomplish as an artist? I turned to comics because I like being able to tell stories with pictures. Now? I still enjoy them, but I think my love for the heroes is gone. That's probably a positive thing. There's a lovely book (if you don't mind christian writing) called Who Needs A Superhero? : Finding Virtue Vice And What's Holy In The Comics by H. Michael Brewer.

It explained things to me, like why I like comic books, why people look to superheroes (especially kids), and gave me a fresh look at something I've enjoyed for so long.

It's one of the few books I have ever had the pleasure of rereading.

It's interesting to look at the evolution of comics as well, though I could by no means give a good explanation of that. If only they still cost a nickel a piece ^drool^

I really don't reread them though. I just collect them now. It's kind of dumb. I think comic books have lost their magic for me, but they taught me something about myself and about humanity. I learned that people will always look for someone to save them from things, and that I'm no different. When your problems are larger than life (bigger than anything you can fix), it seems rational to turn to a superhero, or anyone who you think can help you. The problem is that most people will just let you down.

Anyway, great book. I appreciate DC and Marvel, but I think the characters draw me to the books more than a great story. It's a little sad that way, but perhaps nothing is new under the sun.

[PLR]

This is an interesting thread.
I grew up in a comic store in the mid 80's early 90's so Marvel and DC where pretty much all there was (more or less). I still have a soft sport for some of the biggies, Spider-Man, Batman, Wolverine... and there definitely are some great stories out there but I don't buy any of them anymore. I got out of comics for a decade or so, and when I started reading again, was surprised that there wasn't much new. Right now, I buy very little, mostly IDW, Darkhorse and a few other select titles. Although I have been ravaging my local library and getting caught up on graphic novels. So far I've found a couple or ok stories, but mostly the same old same old from Marvel and DC.

If I had to pick between the two, Marvel would edge out slightly as I think they have a better balance of characters.

[Necrospawn0]

Like most people these days, my first exposure to "super hero comics" was Watchmen... since then I've only really read batman graphic novels and miniseries... Long Halloween was awesome
At the risk of being too mainstream, my favorites would have to be Batman and Superman
I'm hoping to expand my horizons, but for now I have to go with DC... mostly because I know it better