Comics

For whatever reason, while I was studying for the bar, I was hit with a desire to get out my old comic book cards and look at them. Probably because they were hidden away in a box in the storage space nearby where I spent much of my time studying. I got them out, as well as a bunch of actual comics, and then started wanting to read a few epic old storylines (e.g. Days of Future Past, the Infinity Saga, etc..) I didn't have time to do that during the bar, but I did download a few of them so that I could read them without having to disturb the boxes in the storage space too much. I've now set up my laptop on its side in order to get optimal viewing capability, and am reading away while I bike. It's not pretty, but it works, and it allows me to keep my mind off of the actual exercising while I keep myself from playing video games.

One thing I noticed, though: the older comics have a LOT more text in them. It took me much less time to read the more recent comics than the older storylines that I have. There is a lot more character development, exposition, etc. involved in the older stories than the new ones. I at first thought that this might be because the backstory of a lot of the characters was now established, but I don't think that the writers are really assuming that today's readers are familiar with what happened in 1985. I think it's more likely that they no longer care, and assume that if you want to know, you'll figure it out somewhere else. The newer comics are all about pretty art, scantily-clad (or skin-tight-clothing-wearing) women, and action sequences. Dialogue and exposition are mere afterthoughts. Maybe in some of the larger, more epic series.

There are other differences. The art is "better" quality, in that the printing is better, and on better paper, but the style of the new stuff just doesn't feel the same to me. The newer stuff tends to be a lot darker. The distopian stuff like Days of Future Past was edgy before because it was unusual. Newer storylines seem to be darker as a rule, and while that might reflect current culture and current events, I am going to these comics for a refuge from all that. I don't want to go and see a depressing world where even super heroes cannot help us; I go to comics to see a world where superheroes can solve our problems and do!
So I guess I'll be more interested in the longer, sometimes tedious and always harder to find older comics. I'm okay with that.