The new work takes a one-issue story and stretch it over 6 issues.
Agreed. But, that's not all titles, everywhere. There are exceptions to that rule.
The current writing lacks the characterization and sophistication of earlier 70's and 80's work.
Disagreed.
You're telling me a pleasant 80's run of
Detective Comics is more sophisticated that Neil Gaiman's
Sandman,
Books of Magic, Busiek & Pacheco's
Arrowsmith, or even Darwyn Cooke's
New Frontier? You're mad.
The current material is also much more dark and cynical, which is the major cause of my distaste for the new books.
You say that...and I've heard you say it many times before...and you also say this:
Or bluff its way into appearing sophisticated with crude attempts at shock-value and "adult" themes, using crutches like graphic violence, heavy profanity, or other "extreme" tricks.
Yet, I think you're simply generalizing an entire generation of comics because a few left a bad taste in your mouth. I mean,
The Authority?
Transmetropolitan?
Preacher? Yeah, I can see a lot of stuff from Vertigo and Wildstorm fitting something of that bill. But, you can't tell me
everything in the current industry has "adult themes, graphic violence, and heavy profanity". In fact, I can't name a single mainstream book that really has ANY of that. So, I think you're just assuming it's all like one base, generic image that you've created to justify your dismissal of an entire era of comics that don't give you the nostalgia kick you crave.
Either way, though, you say that you are turned off by books with "adult themes, graphic violence, heavy profanity", and yet here's the list you cite as being "approved" by you:
Moore's WATCHMEN, MIRACLEMAN, SWAMP THING, V FOR VENDETTA, or Miller's BATMAN YEAR ONE and DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN, Goodwin/Simonson MANHUNTER, Wein/Wrightson SWAMP THING...
Are you trying to tell me
those books aren't "cynical" with "graphic violence and profanity"? Come on.
There is a level of characterization, complexity, sophistication and prose that the fanboyish new material just tries to regurgitate with a new twist.
As opposed to the solid prose and storytelling of an earlier era. Now it's all about posturing toughness and big explosions.
I miss the era where I actually cared about the characters I was reading about.
I'm not saying you're completely wrong, mind you. I just find your reasoning flawed. I also don't believe that there is nothing as "sophisticated" as twenty-year-old Detective Comics, and the like. I just think you're really shooting yourself in the foot by missing out on some of the really good stuff of the modern comic era.
But, each their own, I guess...
