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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Aug 3, 2021 9:42:17 GMT -5
The golden age of comics is twelve, so '70s for me. I wouldn't say comics back then were necessarily better, although I'm sure a strong argument could be made in favour of the idea, but it's the decade that introduced me to the world of comics and you never forget your first love. It wasn't even about the comics themselves, I'd say, but about the idea they repreesented; the feeling of discovery and joy that came with finally landing one of those all-too rare floppies, and the sense of long history that came with them. It was like finding the entrance of a secret cavern full of treasure. Later decades had tons of excellent comics too, but the sense of being introduced to a whole new world was never as strong as in those early days. This is pretty much why I voted '90s. It certainly has it's stigma with comic readers/collectors, but I can't ignore the excitement of getting comics, be it me biking 5 miles one way to a store, finally discovering the LCS and finding people that enjoyed comics too. There are comics from all decades (up until about 10 years ago when I stopped reading modern comics) I have read and enjoy. But, like many things in life, it's not JUST the quality of the product, but the entire experience that went with it. And like you said "the first" love, kiss, roller coaster, ice cream, beer, etc you always remember that first experience.
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Post by Graphic Autist on Aug 3, 2021 10:09:52 GMT -5
I started buying comics with regularity starting in 1983. By 1985 most of the comics I had acquired by that point were from the 70s, bought from a great used bookstore I would frequent in Milwaukee. I could buy used issues for 15 cents each or 10 for a dollar. I read so many great comics from the 70s...during the 1980s.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2021 10:23:59 GMT -5
As several have commented, probably not surprising those "early formative" years are a dominant theme.
As mentioned above, I'm in the "70's club" from that aspect as well. But I've often questioned if the 60's didn't win me over somewhere along the way. As @mrp called out, a lot of 70's kids were digesting tons of 60's reprint content along the way, and as a personal example, Ditko era Spider-Man is easily as "formative" to me as say Ross Andru (who I love as well) in that regard.
And then the 90's and 2000's with all the Marvel Masterworks, DC Archive Editions, etc. I positively INHALED Silver Age content. If I was on a desert island and could only keep one decade of material represented, again could I really give up Ditko era Spidey for the 70's content? 60's Legion versus 70's Legion...that's a heartbreaker for me to split, probably 70's childhood wins. Fantastic Four is easily 60's for me, much as I have massive sentiment for all the 70's issues I bought off the spinner as a kid. So I'm still pondering.
Edit: I ended up picking the 60's. The content simply takes me to the overall happiest place even though I have a ton of history and love for the 70's and early/mid 80's as well.
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Post by majestic on Aug 3, 2021 10:39:04 GMT -5
1970's. Although 1965-1985 would include all my favorite years.
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Post by The Cheat on Aug 3, 2021 13:12:31 GMT -5
90s for me, mainly because of DC. The triangle crew on Superman, Dixon steering the Batverse, Morrison JLA, Robinson Starman, and of course, the big one... Vertigo.
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Post by berkley on Aug 3, 2021 13:18:23 GMT -5
!970's. Although 1965-1985 would include all my favorite years. For Marvel, absolutely. For the independents it would probably be 1985-2000 or so for me. DC, I can't really pick, as my favourite stuff from them is scattered all over the place.
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 3, 2021 16:43:47 GMT -5
As the decade which has forgotten more than any other decade would ever know, I voted for the 1940s. In the interests of full disclosure, my interest in the medium is something "80% superheroes, 10% horror, 9% MAD, and 1% miscellaneous" so take this for as much as you'd like, but even comparing the output of publishers who either only existed during this period or are mostly forgotten today with the best known of any other (say, Lev Gleason's Daredevil and the Little Guys, Chuck Chandler; Quality's Doll Man, Manhunter, Black Condor; Kid Eternity MLJ's Hangman, Black Hood, The Comet; Fox's The Ray, The Flame; Ace's Magno and Davey, Crime Must Pay the Penalty, their output of horror; Dick Briefer's Frankenstein - both his horror and comedy run vs. Marvel/DC/Charlton/Archie during the 1960s) and I'd say that the 1940's stays ahead.
As for those characters who survived the dissolution of most of these publishers and would be easily recognizable today - did Captain Marvel or Plastic Man or The Spirit ever find themselves in a decade which worked more to their favour than the 40's?
And, again, I haven't even touched upon what was going on with Superman, Batman, and the hundred or so superheroes created during this period which most people know in some form or another today.
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Aug 3, 2021 18:07:31 GMT -5
I voted 70s, but the 90s are a very close second.
I started reading in the 80s but 80s stuff doesn't rate for me as much.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2021 18:33:07 GMT -5
As the decade which has forgotten more than any other decade would ever know, I voted for the 1940s. In the interests of full disclosure, my interest in the medium is something "80% superheroes, 10% horror, 9% MAD, and 1% miscellaneous" so take this for as much as you'd like, but even comparing the output of publishers who either only existed during this period or are mostly forgotten today with the best known of any other (say, Lev Gleason's Daredevil and the Little Guys, Chuck Chandler; Quality's Doll Man, Manhunter, Black Condor; Kid Eternity MLJ's Hangman, Black Hood, The Comet; Fox's The Ray, The Flame; Ace's Magno and Davey, Crime Must Pay the Penalty, their output of horror; Dick Briefer's Frankenstein - both his horror and comedy run vs. Marvel/DC/Charlton/Archie during the 1960s) and I'd say that the 1940's stays ahead. As for those characters who survived the dissolution of most of these publishers and would be easily recognizable today - did Captain Marvel or Plastic Man or The Spirit ever find themselves in a decade which worked more to their favour than the 40's? And, again, I haven't even touched upon what was going on with Superman, Batman, and the hundred or so superheroes created during this period which most people know in some form or another today. I was really hoping the 40's would get some representation. While I picked a different decade, I've always found the Golden Age to be so intriguing. Enjoyed your perspective here and why you voted for it.
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Post by majestic on Aug 3, 2021 19:39:50 GMT -5
To elaborate on my choice I started reading in the mid 60s so I like late 60s and 70s the most. Next would be 1938-1965 which I discovered thru reprints. Then 1985 and comics really changed. Both good and bad changes IMO. I loved the rise of First Comics. I didn't like the fact that comics started to take themselves too seriously and lost something in that process.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 3, 2021 22:23:57 GMT -5
Gotta go with the 1960s, partly because those were the years of my childhood but mostly because so many iconic books, characters and creators were on the newsstands. Just a list of the publishers active in that decade sets me to salivating: DC, Marvel, Gold Key, Archie, Harvey, Tower, Warren, King, Charlton, Dell, not to mention Last Gasp and the other underground outfits. The comics of later decades are often better written and better drawn but nothing triggers my nostalgia gene like the stuff from the Swinging Sixties. Cei-U! Groovy, man! When this is done, it'd be interesting to correlate decade selection w/ birth dates (with shaxper as the outlier). All my favorite books, music, movies and comics were made long before I was born. When I was young, adults thought I was so cool. Now I'm just lamer than every other old fogie 😂
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Post by Duragizer on Aug 4, 2021 3:00:46 GMT -5
I think I'd be doing the medium a disservice if I tried to vote. I haven't read enough comics from across the decades to reach an informed opinion.
All I know is I have greater appreciation/respect for creator-owned comics over corporate, especially in recent decades.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2021 6:39:29 GMT -5
I think I'd be doing the medium a disservice if I tried to vote. I haven't read enough comics from across the decades to reach an informed opinion. All I know is I have greater appreciation/respect for creator-owned comics over corporate, especially in recent decades. Totally cool if you didn't want to vote, but honestly, I was just more curious what people liked for any reason versus a deep knowledge of the various decades. If someone has say only read the 90's for example but loves that era, I say vote for the 90's!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2021 6:48:44 GMT -5
I loved the rise of First Comics. That was one of the big high points of the 80's for me as well. Interesting as the results have come in that the 80's is lower overall. It was such a major decade for comics and so many of us lived it. Honestly, during the middle of the 80's I thought it was the best time ever to be reading comics. Yet for some reason, revisiting the material from my youngest days as a kid in the 70's and all the old 60's reprint material I've read over the years is where I tend to gravitate as I've gotten older.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2021 6:57:57 GMT -5
When this is done, it'd be interesting to correlate decade selection w/ birth dates (with shaxper as the outlier). All my favorite books, music, movies and comics were made long before I was born. When I was young, adults thought I was so cool. Now I'm just lamer than every other old fogie 😂 You made me think of a random anecdote from when I was a kid and still pretty young. I remember reading something like Binky, or maybe it was an Archie comic, and there was an outfit one of the characters was wearing that I thought looked so cool. In retrospect, the outfit WAS cool...for the mid 1960's (reprint story!) But it was now 1980. I somehow managed to cobble together the look from stuff my parents actually let me buy from some clothing stores (including this crazy looking set of boots). I remember walking into school with my snazzy duds feeling like the coolest kid on the block, and it was a total "Jan Brady" moment when she had the wig (or maybe Greg Brady as Johnny Bravo!).
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