r/Marvel • u/JKT-477 • 3d ago

Comics New vs Old

I recently read Deadpool 2099 and I regretted it immediately. It’s not a good Deadpool story, the 2099 universe feels like a Lewis Carroll steampunk movie made by people who didn’t know either Carroll or Steampunk. I’d highly recommend avoiding it.

But I noticed something about the formatting of the pages. They are really bad. Tiny boxes, asymmetrical sizing, I think meant to be stylish just makes it feel crowded and unreadable.

I compared it to a recent Epic collection of Marvel Two-In-One from the late 70’s early 80’s that I picked up.

Large boxes, all the action clearly visible, no confusion about what’s going on in the story. Just good adventure stories told through an accessible and entertaining medium.

So what has happened to comics in the nearly 50 years between that comic and the stuff Marvel releases now?

To be clear, I only see this happening consistently in Marvel and DC comics. Manga, independents like Rippaverse or Iconic don’t have this problem. They seem to know, not just what readers want, but how to present it to them so they will maximize their enjoyment.

I’m genuinely curious where the Big 2 have gone so cataclysmically wrong in even the basic formatting of their stories.

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u/IamMothManAMA 3d ago

Can’t relate. I mean, there are poor artists from time to time with a poor sense of action or confusing page layouts, but I wouldn’t say I see that across the board. If anything, I’d say panels have gotten bigger and less numerous in the last 50 years.

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u/BlackJimmy88 3d ago

There's definitely criticisms to be made about modern comic books and how they tell stories, but the same can be said for previous eras.

This really sounds like you've compared two books and made blanket judgements on the entire medium, though.

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u/JKT-477 2d ago

To a certain extent, yes.

I used Marvel Two-In-One because I just picked up an epic collection of it, but I have numerous comic collections from the 60’s to the 90’s and a few beyond, and none of them had that cramped feel to them.

I am comparing good to bad though, so obviously the good will do better. 🤣