Remember how in last week's Immodest Proposal I was talking about characters on The Simpsons aging and I wrote:

And I know that it seems like this is just an extension of the Fanboy mentality that wants the stuff he likes to age with him and not to serve younger people as it served him in his youth. Maybe, and I'll address that next week

I was planning on using this week's post to talk about the issue of continuity, about preserving narratives for some communities and how it may come at a price of alienating other groups. Honest, I was! And, more importantly, I was going to examine the inherent tension that exists between aging groups of fans and the need to bring in fresh blood and new eyes. Luckily, Divine Providence has dropped this story into my lap in a fit of cosmic synchronicity (I'm guessing that's what Jesus was up to instead of Rapturing folks): Starting in September, DC Comics (that's Detective Comics Comics, for you keeping score) will relaunch all their titles (about 50 or so) with new #1 issues. The editors are saying some continuity will be preserved while others will be jettisoned, or updated; what this probably will mean is that it'll be a big mess of old stories blended in with Clark Kent tweeting and everyone meeting this newfangled Wonder Woman for the first time, or something.

But it underscores a real issue in the world of comic books: how do you honor the lifelong fans without distancing yourself from potential new ones? How do you serve adults and children without condescending to the adults or exposing children to subject matter that's too mature for them? My immodest proposal is that comic books need a new dynamic based on a carefully plotted strategy to attract new readers.

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There's a recent spate of books being culled from blogs where an author can reach a wider audience while preserving their voice.  Of course, the intimacy and accessibility that comes from a free blog found by fans on the net is sacrificed for the sake of monetary compensation and greater exposure.  But the fans will continue to follow the artist as long as that artist doesn't change his voice or whatever ineffable qualities he exhibited that attracted people to him in the first place.  But is it worth paying money just to get something that's mostly free online?  True, many authors add some previously unreleased material - but that usually doesn't count for the majority of the text.

Enter Brian Cronin's Was Superman a Spy? from Penguin Books.  Based on Cronin's column "Comic Book Legends Revealed" that he writes for the Comics Should Be Good Blog at Comic Book Resources, the book is an examination of the comic book industry - with particular interest in superheroes, the business aspect of comic books and the cultural impact that they've had since World War II.  Cronin uses some key characters from the "Big Two" comic companies (DC & Marvel) to act as a gateway into the evolution of the medium and the industry, and examines the various changes and interesting anecdotes that have befallen them over the years.  In particular focus are Superman, Batman, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Captain America, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Walt Disney comics.  There are extenuating chapters on bits of comic book arcana covering other characters, with interesting and curious stories of particular creators or characters.

I tend to think of myself as a person fairly well versed in comic book lore, who knows a lot of the storied history of these iconic characters - their fictional origins as well as the inspirations their creators drew on to give birth to these figures of the new mythology.  Even with that snobbish background, this book is incredibly accessible and packs a lot of information into a sparse few chapters. 

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I'd say to myself or whoever I was with, 'It'll look good in the biography.' and then I'd go ahead and do whatever daft thing it was - like taking acid on the sacred mesa or doing the bungee-jump, getting the haircut, dancing with the stranger, talking to the crowd - whatever I was 'scared' of mostly, or fancied doing, or never dared before, I'd try it on the basis that it would make for a more interesting read one day. 

- Grant Morrison