So I picked up my fresh batch of comics this weekend and found myself with an hour window to make my way though them. If anyone is interested, I’m currently reading Daredevil, some Deadpool titles, the Batman comics, and some stuff The Boneman lent me namely a collection of The Boys (which is awesome!) and Cowboy Ninja Viking. Not a massive load but it does me for the time being – I’m going to try and pick up some the new Flash stuff and expect to get royally head f***ed continuity wise on that one!

But I wondered having read through that little lot whether there would be any chance for a new superhero/comic character to make it through to mass popularity, say on a par with your Superman or Wolverine? It seems as though the magic circle of age-old established characters completely own the market in the comic industry, and cannot be knocked off their perch by any of the young pretenders that come along. Do any new characters/franchises have a chance of topping the guys of the Golden Age of Comics? Sadly, I don’t think they do… We get new publications all the time and all of them offer something fresh and new to the table but they don’t seem to be able to get the public whipped up in the same way that an X-Men title, for example, can. Longevity plays a massive part as does, I guess, certain political events and how titles can react to those and capture a public’s imagination but these things have to be earned and I’m not sure if publishers are prepared to give enough time to a title to achieve this. The scenario of a modern day football manager comes to mind here.

Follow up:

I would love to see a new character rise up and take on the big-hitters, but how it can be done is the golden egg!! Maybe a character that so encapsulates the zeitgeist, it just steamrollers over everyone like the PR machine that is Lady Gaga? Unlikely. Maybe just by a complete saturation of the market with the title, as when Watchmen was in the cinemas, so you just cannot escape it and eventually succumb? I suppose that this is how the Marvel/DC giants stay on the top so has a chance. My personal preference would be the viral marketing method – the ‘Why so serious?’ Dark Knight campaign was a quality act and definitely got everyone whipped up, so maybe there is a chance to just drop in on the general public’s minds with a few fleeting references here, a faux-reality website there and see how people respond to that. Of course, the title would have to be strong enough to sustain the interest that could arise out of it but there must be enough titles and characters out there at the moment that are – they just haven’t had the chance to impress on the majority as yet.

The problem could simply well lie with history being the old enemy. For example, any love story that is created will always be compared (and generally found inferior to) Romeo and Juliet, any epic tale of good vs evil will be judged against the Greek classics and Lord of the Rings etc. And so it will be with comics I guess – the Supermans and Wolverines are just monkeys on the backs of current writers and artists and it could well be the case that if you can’t beat them, join them. I sincerely hope not!