Does Death in Comics Mean Anything?

Comments · 1K

• DO

  @doctorhandsome · 7 years ago

  I remember back in the 90&apos;s, Wizard magazine&apos;s &quot;rule&quot; about superhero deaths was &quot;Only Bucky stays dead.&quot; <br>That joke didn&apos;t age well.

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• RU

  @russellgarifulla1114 · 7 years ago

  &quot;You caught me dying&quot;<br>Best intro ever.

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• VA

  @vacuumhat2935 · 7 years ago

  This video is Chris’ canonical death and the reboot of the ComicTropes universe

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• WA

  @WalterLiddy · 7 years ago

  I was a comics retailer when the &apos;death of Superman&apos; happened. &nbsp;Almost universally, retailers underestimated the effect that marketing would have in selling this issue to the public at large, and we all under-ordered. &nbsp;DC also printed too few copies, failing to anticipate demand. &nbsp;Ultimately, DC decided to only distribute 1/3 of each retailer&apos;s order, so every store wound up under-stocked. &nbsp;A lot of this was because nobody who actually knows comics took it seriously as a permanent thing. &nbsp;But the mainstream public was told this was it. &nbsp;End of Superman. &nbsp;A collector&apos;s item must-have for every household. &nbsp;The first day it was on shelves, copies were selling for upwards of $150.00. &nbsp;Then the next month everyone over-ordered the &apos;return of the supermen&apos; thinking there was demand. &nbsp;There wasn&apos;t, and that bankrupted a lot of retailers.

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• TE

  @TevyaSmolka · 7 years ago

  Funny enough the whole Lazarus pit idea for bringing Jason Todd back to life actually was used for the Dc animated movie Batman under the red hood and was really really good in my opinion

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• RA

  @randalldowling1068 · 7 years ago

  Marvel actually had a policy around 2008 that a character had to die every quarter year for the sales uptick. That is why Human Torch died during Jonathan Hickman&apos;s run.

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• ST

  @stanfordfeynman2796 · 6 years ago (edited)

  I remember my mom looking at me crazy when I would easily get invested in or simply just start watching her soap opera tv shows with her.<br> “How do you enjoy this?” <br> “I read comics, Mom. This is normal”

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• BB

  @bbbabrock · 7 years ago (edited)

  What don&apos;t &nbsp;you get? Jason Todd was brought back to life because some other guy, super boy, punches a dimensional barrier really super hard.<br><br>Have YOU ever punched a dimensional barrier and not brought someone back to life? Has anyone ever punched one of those things and not brought Jason Todd back to life? It only makes sence.

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• JA

  @jasonginsburg7929 · 7 years ago

  Jean Grey has died more times than Kenny on South Park. Lol

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• TA

  @taffysaur · 6 years ago

  I loved when Superman gave his eulogy at Martian Manhunter’s funeral, he ended with, “... and let us pray for a resurrection... 😔”<br>😆 Even the heroes get the idea by this point.

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• RA

  @Ragamuffin-Guesses-cgc-grades · 7 years ago

  I&apos;ve heard of people getting punched to death, but only in comics can someone get punched to life.

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• AS

  @astrohkid · 7 years ago

  I think the reason a lot of writers are inclined to bring characters back is because the deaths are often so unceremonious. They have little to no weight or meaning, like Hulk in Civil War II. There was no narrative reason for Hulk specifically to be the one who dies, the only purpose that death served was raising the stakes. Hulk is a great, complex character. Of course you’d want to bring him back if his death is as simple as being shot in the head in a story that isn’t even about him! Whereas with a death like Captain Marvel, the death has stayed in place because the death was the focal point - it wasn’t some footnote in a larger story and it had its own thematic nuances that resulted in it having weight.<br><br>Fantastic video, Chris!

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