Is the Grim and Gritty era in Comics Coming to an End?

*Originally published on 6/9/10



In the 80's, several groundbreaking comics were released. Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns are the two most frequently cited classics of the medium. Both of these were dark, gritty stories that deconstructed the superhero archetype in ways that had never been done before.

Wanting to milk a popular trend for all it was worth, every character started dealing with darker, more "realistic" issues. In order to prove that the medium was not just for kids, the comics became more violent as well. The results were not as good as one expected. Nevertheless, they kept at it, throwing in violent shock deaths to shake up the status quo and attempt to thin the herd so that there weren't so many peripheral characters wandering around.

Lately though, it seems like both Marvel and DC are trying to hearken back to the lighter and brighter days. Marvel is starting what they are calling "the heroic age". One of the big things that they are hyping is that Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America will all be joining forces once again to fight the forces of evil. This is notable in that, due to various event plot points, the three had split for several years (in real time, I have no idea how much time has transpired in comic book time).

Meanwhile, as a follow up to the highly successful Blackest Night, DC released a new series called Brightest Day. It seems to hint that the heroes are returning to their roots and that the sense of fun that got kids hooked on comics back in the day is going to make a comeback.

This isn't the first time we've heard this, however. A few years back, an event called Infinite Crisis was meant to put the heroes back on the righteous path. Leading up to it, the heroes had mind-wiped hero and villain alike, Batman built a satellite defense system to monitor and combat the meta-human heroes should they stray, and Wonder Woman killed Maxwell Lord.

Seeing all of these events from afar, some pre-Crisis characters returned, set on restoring their own Earth that was destroyed in that event, because the heroes on the present were not acting heroically.

While some comics improved as a result, the "grim and gritty" shock violence was still present in a lot of books. Fans have become increasingly fed up with it and demand more lighthearted, family friendly superhero stories.

The latest animated incarnation of Batman, in the popular Brave and the Bold series captures perfectly what some fans want to see in their comics. The stories are well written, the characters are fleshed out and true to their comic counterparts and rather than shy away from the silliness of the Silver Age, the show embraces it and has fun with all of the various tropes that comic readers are familiar with.

It seems like both companies are trying to bring some light into the dark thematic elements of recent comics. Sadly, it doesn't always work out. The recent relaunch of Blue Beetle was a comic that balanced serious stories with fun. The editors published it as long as they could as they liked where the comic was going, but sales were too low and it was eventually canceled. I, myself, haven't read the issues, but they are certainly on my list of comics to buy.

Comics have been "grim and gritty" for so long that it might take a while for the editors to fully transition. The fact that some of the aforementioned dark comics tend to sell fairly well doesn't help the cause. Still, progress is being made and in time, maybe comics will once again be fun and entertaining as opposed to heavy handed and needlessly dark and sadistic.