The Dark Age: Grim, Great & Gimmicky Post-Modern Comics [Paperback]

Mark Voger (Author), Frank Miller (Author), Dave Gibbons (Author), Alex Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 2006

Do you remember The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen? The “polybagged premium” craze? The death of Superman? Renegade superheroes Spawn, Pitt, Bloodshot and Cyberforce? When vigilantes spilled blood by the gallon — and those were the good guys? If you love the comic books of the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, read all about the sometimes glorious, sometimes gory era of comics known as The Dark Age)! Featuring interviews with Dark Age greats Todd McFarlane (Spawn), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Jim Lee (X-Men), Kevin Smith (Clerks), Alex Ross (Kingdom Come), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), J. O’Barr (The Crow), David Lapham (Stray Bullets), Joe Quesada (Daredevil), Mike Allred (Madman), Dennis O’Neil (Batman: Knightfall) and others! With a color section spotlighting highlights — and lowlights – of The Dark Age! Written by Mark Voger, with photos by Kathy Voglelsong.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Comic-book fans are fond of categorizing the field by era. The first decade of superhero comics in the 1940s is called the Golden Age, and the 1960s superhero revival launched the Silver Age. Voger claims that the mid-1980s, when the likes of The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and watchmen (1987) presented tougher, brutal superheroes for a more knowing audience, began the medium's Dark Age. "Grim and gritty" became the byword as other series adopted the same mordant mode. At Marvel, Todd McFarland's Spider-Man and Jim Lee's X-Men darkened the characters. DC actually killed off Robin and even Superman, albeit temporarily. Voger's overview of the period is made up of interviews with writers and artists, plentiful artwork, and examinations of the crass marketing gimmicks that demonstrated a cynicism in the publishers that came out in the stories themselves. The book's fannish approach and loose organization make it more cursory than thorough, yet it offers a fascinating look back at a still-influential era when comics enjoyed a boom in gloom. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (January 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905535
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905535
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Far from a masterpiece, April 3, 2007

By 

H. G. Turner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dark Age: Grim, Great & Gimmicky Post-Modern Comics (Paperback)

Whatever these other reviewers were inhaling at the time that they posted their reviews...I want some. Because they loved this book MUCH more than it warranted.

I love books about comics. I have a particular interest in the 1980s-2000 and the rise of Image, the rise of glitter, and the spectators' rush to the false gold of comicbook collecting. The Dark Age by Voger promised to go into detail about all of this -- and these other reviewers said it delivered as much, which is why I bought the book -- but it didn't happen. This isn't an inclusive book about a fascinating era; it's a clip book, with a bunch of short interviews and short articles. Lots of pictures in its 165 pages...you're looking at maybe 90 pages of prose. And I think I'm being generous at that.

An example of where The Dark Age fails? You'll find a longer article about the executive producer of the Batman movie than you will about ANY of the comic creators. There are huge gaps in information -- some of the most important publishers, writers and artists of the age aren't even interviewed...hello, Rob Liefeld, how are you, Neil Gaiman?...while Alice Cooper warrants a full page of blather.

It's worth buying if you can get it at a discount. Just be aware of what you're really purchasing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An overview of when comics went "dark.", March 13, 2006

By 

J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dark Age: Grim, Great & Gimmicky Post-Modern Comics (Paperback)

In the mid 80's there was a drastic change in the world of comics. Books like WATCHMAN, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, and CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS came on the scene and industry took a turn. No longer were comics aimed at a young audience, superheroes were now "dark avengers" now inhabiting worlds where death and violence were commonplace. Mark Voger does a fine job of presenting an overview of this period in this book. The book itself is a potpourri; it sacrifices order for a scattershot mix of interviews, synopses, and commentaries. Exceptionally well-illustrated and with tongue firmly planted in cheek on many occasions, Voger keeps things moving and the book never gets boring. While the obvious candidates for inclusion are here (Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane) are all included; it's nice to see creators like Doug Murray (THE NAM) and Dave Lapham (STRAY BULLETS) getting a few pages as well. THE DARK AGE really captures both the grand and the goofy with aplomb; from Spiegelman's incredible MAUS to the ridiculous poly bagged, multiple cover, sales ploys that eventually crippled the industry. It's all here; not an in depth examination, but rather a reader friendly overview of the last big change in comics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MAGNIFICENT HISTORY OF COMICS DARKEST PERIOD, July 14, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Dark Age: Grim, Great & Gimmicky Post-Modern Comics (Paperback)

The Dark Age is a magnificent look at the comic book industry of the late 80's through the mid 90's. While not an "official" age, the term Dark Age works first two describe the change in tone of many characters from their more boy scout, truth, justice, and the American way roots, to a darker, grimmer, do-what-it-takes style, perhaps best epitomized by Frank Miller's watershed `Batman: The Dark Knight Returns". But Dark Age also describes the state of the comic book industry. Driven by greed and spurred on by speculators, the comic book industry teetered on the brink of destruction thanks to the mindless waves of multi, poly-bagged, foil, hologram, and die-cut covers, and trying to create instant collectibles.

Writer Mark Voger points to DC's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" as the start of this dark age and provides a synopsis of each of the twelve issues along with notes on who died and other events. Voger interviews artist Dave Gibbons about the creation of "The Watchmen", the book that allowed us comic fans to say, "See! Comics aren't just for kids and nerds!" Gibbons discusses what went into creating these new characters as opposed to using the actual Charlton characters they were based on.

Much of the content of "The Dark Age" is in the form of interviews with creative talent and Voger truly shines in this area. One of my favorites is his interview with longtime DC writer and editor Denny O' Neil who was the editor of the Batman titles during the "Death in the Family" and "Knightfall" storylines. Denny discusses how the Jason Todd Robin character really took on a life of his own and even he was surprised by the results of the fan voting that resulted in Robin's death.

Another important event in the Dark Age was the rise of Image Comics and the artists who founded it. This may be comic's darkest period. Suddenly every hot artist also decided that he was a writer as well and we had shelves full of comics that featured impossibly proportioned heroes in comics that were basically 22 splash pages long. Artist Greg Capullo, who was pushed into some of Marvel's top books when guys like McFarlane, Liefeld, Lee, and Silvestri left talks about the state of Marvel at that time and why he eventually chose to join Image's ranks. Sadly Mr. Capullo, like so many of these hotshot artists, just doesn't get it. He complains that after these guys left marvel started emphasizing the character over pushing the artist's talents. Don't you just think that Jack Kirby is spinning in his grave! These characters have been around for decades and will still be around long after these "hot" artists have come and gone. It is precisely this type of egomania that almost destroyed the industry.

Other interviews in the book feature James O' Barr, Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Mike Carlin, Erik Larsen, and Mike Mignola. To Close things, Voger lists the Top 10 best and the top 10 most ludicrous books of the Dark Age. In a twist of irony, Superman #75, in which the character dies, makes both lists. The Dark Age is an absolute must read for comic fans, especially those who were fans during this very unique period of comic book history.

Reviewed by Tim Janson