Several of the more Comics-oriented podcasts participated in an event last week, and I want to see what the responses from the GWC cats and kittens would be.
If you were designing a Mount Rushmore-style monument to comic books, which four faces would people see?
I’ll save my response until after some of y’all have participated, so as not to influence the discussion.
Michael
Interesting. I’ve got three off the bat, but I’ll have to think about the fourth.
Alright. I’ll be that guy.
Superman / Batman / Spider-man / Wonder Woman
Superman / Batman / Spider-man / Wolverine
tho I do like Wonder Woman
esp with two strategically placed boulders…giggedy
Super Man
Spider-Man
Batman
Professor X
Batman (To represent DC)
Spiderman (To represent Marvel)
Cerberus the Aardvark or Wonder Warthog (To represent the early Independent Publishers)
Spawn or Witchblade(To represent the new Independents)
When I first found out about the topic, I immediately went in two separate directions (which is not unusual for me…).
The first was to go with characters: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and Savage Dragon. They are each Iconic, and each defines their era in comic book history. Superman heralds the Golden Age, while I feel Spider-man represents the changes happening in comics during the 60’s and 70’s. Batman is the foundation of the Dark and Gritty trends of the 80’s and early 90’s, even though he had his origin alongside Supes.
Rounding out this foursome, I think Savage Dragon represents everything that Image Comics’ founders wanted to do, and so few actually have managed. Spawn, Walking Dead and Invincible may have higher sales numbers than Savage Dragon, but the audience for the book is loyal, and the quality has mostly remained consistent from the beginning. I would happily replace this character with Cerberus, Bone, or possibly even Spawn, to be honest, but I think Eric Larson deserves the nod. Also - Head fin!
The other direction I took involved the actual men and women who created these characters. Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and either Alan Moore or Julius ‘Julie’ Schwartz each have contributed hugely to the medium of comics and the way that illustrated storytelling has evolved, though I would probably choose Moore over Schwartz for purely beardy reasons.
I was gonna say this
I would go a slightly different direction:
Jerry Siegel
Joe Shuster
Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four (and dozens of other superheroes.)
I would make a monument to the symbolic “founding fathers” of DC and Marvel superhero comics.
That’s pretty close to what I was thinking.
Superman: The first superhero
Spiderman: The first modern superhero
American Flagg: The first of the creator-owned superheroes (although he’s about as super as Bats.)
Not sure about the fourth slot. Spawn isn’t a bad choice, but I don’t know if there’s enough difference between Image and First! to warrant his inclusion. I’m thinking along the lines of one of the early ‘grim and gritty’ characters that so influenced the industry. Possibly Miller’s Batman, or Moore’s Rorshach.
This will take some thought first of all i will name my mountain
The mount Rushmore of psychotic and hilarious Awesome
will come back later with some more
