Over the years, different fads have caught on with rising popularity, and companies, especially DC, have joined the bandwagon in trying to determine what is "popular" in comics at the current time. We've seen the dark grittiness of the 1980s, as with "Dark Knight Returns", "Ronin", and maybe even "Kingdom Come," even though it is from our Nineties. All of these series were very popular and caused a change in tradition and a turn in genre in comics. Many companies started making this turn in the 1960s, the time of Woodstock and great new music such as the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Jimmy Hendrix. This message continued into the 1970s, when the Comics Code was, for the first time, not on a DC Comic. This occurred in the now acclaimed Green Lantern/Green Arrow series of crossovers, where an issue dealt with Ray Harper, Speedy (the Oliver Queen Green Arrow's then youth sidekick and now Arsenal of the former New Titans), was caught doing drugs, mainly heroin. This sparked controversy, as issues such as this were rarely ever seen in mainstream issues.

Many other titles in many companies took this turn, as many companies do nowadays. In our generation of comics, we have seen many genres of popularity. Teenager books, "bad girl" books, comics with senseless violence, and books with hatred steaming off of the cover. But even with these popular fads being caught onto by the preteens of the generation, superheroes have lived on. I'm not talking about Spider-Man or X-Men, either, which are nothing when compared to their past issues. I'm talking about the still fantastic Superman, Captain Marvel, Flash, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern comics. Many of these heroes (or character basis, as in the case of the latter three) have spanned generation after generation, starting with the great Golden Age of comics. No matter what, the characters have never gotten "boring" or "old," and it causes me to wonder why?

Why? Because of what you want. The popular books have stayed popular for a long time because of story, artwork, content, and originality (this especially discludes the current comics of Spawn, any Extreme/Maximum Press titles, and most of the Marvel Comics books) contributing to the enjoyment on a frequent and consistent basis. As I work in a comic book store, I frequently chat with customers, and they all agree. A majority of comic readers expect their reading to be consistent and "good" every single month.

But this is what the shoppers at Another Universe in Columbia, Maryland say. I want to know what YOU, the DC readers, look for in comics today. Maybe a comic creator will see your letter or get asked a question in an interview that hits a button in their mind. You could make a difference in what the companies put out. In fact, you DO make a difference with your wallet. But I do invite you, please respond back to DCFANZ@aol.com with your thoughts as to the subject.