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Cliché for the Day: Marvel vs. DC

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JediBendu:
Well, if it isn't the age old question. A question that has raged between many a nerd while simultaneously puzzling innocent bystanders who don't understand the significance of such a silly debate.

Marvel or DC?

I understand that not everyone buys a specific company's books (personally, I usually go for DC, and only stay current on DC due to there just being plenty of material and money to be spent on DC and I'm content with where I am.) But does anyone here have any preference, however minimal and inconsequential?

I personally prefer DC, partially because the excellent various animated series are burned into my childhood (And even in more recent years enjoying the occasional JLU episode). I suppose it's slightly ironic that only as a teenager did actual comics become a hobby of mine, but nevertheless. I also enjoy DC due to the presence of the majority of my favorite heroes (Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, The Question, etc. etc.) I've also come to believe that the general tone of the DCU is very mythical and legendary. The big characters all feel like such huge icons and there's a sense of legacy all over the DCU, and I think Marvel doesn't have such a huge amount of that. Also, 52 was really, really good. Just thought I'd throw that out there. (Too many people get it mixed up with Countdown, however)

Also, DC has the entire Vertigo imprint. And, Fables is my favorite series, hands down. I imagine there's probably an appreciation for Sandman and Watchmen around here as well?

I will say though, that as far as film goes. Marvel has a definite advantage over DC. I just saw Iron Man last night. Very entertaining movie. The Incredible Hulk looks solid as well. Marvel's franchises have stumbles (X-Men 3, Spider-Man 3, the first Hulk) but I think overall they have very good quality control over their films where DC doesn't always have that in their servitude to WB (see: Batman & Robin, Superman Returns.) Hopefully JLA is going to be good. I'm genuinely rooting for JLA to be great, because it's basically the only chance for heroes like Green Lantern or Martian Manhunter to get a film in the foreseeable future. (Edit: Oh wait I forgot that Ghost Rider was shit. And Daredevil. And Elektra? They made an Elektra movie, right? Oh well. Maybe they just make more so it seems better as a whole.)

Marvel also sells extremely well over DC these days. I think they've had a lot of momentum for a lot of years, and as a result have had money to throw at things like a movie studio. They've definitely been dominating in the merchandising game, as well.

So, anyway, what about you, what are your thoughts?

ravenjade:
I'm a DC gal but it took me a long time to do all the research I needed in order to even vaguely understand what's going on in the DCU. I do occasionally stumble into the Marvel-verse, but the characters seem less interesting to me, and like you said the tone is very different. I'm pretty big on the Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Manhunter, and Secret Six, which I am aware is a lot of Gail Simone. XD

0bsessions:
At present, there's no contest. Marvel's knocking about 80% of their output out of the park, while there's a total of like three or four good titles at DC (Two of which, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, are about to have a creative team change, so that might not stick. The GL titles are good too). JLA, the Superman titles, the Batman titles and the Flash are all an absolute fucking mess right now. Countdown was, without a doubt, the biggest pile of shit I have read since X-Men: The Twelve. I'm really having trouble getting excited for Final Crisis considering how awful the leadup has been combined with my overall apathy toward Grant Morrison.

Meanwhile, Marvel's been ramping up the quality output. The space related titles (Annihilation, Nova) have been great, the X-Men titles have all improved drastically since Messiah Complex, the Avengers franchise has been great since Bendis took over (And the Secret Invasion buildup has been a ton of fun) and even Spider-Man is great (One More Day was crap, but the ends justifies the means considering how much fun the title is now). Even ancillary titles like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, etc are great.

JediBendu:
Ravenjade: After reading comics for a while, and generally avoiding a lot of the DCU for the very reason of not understanding it, I eventually just decided to say whatever, and buy whatever I was interested in and not think too much about the overall continuity. Eventually I got used to it, but I do agree, DC is complicated.

Obsessions: You have a definite point there, Marvel does seem to have a much better output overall. But, as I said, without a huge amount of money to spend, I'm content with what's good or what I enjoy at DC with the occasional sampling of other titles I'm interested in regardless of publishing house. I would disagree that all the Batman titles are currently bad. There's certainly a lot of shit running around in the various Batman series (and I just really don't like what Morrison's doing on Batman, still buying R.I.P. just to see what's going on there though) but I think Detective Comics is pretty solid and enjoyable, at least if you're just a fan of little, more concise Batman adventures. It's not amazing, but I think it's an entertaining book. I might disagree and say that three or four good titles is giving them too little credit.

Jimmy the Squid:
I should preface this with saying that I do not read comics anymore. The reason for this is though I really wish I could, I just don't have the time to read anything that isn't my uni books or this forums and it's associated webcomic (I also read other webcomics but they don't cost me any money). Being a poor student means that i often can't spend upwards of $7 an issue for the latest whatever. Maybe one day I'll get to read comics again but I worry that I've been so far removed from the storylines that I wouldn't know what the hell is going on anymore.

That said, I love the Marvel Universe. The themes of prejudice and conflict between the humans and mutants (obviously I'm referencing X-men here) really get me. I like the characters and I like the storylines. DC on the other hand, I don't give a shit about. Really the only character I care about even remotely is Batman, the rest I find really dull and unbelievable. I quite like the Vertigo line of comics (Sandman, Hellblazer etc...) but DC doesn't do it for me.

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