Some Bars Already Are Higher

While reading some comics this afternoon - a couple Ed Brubaker titles: Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men, especially - it occurred to me that the comic bar is pretty high these days. Those two Brubaker offerings, which aren't quite up to the very high caliber of his two best titles (Captain America and Daredevil) nevertheless tell stories that suck you in, make you care about the people, and don't require any suspension of disbelief beyond the whole genre conceit of super-powered mutants and martial artists whose hand can become like unto a thing of iron! Most comics today aren't written, like they used to be, to assume that the reader will automatically put their brain in neutral while waiting for the next big battle scene. When I run up against one like that, in fact, it usually goes onto my 'drop list' fairly quickly.

I don't really know what changed the industry, but I suspect it was the infusion of writers from other literary fields. For as long as I can remember, until fairly recently, the vast majority of the comic writers were guys who grew up on comics, then started hanging out at Marvel or DC, hoping to get a job as a gopher or proof-reader, and eventually were given a shot at some backup story in a soon-to-cancelled title. From there they'd slowly get more work, probably as much because they knew the characters' backgrounds and could crank out quick product each month as any evaluation of their ability to actually write well.

British writers like Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman began elevating the comic writing scene in the 80s but in doing so they stood out as shining examples of authors who were head and shoulders above the rest. Their comics were great, except they represented a limited success because they could only produce so much, and for so long. As they moved out of comics and their output went down, it felt a little like the day after Christmas, when you're a kid. All of the gifts have been opened and it'll be a long time before you get any more.

The most recent wave of writers, though, have come in larger numbers and provided what seems like a much more promising vehicle for it to continue: bring in men and women who've proved their literary skill elsewhere, have an interest in comics and allow them to play with these toys from their childhood for awhile. A list of the past, present and future examples of this would include Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer, Joss Whedon, Greg Rucka, Jodi Picoult, Stephen King, Allan Heinberg, Kevin J. Anderson, Orson Scott Card, Michael Chabon, Jonathon Lethem and Damon Lindelof, among others. While not all of them have (or will) hit the mark, most have such a good sense of character, pace, suspense and thematic payoff, due to writing for a more discerning audience than is normally associated with comics, as to ensure that they always write good stories. And this has resulted in raising the bar considerably. I've read a few throwback comics recently, that would've seemed perfectly acceptable to me ten years ago, and I'm now at the point where I really do "throw them back" in terms of losing interest.

This development, along with the more sophisticated artwork adorning the average comic today, have contributed to the widely-held belief that we're experiencing one of the greatest eras of comic book history right now. And what fan wouldn't like that?