On story and evolving taste and sensibilities.

[circularlogic88]

So I didn't really get invested in comics for the characters and story until I read the DC series Identity Crisis, this was one of those series which involved the DC Universe at large and it all focused around the murder of Elongated Man's wife Sue Dibny. I won't go into specifics but freshman me thought this was awesome and I started picking up comic books on the regular for DC.

I tried reading it yesterday and couldn't help start to see how my tastes and sensibilities for a good comic book story have changed throughout the years. Because one of the central elements of this particular story is a who-dun-it mystery and the reader is given nothing but red herrings and no breadcrumbs to who the actual murderer is, making the reveal shocking but unsatisfying given that the reader couldnt, with the information at his or her disposal up to the reveal, couldn't come to the logical "Aha!" conclusion that the writers came up with.

There's also the issue of character portrayal and casually murdering side characters and heroes and villains (again, something high school me thought was so hard core and proved they weren't messing around!!!1), elevating certain characters to the point where Deathstroke/Slade is able to incapacitate the combined efforts of Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Flash, and I think Zatanna(?) when at least 2 of these heroes are essentially gods, liberal use of mind wiping and justifying Batman's paranoia and mistrust in every fellow hero...

I'm ranting at this point, but the overall point I'm getting at is that I no longer think highly of something I once derided great joy from. This series got me into being a regular reader, sometimes going so far as to volunteer helping stock my local comic shop on the basis of being able to pick up my pulls a day before the books were intended for sale.

So my question is: has this ever happened to you? Have you looked back on a comic or movie or video game or TV show that you really enjoyed and as time went on, you no longer look back fondly on because your tastes and sensibilities have grown?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Power Rangers. It domniated my 5 year old life.

Than I lost interest, FAST. The last time I was into Power Rangers was in the Power Rangers Turbo generation (the one with Cars)

 

[circularlogic88]

Power Rangers. It domniated my 5 year old life.

Than I lost interest, FAST. The last time I was into Power Rangers was in the Power Rangers Turbo generation (the one with Cars)

I can understand that, especially during that particular time. I like the idea of super sentai teams but especially with Alien Rangers and Turbo it was really difficult to take any of it seriously. After a while, the first generation of power rangers just never really sat well. They always seemed too squeaky clean and good: like the planeteers a la stepford wives.

I saw the unofficial Akihabara Sentai Squad and that was pretty much a comedic deconstruction of the Super Sentai format. Pretty funny if you're into that sort of thing.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Power Rangers. It domniated my 5 year old life.

Than I lost interest, FAST. The last time I was into Power Rangers was in the Power Rangers Turbo generation (the one with Cars)

I can understand that, especially during that particular time. I like the idea of super sentai teams but especially with Alien Rangers and Turbo it was really difficult to take any of it seriously. After a while, the first generation of power rangers just never really sat well. They always seemed too squeaky clean and good: like the planeteers a la stepford wives.

I saw the unofficial Akihabara Sentai Squad and that was pretty much a comedic deconstruction of the Super Sentai format. Pretty funny if you're into that sort of thing.

(Looks at Power Rangers Alien Rangers)

What the fuck is this?

 

[circularlogic88]

snip

...a mistake. I'm sorry you had to watch that.

 

[Fox12]

I used to be a massive Tolkien fan. Now... Not so much. The books are long and boring, and the pacing is awful. Tolkien isn't the best writer. The films fair better, but not by much. The second and third film feel like the same movie. It doesn't help that I don't find big epic battles interesting anymore. I prefer interesting characters. My world view has changed as well. While I don't think Tolkien is as black and white as people claim, he does borrow heavily from a Catholic world view. A world view I no longer share. As a result I just can't see it the same way anymore. Especially when Berserk and Dark Soul's tend to share my more existentialist world view.

There has been one positive change. I see Frodo in a whoke new light. I used to hate his character, but after suffering from serious depression, I can understand him better. I get why he's always talking about having an unbearable weight, and having a scar that will never heal. I can understand what he means when he says that he can't remember stars, or the Shire, or the taste of food. I can understand feeling naked in the dark. I can understand lashing out at friends and family all the time, and feeling angry. I seriously burst into tears when I rewatched those movies.

 

[circularlogic88]

I used to be a massive Tolkien fan. Now... Not so much. The books are long and boring, and the pacing is awful. Tolkien isn't the best writer. The films fair better, but not by much. The second and third film feel like the same movie. It doesn't help that I don't find big epic battles interesting anymore. I prefer interesting characters. My world view has changed as well. While I don't think Tolkien is as black and white as people claim, he does borrow heavily from a Catholic world view. A world view I no longer share. As a result I just can't see it the same way anymore. Especially when Berserk and Dark Soul's tend to share my more existentialist world view.

There has been one positive change. I see Frodo in a whoke new light. I used to hate his character, but after suffering from serious depression, I can understand him better. I get why he's always talking about having an unbearable weight, and having a scar that will never heal. I can understand what he means when he says that he can't remember stars, or the Shire, or the taste of food. I can understand feeling naked in the dark. I can understand lashing out at friends and family all the time, and feeling angry. I seriously burst into tears when I rewatched those movies.

I could never get into Tolkien. I tried so hard in high school but I could never get more than 40 pages in before giving up. It's so crazy because his works are pretty much the standard by which most medieval fantasy cribs lore from and its just so dauntingly dense for me to get into. I always felt like I was missing out.

That is a very interesting view on Frodo though. I never thought about that until you brought up the parallels with severe depression.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I used to be a massive Tolkien fan. Now... Not so much. The books are long and boring, and the pacing is awful. Tolkien isn't the best writer. The films fair better, but not by much. The second and third film feel like the same movie. It doesn't help that I don't find big epic battles interesting anymore. I prefer interesting characters. My world view has changed as well. While I don't think Tolkien is as black and white as people claim, he does borrow heavily from a Catholic world view. A world view I no longer share. As a result I just can't see it the same way anymore. Especially when Berserk and Dark Soul's tend to share my more existentialist world view.

There has been one positive change. I see Frodo in a whoke new light. I used to hate his character, but after suffering from serious depression, I can understand him better. I get why he's always talking about having an unbearable weight, and having a scar that will never heal. I can understand what he means when he says that he can't remember stars, or the Shire, or the taste of food. I can understand feeling naked in the dark. I can understand lashing out at friends and family all the time, and feeling angry. I seriously burst into tears when I rewatched those movies.

Interesting, I'd not viewed Frodo in light of depression.

For me, one of the main problems with Tolkien is that it's taken as the foundation of fantasy. The genre simultaneously moved away from what he'd created, but is reduced to endlessly ripping it off. Tolkien wasn't writing fantasy, in the way we think of it nowdays, he was writing a pseudo-historical...I don't like the words "epic" or "saga", they're overused, but that's what he was doing.

Oh, Urban Fantasy. Most of it seems to be about angry, irresponsible women with creepy stalker boyfriends. The first is tolerable, the latter not really, especially once it becomes clear it's a staple of the genre.

 

[Fox12]

I used to be a massive Tolkien fan. Now... Not so much. The books are long and boring, and the pacing is awful. Tolkien isn't the best writer. The films fair better, but not by much. The second and third film feel like the same movie. It doesn't help that I don't find big epic battles interesting anymore. I prefer interesting characters. My world view has changed as well. While I don't think Tolkien is as black and white as people claim, he does borrow heavily from a Catholic world view. A world view I no longer share. As a result I just can't see it the same way anymore. Especially when Berserk and Dark Soul's tend to share my more existentialist world view.

There has been one positive change. I see Frodo in a whoke new light. I used to hate his character, but after suffering from serious depression, I can understand him better. I get why he's always talking about having an unbearable weight, and having a scar that will never heal. I can understand what he means when he says that he can't remember stars, or the Shire, or the taste of food. I can understand feeling naked in the dark. I can understand lashing out at friends and family all the time, and feeling angry. I seriously burst into tears when I rewatched those movies.

I could never get into Tolkien. I tried so hard in high school but I could never get more than 40 pages in before giving up. It's so crazy because his works are pretty much the standard by which most medieval fantasy cribs lore from and its just so dauntingly dense for me to get into. I always felt like I was missing out.

That is a very interesting view on Frodo though. I never thought about that until you brought up the parallels with severe depression.

It makes me wonder if he vented a lot of his frustration after the war into the character. I never got the impression that he was a really depressed person, but I wouldn't be surprised if he suffered from depression at some point after WW1. I have a lot of respect for someone who can use that kind of experience as fuel for their work.

Regardless, Frodo's character definitely hit pretty close to home.

 

[Saelune]

Dragonball Z. Sure, it and Sailor Moon got me into anime, but DBZ is kind of terrible. Too much filler, and the plot is Goku is most powerful, but then the most powerful being in the universe shows up, kicks everyones ass. Goku trains to be stronger, stops enemy, and is most powerful again...rinse repeat. The original Dragonball was better, because it was a much smaller scale and more silly.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Dragonball Z. Sure, it and Sailor Moon got me into anime, but DBZ is kind of terrible. Too much filler, and the plot is Goku is most powerful, but then the most powerful being in the universe shows up, kicks everyones ass. Goku trains to be stronger, stops enemy, and is most powerful again...rinse repeat. The original Dragonball was better, because it was a much smaller scale and more silly.

Nah it aged well enough for me....until you get to the Buu saga.

 

[Saelune]

Dragonball Z. Sure, it and Sailor Moon got me into anime, but DBZ is kind of terrible. Too much filler, and the plot is Goku is most powerful, but then the most powerful being in the universe shows up, kicks everyones ass. Goku trains to be stronger, stops enemy, and is most powerful again...rinse repeat. The original Dragonball was better, because it was a much smaller scale and more silly.

Nah it aged well enough for me....until you get to the Buu saga.

I never finished the Buu saga, but I just like character interactions, which are usually much higher at the start, but then it just becomes Goku and maybe Picolo/Vegeta/Gohan vs the badguy in a desolate place for a long time and that bores me.

 

[Chanticoblues]

When I was a teenager I was really into movies that are intense or unpleasant---movies with more attitude than anything else. Stuff like Fight Club, American History X, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Come and See, Requiem For a Dream, Irreversible, etc. Now I don't really enjoy those any more, because there are far, far more interesting films made about the same topics. I think there's something to be said for how much a film can make you feel things, but I can't help but feel that the way that some of those films do this is a bit cheap or one-note.

 

[Bobular]

Dragonball Z. Sure, it and Sailor Moon got me into anime, but DBZ is kind of terrible. Too much filler, and the plot is Goku is most powerful, but then the most powerful being in the universe shows up, kicks everyones ass. Goku trains to be stronger, stops enemy, and is most powerful again...rinse repeat. The original Dragonball was better, because it was a much smaller scale and more silly.

Nah it aged well enough for me....until you get to the Buu saga.

I never finished the Buu saga, but I just like character interactions, which are usually much higher at the start, but then it just becomes Goku and maybe Picolo/Vegeta/Gohan vs the badguy in a desolate place for a long time and that bores me.

I'm in the same boat there.

What put me off Dragonball Z was by the end it was the Saiyans just running round doing everything whilst the rest of the cast stood in the background and occasionally commented. I liked the rest of the cast, why don't they get a chance to do stuff. Young me just wanted to watch Goku fight bad guys.

 

[Saelune]

Dragonball Z. Sure, it and Sailor Moon got me into anime, but DBZ is kind of terrible. Too much filler, and the plot is Goku is most powerful, but then the most powerful being in the universe shows up, kicks everyones ass. Goku trains to be stronger, stops enemy, and is most powerful again...rinse repeat. The original Dragonball was better, because it was a much smaller scale and more silly.

Nah it aged well enough for me....until you get to the Buu saga.

I never finished the Buu saga, but I just like character interactions, which are usually much higher at the start, but then it just becomes Goku and maybe Picolo/Vegeta/Gohan vs the badguy in a desolate place for a long time and that bores me.

I'm in the same boat there.

What put me off Dragonball Z was by the end it was the Saiyans just running round doing everything whilst the rest of the cast stood in the background and occasionally commented. I liked the rest of the cast, why don't they get a chance to do stuff. Young me just wanted to watch Goku fight bad guys.

That's why Ive grown to appreciate Dragonball more. I did not know about it when first watching Z, and it took me awhile to wonder who the hell most of these background characters were...since back in the original DB, Yamcha and Tien and all of them were well...important. But I just shrugged it off and initially did not care as these characters overtime got mostly phased out. Though that tower that was basically full of throw-away characters always stuck with me, with Puar, Yajirobi, and that witch lady.

 

[Queen Michael]

When I was 14, I read the goth comic book Gloom Cookie. It was charming, unique and funny. And then, I reread it when I was about twenty. The art looked unprofessional, the spelling and punctuation in the dialogue was bad, and the plot was at okay fanfic levels. It's the only time I've seen Ted Naifeh do a bad job.

 

[McElroy]

Dragonball Z. Sure, it and Sailor Moon got me into anime, but DBZ is kind of terrible. Too much filler, and the plot is Goku is most powerful, but then the most powerful being in the universe shows up, kicks everyones ass. Goku trains to be stronger, stops enemy, and is most powerful again...rinse repeat. The original Dragonball was better, because it was a much smaller scale and more silly.

DBZ Abridged?

I watched the Pokemon anime religiously as a kid... for a couple of years until we got the Digimon anime. Digimon was just better. I didn't watch it beyond the first cast change (did anyone?), but there was this clear arc y'see.

I followed Smosh for their comedy shorts from late 2008 until everything began to have a lot of extra crap outside YouTube. Now they're just sellout shite aren't they? (Minus Honest Game Trailers, I guess.) A friend introduced me to ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, especially Nostalgia Critic around 08-09 as well, and that love affair lasted until he changed the format so much (more original stuff and serious videos, less NC). They changed, I changed too perhaps. I owe a big part of my critical thinking about movies to Doug, regardless of how I like his current material.

 

[JoJo]

It's low hanging fruit but the Pokemon anime. I used to love that as a kid, and I still do love most other Pokemon related things, but I tried watching the anime again recently on Netflix and it was nigh on unwatchable. Far too repetitive and with little to hold my attention, oh look Team Rocket appeared yet again.

 

[Nickolai77]

When I was in my early teenage years I went through a phase when anime was for nerdy dweebs...then my social circle changed as they often do at that age and my new friend were quite into anime. My views moderated somewhat, but the turning point was when I met my first gf when I was 16 and she was very into manga and anime. A fair chunk of what she liked wasn't for me, but I learnt from her how diverse the genre was and I started to find things that interested me. From then on, I've kept exploring the genre and had a fun time doing so.

I kind of wish I'd got into it a bit earlier- there's a lot of anime out there that would have really resonated with me when I was in high school (middle school to you Americans) but by the time I properly got into anime I had finished high school and was almost an adult so I feel I missed the boat a bit. Still, a man can have worse regrets! The lesson I learnt was not to keep a closed mind about anything- you never know you might like it!

 

[Zen Bard]

Showing my age, but growing up I really loved the comic book writing of people like Stan Lee, Roy Thomas. Marv Wolfman and Archie Goodwin. I'd get some of those "Silver Age" books in trade paperbacks or reprints and was just giddy.

Then came Alan Moore, Neal Gaiman, Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis. And it was like a punch in the face as to how sophisticated graphic novels could be.

Recently, I got a copy of "Stan Lee Presents The Origin of Marvel Comics" where he talks about the genesis and creation of their most popular titles (Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, The Hulk, etc). The book includes reprints of those issues and the dialogue is just...awful!

Compare that to the writing in "Preacher", "Planetary" or "Transmetropolitan".

I guess as comics matured, so did I.