No Right Answer: Best Comic Book Universe Ever

[DRTJR]

Of the Big 2, DC. I love Captain Marvel, my favorite hero is and always will be Earth's Mightiest Mortal.

But IDW has the MLP comics which are AWESOME so they win if all were at play.

 

[Jacked Assassin]

Out of the 2 I'd gotta go with Marvel.

With the exception of Lobo, DC has struck me as this Universe stuck in an era before the 1960's. DC has tried not look like that before. But those attempts tend to end in failure. Even at their best to try to provoke change they just end up with pre 1960's characters set in the present.

The only time I felt that way with Marvel has been with The Fantastic Four.

 

[Ukomba]

What they really need is to grab all the Marvel Heros and all the DC Villains and make a universe out of that.

 

[TheFederation]

I think that Marvel (in general) has better heroes, while DC (in general) has better villains. there's alot of arguments between each universe, but i'd say i'm more of a marvel fan, if only because of Planet Hulk (although DC has All-Star Superman, so... i could go on forever with myself).
Having said that, my favourite comic book hero is Blue Beetle from DC (the 'new' one, but not the new 'new' one. Jaimie Reyes, before the 52 relaunch) one of the best series i've ever read.

 

[RandV80]

I've always thought that the DC universe is held back by it's origins and that this is mostly due to history. DC basically came first, and it's characters were born in the 30's to the backdrop of the great depression. Marvel came later, and it's characters were born in the 60's to the backdrop of... well the 60's. The latter is going to lead to far more interesting characters. DC can evolve their characters in interesting ways, but they're always tied down to their origins which quite simply aren't as good.

 

[The Great JT]

Marvel. Why, you ask? Because everything, even the goofy crap from the 1960s, is still canon. Oh sure they might've tweaked the dialogue, but regardless, if it happened in the Marvel Comics main universe, it's still in continuity.

 

[tzimize]

Snippity-doo-dah

-snip-

Check out their webpage. Elfquest.com. All the issues are there, free to read, legally

Also, thanks for recommending planet hulk, now I have something to read

 

[New Troll]

Marvel for the awesome characters and the excellent stories. DC for the enjoyable deaths and, uh, well, ummm... yeah.

 

[search_rip]

I have an undying love for everything Batman related but as a whole Universe I pick Marvel, good continuity overall and they don't reboot their Universe every couple years

 

[INeedAName]

Marvel, definitely. I just like the characters better. Apart from Batman and his crew, there really isn't anyone I like in the DC 'verse.

 

[Jacked Assassin]

I've always thought that the DC universe is held back by it's origins and that this is mostly due to history. DC basically came first, and it's characters were born in the 30's to the backdrop of the great depression. Marvel came later, and it's characters were born in the 60's to the backdrop of... well the 60's. The latter is going to lead to far more interesting characters. DC can evolve their characters in interesting ways, but they're always tied down to their origins which quite simply aren't as good.

I'm pretty certain Captain America was made during WW2 by Marvel. And I'm pretty certain that there were other Marvel characters made before the 1960. Though some of them were completely dropped or replaced; like the original Human Torch.

 

[Lightknight]

If I were to pick a third favorite though, I'd choose Astro City. Written by Kurt Busiek and artwork by Alex Ross (my favorite comic artist, very Norman Rockwell meets comics) and Brent Anderson. It's actually from Vertigo Comics and combines a lot of the best elements from both Marvel and DC to forge it's own path. Relatable heros and godlike heroes abound. I'd have to also give Invincible's view of Image Comic's universe a strong consideration here too. I must guiltily admit to not having given the Dark Horse Universe a fair shot yet. I'd like to go Hell Boy if I go that route but I really just enjoy Dark Horse's other comics that were published by them but are not necessarily housed in their universe.

But between the big two? Better? Apples to oranges. I prefer Marvel because of the more human/relatable element but darned if Batman and Red Son and all those flawed hero storylines don't also fill that need. I'll point out that the Marvel Universe also includes our own universe as part of its multi-verse, FYI, as a point of relatability.

Honestly, I don't like to think of their Universes as stable one-off things that we can easily percieve or quantify. Every series seems to view their respective universe in a different lense. Your view of the DC universe will change greatly if you follow Batman comics but not Superman comics. If you're a fan of the Xmen but not the Fantastic 4 then the Marvel Universe can be very different.

It's fairly clear that the anti-hero has capitvated our imagination. The Watchmen and Frank Millers Dark Knight Returns were the standard bearers of the move to be able to relate to our heroes and their struggles. I think Marvel does that the best and so they're my choice. But I also think that DC is catering to the anti-hero needs more and more every day. DC has most of my absolute favorite storylines. Red Son, Kingdom Come, and multiple Batman Graphic Novels. Marvel has some, but far less than I'd like.

 

[Ishal]

I could never invest myself in any sort of super hero comics. I just can't get into it, so this isn't really going to be on the subject of comics, but on cartoons.

What the hell happened to Young Justice? DC Nation completely dropped the ball on that one. As I said, I'm no comic book fan but dammit if I didn't sit down and watch young justice. That show did it right. It seemed like every time I turned that show on there were 24 different super heroes and 27 super villains on the screen. That was great! That is what comic books are, right? The bajillion super heroes? I LOVED that there were so many characters there even if they weren't doing anything, at least they were there. That is using all of your assets in my opinion.

Heck I even looked up who this guy was since I thought he was so cool looking

Spoiler

 

[qwagor]

2000AD

 

[Azuaron]

Marvel. Because I don't read many comic books and DC can't get their movie licensing together.

Although... DC did do Sandman...

 

[Ukomba]

I've always thought that the DC universe is held back by it's origins and that this is mostly due to history. DC basically came first, and it's characters were born in the 30's to the backdrop of the great depression. Marvel came later, and it's characters were born in the 60's to the backdrop of... well the 60's. The latter is going to lead to far more interesting characters. DC can evolve their characters in interesting ways, but they're always tied down to their origins which quite simply aren't as good.

So Marvel owes it's current success to it's complete failure in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's? (Not counting Captain America of course)

 

[Jacked Assassin]

I've always thought that the DC universe is held back by it's origins and that this is mostly due to history. DC basically came first, and it's characters were born in the 30's to the backdrop of the great depression. Marvel came later, and it's characters were born in the 60's to the backdrop of... well the 60's. The latter is going to lead to far more interesting characters. DC can evolve their characters in interesting ways, but they're always tied down to their origins which quite simply aren't as good.

So Marvel owes it's current success to it's complete failure in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's? (Not counting Captain America of course)

Marvel owes it's success from learning to adapt to the times. Unlike DC that has a hard time doing that.

 

[bluepotatosack]

Best Comics? I would say Manga. Japanese Comics.

Sorry, but when you have to pay 50 bucks for a comic that isn't even 5 years old at this point, just to understand the story or to "collect" them, it is fucking sad.

Thankfully, Manga isn't expensive. I can buy 27 VOLUMES for less than 200 bucks. It costs 30 to 40 bucks to buy a single volume for most Comics, while I can spend 10 to 15 for a single volume. Cheaper if I buy in bulk.

I would love to read comics, if they weren't so fucking expensive for not reason other than people are stupid and putting way to much worth in a couple coloured pages of dudes/gals punching each other.

What comic that's less than 5 years old costs 50 bucks? If you're not a collector and just want to read the story, go for trade paperbacks. The pricing is pretty comparable to manga collections. 10-15 bucks is pretty much the standard for 1 volume. The only collections I've seen cost around 30 were hardcover deluxe editions.

The Deluxe Hardcover editions are the only ones they sell around here, other than the "singles", or whatever people call them. The ones that they sell for 10 bucks for a single chapter, each month. Also, the hardcover's cost around 40 to 50 around here in any store. Might just be the hell that is South dakota though. I can pick up a volume of any Manga for around 9 to 10 here as well. Again, might just be SD.

That sounds like they're gouging you. I mean, the list price of The Fables deluxe editions are 29.99, which are around 225 pages each. You can get them on Amazon for 19 usually. Compared to say the first volume of Akira manga, paperback list price 24.99 for 352 pages. That seems fair to me because both the hardcover and coloring adds to the cost of production. I might suggest just ordering online. Or finding a local comic shop that has occasional sales. My local shop has storewide 20% off promotions not too infrequently.

 

[Mr. Q]

My opinion comes from a comic book geek in self-imposed exile from the big two. This is mostly due to lack of funds and frustration between the companies failing to evolve in some meaningful way imo.

I like Marvel better than DC, but only by a small margin.

Marvel has great characters. Each one, whether they are demigods or average people, have feet of clay. DC has some great characters too but they seem too perfect at times. This is why Grant Morrison referred to them as Olympic gods during his JLA run. A team like the Avengers is more like a group of friends and family working together for a common goal. They bicker and disagree and irritate one another but, at the end of the day, they put aside the differences to focus on the threat at hand. Yeah, DC has relationships like that (I.E. the JLI era or Wally West Flash and Kyle Rayner Green Lantern or Ollie and Hal for that matter) but that is due to the writers catching up to what Marvel already covered.

Story wise, I'd say both have their best runs and storylines. I can think of many Marvel sagas that stand out as the best (see Ultron Unleashed, Under Siege, and the Kree/Skrull War from the Avengers comics) and its had some classic writer runs (Chris Claremont and Peter David to name a few) but DC isn't a slouch in those departments either (Grant Morrison's JLA run, James Robinson's Starman, and Batman's Long Halloween for example). I'm sure many folks here can offer their favorite DC or Marvel writer era or comic story line or series to recommend to anyone.

With all this said, I'm at a point in life where I've grown tired of comics from the big two. First off, trying to keep up with multiple series with price covers of three dollars or higher while slogging through highs and lows of runs tends to make the hobby less enjoyable.

After DC pulled their New 52 line, I left that company behind. Tossing out their history to bring in new readers is a flawed idea. The company has broken their continuity so many times, its hard for any fan to keep up with what is considered cannon or not (a number of MovieBob's Big Picture episodes can attest for that). Marvel still has its continuity in place and is trying to bring in readers but with multiple titles of a certain team plus dragging us into one event crossover after another is not winning them any popularity contests. Plus both are guilty of over-saturation and price gouging but that is just how I see it. I could make an entire message thread of my beefs with Marvel and DC recent actions.

Lately, I'm getting back into TPB's and mangas. I'm currently caught up on Naruto and I'm now playing catch-up with One Piece. Meanwhile, I'm looking into books I never tried before until recently. I'm currently into Volume 6 of Eric Powell's The Goon (Chinatown alone cemented my vote for The Goon to be my all time favorite comic book character) and have just dipped my toes into Darwyne Cook's Spirit run (like to get into the original run by Eisner but that's gonna take some serious cash).

While I miss collecting Marvel and DC a bit, they have a long way to go before it can win this fanboy back to the comic book shop.

 

[NathLines]

I do like DC a lot, but Marvel wins hands down for me. Superman and alternate universes kind of ruins it for me. I like Superman but, because he is so powerful, they have to make his allies and enemies powerful as well.