Evolution of work is ongoing
The comic book's evolution toward more adult themes became prominent in the 1980s with Frank Miller's "Daredevil" and "Dark Knight Returns" and Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing" and "Watchmen."
Although Daredevil was a long-running Marvel character, the acrobatic crime fighter wasn't very popular until writer/artist Frank Miller drastically altered the look and tenor of the comic book.
While the superhero spandex didn't disappear, the crime depicted became more realistic. The Kingpin, a New York mob boss, never left himself vulnerable to prosecution, leaving Daredevil able to only stop his schemes and not permanently put him out of business.
When Daredevil was injured in one issue, he didn't heal for months, wearing an arm cast through numerous fights.
During Miller's initial run, Elektra, Daredevil's former flame, was killed by the villain Bullseye, impaling her on an Asian sai.
Daredevil subsequently dropped Bullseye from a roof, severely injuring his foe, and shot the vigilante Punisher to prevent him from murdering a criminal.
British writer Moore then hit his stride with the Watchmen, a 12-issue series depicting superheroes in their twilight. Nite Owl was overweight; the godlike Dr. Manhattan could no longer relate to humanity, and Rorscharch, whose mask simulates Rorschach test patterns,was quite insane.
In the nonconvetional ending, Ozymandias, the one-time hero and now villain, wins, setting his plan in motion before the heroes even are able to expose and confront him.
Miller later found fame as the creator of the "Sin City" graphic novels and movie adaptation. Moore was the writer of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," which was made into a Sean Connery film in 2003, and "From Hell," which became a Johnny Depp movie in 2001.
After such innovative works, there was no looking back.
In the "Killing Joke," the psychopathic Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, crippling her. Such brutality never would have happened to TVBatgirl Yvonne Craig.
Todd McDevitt, owner of New Dimension Comics' four stores, said just as readers were not children anymore, comic books weren't childish anymore.
"As the readers grew up, so did the comics."
Today, both major companies not only have more mature themes in their superhero books, but also have adult-only lines. DC has Vertigo while Marvel has MAX."Vertigo readers seem to be the elitists," Robinson said about the Butler market. "It's people who work in a store or have close ties to the industry."However, the roots for today's themes were there at the beginning. When comic books first started to become popular in the late 1930s, the heroes were based on pulp magazine influences such as Doc Savage and the Shadow.Although preceded by superheroes such as the Crimson Avenger, who was similar to the Shadow, Superman was the first spandex-clad star. Debuting in Action Comics in 1938, the Man of Steel took readers by storm, expanding to movie theaters and radio in the 1940s.Batman followed in 1939. A mix of Zorro, the Shadow and other characters, the dark detective fought bizarre criminals at night while putting on a front as playboy Bruce Wayne during the day.The next few years saw the debut of still-existing concepts such as Captain America, Aquaman, the Human Torch, the Flash and Green Lantern.In those early times, superheroes — like their pulp predecessors — didn't give a second thought to murdering the villains.However, becoming mindful of the youthful readership, creators softened the heroes' stance. Batman was joined by the young sidekick Robin and stopped using lethal means to end crime sprees, which explains why the psychopathic Joker is still alive.Superman headed on a path that led to him spending more time with Lois Lane than beating up criminals.In the 1950s through the mid-1960s, the tone kept lightening up until hitting its campy peak during the time of the "Batman" TVshow with its full-screen sound effects.By the late 1960s, though, the pendulum started to swing back. Spider-Man's friend, Harry, and Green Arrow's sidekick, Speedy, became drug addicts. Also, Green Lantern and Green Arrow had a series of adventures in which they dealt with issues including racism.
