h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: D.C./Marvel - A1299305
Author: Sandman - U247108

Comics Stuff

You've got at least one first person reference. Do a search on your article for spaceIspace and My, and it'll be easy to find and reword these.

Both DC and Marvel recently seem to have 'imprints' which have different styles like Marvel MAX and Vertigo. This might be interesting to mention. I have only been interested in comics for the last 10 years or so and read mostly DC so I could be wront, but for this Marvel's current sine wave, but they seem in general to be more juvenile, more manga, and more into power fantasy character vs character to me.

Some mention of the Comics Code Authority's dissapearance, and that comics aren't really for kids any more might be interesting.

This is a great start for an entry At the moment however, it's a bit 'opiniony' for the Edited Guide- your own affection for DC over Marvel shows through, for a start

There are a number of other comics entries in the EG, such as A980741A632071A517097 and A276888 - you might want to consider linking to some of them, and reading them to see what the EG already has about comics

I'd also take issue with your statemennt that Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are the most well-known super heroes- I'd say more people know Spiderman than Wonder Woman, really.

I'd consider either retitling the entry something like "D.C. versus Marvel", or "D.C. and Marvel: A Comparison" or splitting the entry into two- the titled currently suggest we've going to get a long and involved history of the two publishers, whereas the entry is really about comparing the two.

I think it's a good start.

But:

I, and a great many others would take issue with ypur assertion that Stan lee is marvel. Without Jack Kirby, and possibly Steve Ditko then Stan 'The man' might have had a few difficulties...

I also think that if you want to pursue the logic of the Marvel Revelotion against the DC Evolution you need to pinpoint those Revolutions and who was responsible for them - Roy Thomas 70s work, Jim Shooter in the 80s, Archie Goodwin and the Epic line which was undoubtedly the forefarther of imprints like Vertigo and Max.

Against that you have to pitch Dick Giordano higely succesful run as Editor in Chief at DC with the backing of publisher Jeanette Kahn, though of course probably the most revolutionary move in mainstream comics for two decades was the setting up of Vertigo by DC. There isn't a mainstream title in existence today that hasn't been affected by that move.

Third P"lapsing into silence until the nest big thing" "next"

As Sea Change said watch the fist person references, if you have not already check out the writing guidelines at A53209 when you have the time and the GuideML-Clinic at A187229 will help you learn how to do headers and such.

Not always true, but in general I find Marvel is darker than D.C.

"For a while this put Marvel on top, but now radiation is seen more realistically and almost seems silly." if you check now Marvel has moved from radiation to genetic, case in point in Spider-man it was no longer a radioactive spider it was genetic and in the Hulk movie it was genetic in place of a Gama Bomb.

Also I think that Marvel heroes hold their powers as a burden, at least more so than D.C.

very good entry

your friendly neighborhood

Thank you for the feedback, guys. I agree with your assessment of my contribution and plan on working on it. Every time I have re-read it I have found more and more things wrong with the entry. But so far my new versions have simply developed new flaws that I have to deal with. For a while the entry online may stay the same because I have my revisions, along with the original, on MS word where I am working on them. I think it would be better to try to fix all the problems you mentioned, along with the ones I noticed, all at once rather than making minor changes and then waiting for more feedback. My one worry is the afformentioned preference for DC. Actually I dont have one, I SWEAR I like both companies equally (although I admit Batman is my favorite hero) and however I try to re-word my statements DC still seems on top. Ofcourse, that is partly because DC really is on top at the moment (at least economically), but I need to find a way to put it that doesnt make it sound so much like a personal oppinion.

Thanks again for being honest yet gentle with my admitably flawed assessment. Buh-bye for now.

Hi Sandman,

Controversial, I suppose, if we take the comics too seriously. I really liked the entry, and thought that it was trying to remain balanced (it's up to you to decide when you have succeeded). I have enjoyed both DC and Marvel immensely, and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite, yet there are also successful (I am told) upstart publishers on the scene today. Perhaps they deserve some attention.

There are, of course, exceptions to some of the rules you've set down. Marvel has had its share of magic, Dr. Strange learning from a monk, for instance; and DC has offered scientific origins at times, Superman coming from a larger planet with a red sun, for example.

When it comes to adding humanity to characters, the early DC did have a lot of relationship stuff (Lois and Lana yearning for Superman, Batman an Robin bonding, etc.); but the first superhero comic I'd ever read that gave the hero 'real-world' problems was Spiderman. He was the first popular teenage hero (when it was believed that teenages could only be sidekicks), and his guilt (over uncle Ben's death) drove him to drop his attempt to personally benefit from his transformation, and turn to crime-fighting.

DC had many heroes drop out for part of an issue, but Marvel was much more likely to leave a 'not going to do this any more' cliffhanger. Yet DC was the brand that let Green Lantern drop out entirely, even if he was replaced by another, younger, Green Lantern.

I don't remember if the explanation Batman's angst over his father's death at the hands of a street criminal came before or after the origin of Spiderman.

Probably not worth mentioning here is that my favorite heroes are always the ones with more to risk. Some are so powerful, that you cease wondering if they could get hurt, or lose. A great non-super hero (other than Batman) is DC's The Heckler. He was like an even more wise-cracking Spiderman, but without the powers. Muy vulnerable, and mucho funny.

Keep writing on this. More length will not hurt.

Really nitpicky thing, here: Wonder Woman didn't debut in Detective Comics, but in All-Star Comics (issue 8 to be precise). All-Star, Detective and Action were all published by the same company, though.

I haven't yet given this is a proper read through, but on the quick scan it looked well written. I'll (probably) pop back later.

David

Just read this interesting and informative entry,

seems like Sandman has not been here recently, which is a shame cos with some good feedback in the thread, this really should end up as a quality addition to the EG...

you there, Sandman?

OK, strong work in general, but there's more yet to do.

There are some semi-major content issues in here, so I'll forego the spelling, grammar and nit-picky stuff for now. But a solid re-read might clear much of that up.

Here's one content issue:

"Frankly, DC is about people and Marvel is about situations"
This point is not really proven in the article. You don't give us credible examples for this. Also it can be refuted to a certain degree:
1) DC = Justice League = situation rather than individual people, rather like the X-men really.

2) Spidey/Hulk/Daredevil/Wolverine. . .these are pretty popular titles for Marvel, and they are much more about people than situations.

I definately see your point, but I think you need to do a little more convinving to get me to agree. So give it some more thought and have another go at it.

Another content issue:
I think it would be helpful to divide a portion of the entry to discussing each company individually. I know little about DC's origins. The splintering it's gone through and it's major staff members. About Marvel, you mention Uncle Stan, but say little else. I think that there's more of a good story there (by the way, his current title is 'editor emeritus'). There are certainly lots more people involved.

Finally, for the novice, in this area you could list a number of the most popular books from each (although many are mentioned in the text) and give us the very basics and status (like Spidey just having its 500th book).

Just my thoughts,

Friar
ps. please keep goin' I would really like to see this entry in the EG

Sandman has left the building - flea market?

Most posters I have seen who read comics on H2G2 seem to read mostly DC only, so I would suggest back to entry.

Why? It's still good enough to be picked up and made into an EG article if someone who knows about Marvel happens by it...

I've read both DC and Marvel in my time, so I could have a stab at it.

That said, I do think the whole argument of the entry is flawed, so I don't know where I'd start.


Geggs

I guess this is a FM case, unless Geggs wants to give it a try?

Send it over to FM.

I might pick it up later. But equally, I might not.


Geggs