Comic books aren't just for kids anymore.
Baby Boomers, who grew up reading Superman and Scrooge McDuck, are in the market for more grown-up fare, grittier stories, rougher action, more realistic heroes and heroines, even (cover the children's eyes, Ma) sex."There's innovation going on everywhere, even in the big comic companies," said Chuck Dixon, a free-lance comic book writer who lives in Lancaster, Pa. "They want to grab a piece of the adult audience and they want to get the female readers back."
Dixon's credits include "Moon Knight," "Savage Sword of Conan," "Alien Legion," "The Black Terror," and "Racer X."
The younger generation of American writers and artists are seeking a new respect for the medium. They look with envy at countries like France, Argentina and Japan, where comic books have large adult followings.
"We're hitting college students more and more," Dixon said. "Also, the art community is really into these books. Some of the more adult books are pretty experimental with art.
"I'd like to see the average person who buys paperback books and goes to the movies to see comics as having entertainment value. Mostly what I write is entertainment. If they will take it as seriously as they take an episode of `Hunter,' I'm happy."
Americans think comic books are for kids because for 20 years that's just what they were. In the early 1950s, there was a nation-wide movement against comic books with adult content. Parents, teachers, community leaders, senators and congressmen trashed the illustrated stories, linking comic books with juvenile delinquency.
In 1954, at the height of the furor, the Comics Code Authority was established to set standards for comic books. Without the authority's seal of approval, no distributor would handle a comic book, no retailer would put it in the rack.
How tough is the code?
Under the code, Dixon said, "You couldn't do most prime time television. One I ran into recently is you can't show a law enforcement agent in a bad light. You can't show him taking a bribe even if you show later that most officers are honest. Now, how many times a night do you see that on TV?"
Cracks started appearing in the code in the 1970s, with the change accelerating in the 1980s. Societal changes, such as a more relaxed attitude toward adult themes in the movies and on television, moved things along.
Comic book stores, places that specialize in collectible items, helped, too, by providing a place for new comics and adults to come together.
Granted, the mainstream continues to belong to DC and Marvel, who control 85 percent of the market. And the majority of comic books continue to meet the code. Children who shop in supermarket and drug stores are unlikely to run across any of the adult-oriented comic books.
But there are dozens of small companies, many of them one- and two-man operations, fishing from the bank with enticing, sometimes exotic bait.
"Marvel and DC are pretty much stuck in the superhero rut," said Ron Crum at Comics & Collectibles. "But the alternates, boy, there's all sorts of weird stuff."