When characters had character

We are now in what I like to call the IP age of comics.

Much like peak television, there was an abundance of excellent content hitting the stands. So much quality content that a lot of work was being overlooked due to quality saturation. We were drinking from the fire hose, and things were good. There's still a lot of great stuff coming out even now.

I know the number of kids growing up reading comics is dwindling. The popularity of comic books has ebbed and flowed over the years, so normally that's not something to be alarmist about. But when you take into account that print media is on life support, how it's going to turn out is anybody's guess.

There was a clear pipeline for your average comic reader:

TV/Movie licensed comics: Ask just about any long-term comic book reader what their first comic was, and they'll tell you it was something based on a cartoon or TV show they were really into. Turtles, Shazam, Scooby-Doo, or just a Disney comic. Licensed comics were the gateway drug.

This is why comic franchises like G.I. Joe and Transformers have lasted for years. You always return to your one true love.

Mainstream comics: Spider-Man, Superman, X-Men, this is the basic Cape and Cowl stuff. Heroes vs. Villains, right vs. wrong. This is also a place where a lot of your comic book and storytelling tastes are solidified, and you gravitate more towards Marvel or DC.

Alternative/Underground/Independent comics: This is the stuff that expands your mind and moves the medium forward. Also, moral ambiguity— not everything is so black and white (unless you're reading a comic in black and white).

Underground Comics: Emerged in the 1960s counterculture, featured explicit and provocative content, distributed non-traditionally, often self-published.

Alternative Comics: Emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, covered a broad range of themes with an emphasis on literary and artistic quality, published by small presses.

Independent Comics: A broad category including any comic published outside mainstream publishers, encompasses both underground and alternative comics, as well as a wide range of other genres and styles.

I'm not so sure the pipeline works like that anymore. And absorbing mainstream comics was a very important step. In the IP age, it's become less important and almost detrimental. Even if the pipeline still worked like this, mainstream comics are missing something that was crucial to storytelling and character development— and not just characters on the page.

The moral compass.

The anti-hero needs to be the exception and not the rule. By making the anti-hero the norm, we risk normalizing moral ambiguity to the point where it overshadows striving for decency and integrity. Normally, the anti-hero operates in the gray areas, making morally questionable choices.

With a solid grasp of mainstream comics and the understanding of the mechanics of right and wrong, you're better equipped to advance to more complex written stories where the lines between good and evil are sometimes blurred.

Much like comics, life is also a pipeline filled with its own complex narratives. Without that foundation, your character runs the risk of being two-dimensional.

As the medium evolves, it's important to consider what we might lose in the process. Comics are more than entertainment; comics are modern mythology. Preserving that moral compass in this IP age is essential for the continued growth and relevance of the medium, be it in print, digital, or whatever the future holds.