Spring Break
A revival of comic proportions
Box-office success and aging demographic lead to revival of comic books
By: Robert Saucedo
Issue date: 3/2/04 Section: Entertainment
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Janet Van Dyne lies in bed, moaning with pleasure, surrounded by scattered clothes and wine bottles. As she quiets down, Henry Pym, a man no more than half an inch tall, crawls out from under the sheets. Pym remarks: "All right, Jan. Your turn."
This racy scene may sound like something from a bizarre pornographic film, but in fact it is a page out of the October 2003 issue of Marvel Comics' "The Avengers," featuring the Astonishing Ant-Man and his partner-in-love - as well as in justice - The Wasp.
It is no longer uncommon to flip through a random comic book and discover all sorts of "R-rated" behavior. With the maturity levels growing along with the average reader's age, it's no surprise that most comic books are seemingly targeted towards an older college audience.
Sidra Roberts, a senior chemical engineering major, started reading Archie comics when she was only 5 years old. Today, her tastes run the gauntlet, including everything from science-fiction comics, superhero comics, to even children's comics. Roberts visits her favorite comic bookstore in Houston weekly to pick up the newest issues of the comic books she reads.
"I like having something to look forward to every month," Roberts said. "It's like a good TV show, except it's monthly or bimonthly."
Roberts said although more people are coming back to comic books for a pastime, things are not completely smooth for the comic book market. She said comic book publishers should start targeting younger audiences if they want to survive.
"If we do not get children into the market, the market is going to eventually cave in on itself and die," Roberts said. "Hopefully the industry will continue to grow and diversify. It used to be that the industry had all sorts of comics: horror comics, western comics, superhero comics and romance comics. You're starting to see delineation again. We're going back from the straight superhero comics that dominated for a while and are starting to see new things."
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