History MediaNotes / TheModernAgeOfComicBooks

ComicBook/SpiderManBeyond picks up after ComicBook/SinisterWar in which Peter Parker sustained injuries from and Ben Reilly returns to take the mantle once again under the mysterious [[NGOSuperpower Beyond]] [[MegaCorp Corporation]].

*** ''ComicBook/KingInBlack'''

Some suggested that, following the "metallic" scheme of Golden/Silver/Bronze/Iron, the current age may be known as "Aluminum", since so much of it is recycled. Another possible name is the "Diamond Age" or [[http://mindlessones.com/2008/08/03/a-hall-of-mirrors-ii-prismatic-age/ Prismatic Age]] because the medium has become multifaceted (or because Diamond has an effective monopoly on distribution, take your pick). Another suggested name is [[PostModernism "The Post-Modern Age"]], due to the growing number of post modern books that have been coming out. The name "Neo-Silver Age" has also been used, considering the common values of the two. Creator/GrantMorrison recently referred to the current age as the "Renaissance", to contrast it with the Dark Age that had just come before. Some consider this and the Dark Age to be a single era, UsefulNotes/TheIronAgeOfComicBooks.

It's too early to say for sure, but if an "age" of comic books lasts fifteen or so years, and the Modern Age began in the mid-90s, then it is likely to be reaching its end point now. Certainly, the September 2011 [[ComicBook/{{New 52}} reboot]] of Franchise/TheDCU following ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' appears to be a significant change, similar to how some consider ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' to mark the end of UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Also, Creator/ArchieComics and DC finally officially dropped UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode in 2011. The fact that the reboot also marks the beginning of DC's major digital publishing initiative is also a sign that times are changing. On the Marvel side of things, September is also the month that ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', one of the launchers of the Modern Age, officially passes the torch from Peter Parker to new character Miles Morales; Marvel also experimented with their own relaunch in 2012, beginning Marvel NOW. 2014 has seen a wave of LighterAndSofter titles with more cartoony artwork, as publishers attempt to capture audiences outside of traditional markets, particularly those buying digital comics. Examples include Matt Fraction's ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'', ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'', and ''[[ComicBook/SquirrelGirl The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]]'' from Marvel, and ''Gotham Academy'' and the Cameron Stewart/Brenden Fletcher/Babs Tarr ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}}'' from DC.

As well, 2015 saw the realization of a long-gestating CrisisCrossover at Marvel, a new ''ComicBook/SecretWars'', that sought to alter the Marvel universe -- or more appropriately to its plot, the Marvel [[TheMultiverse multiverse]]. 2016 saw the end of the New 52 era and the beginning of the ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' initiative, which heavily altered the DC Universe to be much more similar to its pre-Flashpoint counterpart, both in terms of history and tone.

* ''ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier'' is launched in 2021. Is another rebranding from ''DC Comics'' after the events of ''Comicbook/DarkNightsHeavyMetal'' focusing on the aftermath of that reality-changing event and the many possible futures it may bring. While the futures aspect has not being well received (due to some of them being very dark and depressing). the "present" storyline has been glowingly received for its lighter tone and more emphasis on characterization (which was supposed to be ''DC Rebirth'''s objective but suffered from a lot of ExecutiveMeddling and plans not panning out) and for fixing some of the bad choices made during ''DC Rebirth''.

* ''ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier'' is launched in 2021.

Both Dark Age and Modern Age influences can be seen in recent [[ComicBookAdaptation superhero movies]]. If Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy is comprised of Dark Age movies, then the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse movies can be considered Modern Age movies.

If UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks and UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks were the childhood of {{Super Hero}}es, UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks was their adolescence, and UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks was their [[EmoTeen angst-ridden teenage years]], then The Modern Age of Comic Books is surely the college years: [[ScheduleSlip all the work gets turned in late]], people come up to you with [[CrazyAwesome crazy-awesome]] ideas all the time (most of which don't really pan out), and there's still some adolescent attitude about, but it's growing into something more mature. In the process, some things that are eschewed as childish in adolescence return because we're old enough to realize a little of that is [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools not a bad thing.]]

** ''ComicBook/DonnyCotesVenom'', which sees Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote deal with a galactic threat.

* After years of fumbling, Marvel decided to come back swinging with the ''ComicBook/MarvelAFreshStart'' initiative, which saw a number of changes with the end of the intercompany turmoil. This saw the return of the Fantastic Four, the rise of the X-Men and the fall of the Inhumans in prominence, and a back-to-basics approach to Spider-Man.

Eventually, Diamond resumed operations and comics began returning to circulation a few months later, but the damage was already done. Diamond's handling of the crisis was heavily criticized, and comic book publishers saw the writing on the wall that Diamond's monopoly was no longer sustainable.[[note]]Even before the pandemic hit, it was reportedly widely in the comics press that Diamond was unwilling to adapt with the rest of the changing book publishing industry and upgrade its services. [[https://www.comicsbeat.com/inside-the-dc-diamond-split/ As recently as 2019]], some of Diamond's customer service operations used [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows 95]] as their OS, an OS that hadn't been supported for over '''17 years'''.[[/note]] Within the course of nearly a year, Diamond lost two-thirds of its business when DC and Marvel ended their contracts with them and shifted distribution to Indiana-based Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, respectively[[note]]While Diamond will still distribute Marvel material, they'll do so as a wholesaler on behalf of PRH[[/note]]. The latter deal has been seen as far more consequential, as Penguin Random House is a worldwide leader in book publishing[[note]]How big? They control 24% of the North American publishing market as of December 2020, more than any other book publisher;[=HarperCollins=] trails it by 11%[[/note]] and therefore could conceivably sell comic books to other retailers beyond comic book stores, including grocery stores and retail chains. While this has led to concerns about the future of comic book retailers as a whole, it could also lead to comic books being more widely available than they've ever been, which could push other comic book publishers to venture beyond Diamond as well.

* Creator/DCComics buying Wildstorm studios from Creator/{{ImageComics}} in 1999 may well be one of the biggest events of the Modern Age.

* Rick Remender and Colin Bunn's Run on ComicBook/{{Venom}} shows us what comics can do when it comes to CharacterDevelopment, TheBusCameBack, playing with the NinetiesAntiHero, and ContinuityPorn.

* ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' proved to DC Comics that the third time is always a charm when it comes to revitalizing their heroes as the mistakes made with ''ComicBook/TheNew52'' and the ''DC YOU'' brandings were fixed, bringing back the brightness and adventure to the constant darkness that permeated the titles since the reboot[[note]]For instance, Ma and Pa Kent, who have been established as important ComicBook/PostCrisis supporting characters for Superman in his adulthood for decades but were [[DeathByOriginStory killed off in his origin story again]], have been put back[[/note]] especially as a lot of hints in some of their books seem to lean towards the idea of fighting the thing that got them there in the first place: [[spoiler:''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'']]

* Creaotr/DCComics buying Wildstorm studios from Creator/{{ImageComics}} in 1999 may well be one of the biggest events of the Modern Age.

Eventually, Diamond resumed operations and comics began returning to circulation a few months later, but the damage was already done. Diamond's handling of the crisis was heavily criticized, and comic book publishers saw the writing on the wall that Diamond's monopoly was no longer sustainable. Within the course of nearly a year, Diamond lost two-thirds of its business when DC and Marvel ended their contracts with them and shifted distribution to Indiana-based Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, respectively[[note]]While Diamond will still distribute Marvel material, they'll do so as a wholesaler on behalf of PRH[[/note]]. The latter deal has been seen as far more consequential, as Penguin Random House is a worldwide leader in book publishing[[note]]How big? They control 24% of the North American publishing market as of December 2020, more than any other book publisher;[=HarperCollins=] trails it by 11%[[/note]] and therefore could conceivably sell comic books to other retailers beyond comic book stores, including grocery stores and retail chains. While this has led to concerns about the future of comic book retailers as a whole, it could also lead to comic books being more widely available than they've ever been, which could push other comic book publishers to venture beyond Diamond as well.

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel, featuring updated versions of all the various Marvel characters without years of continuity, and with artists and writers being give free rein to change the characters in any way they wanted, or retell classic storylines in new ways (such as Carnage being responsible for the death of Gwen Stacy for example). As time went on, the focus eventually shifted from retreading old stories and characters to doing things that would never be allowed to happen in the regular Marvel universe; like [[spoiler:wiping out most of the X-Men, disbanding the Fantastic Four with Reed Richards becoming the next Dr. Doom, and [[HilariousInHindsight killing off Peter Parker]]]].

** And finally, ComicBook/{{Siege}} shows the {{reconstruction}}, revealing that after all this, heroes are still heroes no matter what.

** ''The ComicBook/SinestroCorpsWar'' which deals with epic battles between the Green Lanterns and the newly founded "Sinestro Corps" whose goal is to spread fear through out the universe. Featuring epic battles almost on the scale of a SpaceOpera. This story specifically brought attention to Johns' work on the franchise and helped make Green Lantern a BreakoutCharacter of the Modern Age.

* The Video Game version of ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' successfully [[{{Reconstruction}} Reconstructed]] the NinetiesAntiHero (after over a decade of {{Deconstruction}} and ridicule), and revitalized the forgotten Image character. By copying many aspects of the game, the comic had new life injected into it. This, along with the success of VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum, are examples of how comics and video games can interact in a more positive way than the shallow adaptations of the past.
* Franchise/StarWars ComicBook/{{Legacy}}: An epic DeconstructorFleet of Franchise/StarWarsLegends.

Eventually, Diamond resumed operations and comics began returning to circulation a few months later, but the damage was already done. Diamond's handling of the crisis was heavily criticized, and comic book publishers saw the writing on the wall that Diamond's monopoly was no longer sustainable. Within the course of nearly a year, Diamond lost two-thirds of its business when DC and Marvel ended their contracts with them and shifted distribution, respectively, to Indiana-based Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, respectively[[note]]While Diamond will still distribute Marvel material, they'll do so as a wholesaler on behalf of PRH[[/note]]. The latter deal has been seen as far more consequential, as Penguin Random House is a worldwide leader in book publishing[[note]]How big? They control 24% of the North American publishing market as of December 2020, more than any other book publisher;[=HarperCollins=] trails it by 11%[[/note]] and therefore could conceivably sell comic books to other retailers beyond comic book stores, including grocery stores and retail chains. While this has led to concerns about the future of comic book retailers as a whole, it could also lead to comic books being more widely available than they've ever been, which could push other comic book publishers to venture beyond Diamond as well.

Eventually, Diamond resumed operations and comics began returning to circulation a few months later, but the damage was already done. Diamond's handling of the crisis was heavily criticized, and comic book publishers saw the writing on the wall that Diamond's monopoly was no longer sustainable. Within the course of nearly a year, Diamond lost two-thirds of its business when DC and Marvel ended their contracts with them and shifted distribution, respectively, to Indiana-based Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, respectively[[note]]While Diamond will still distribute Marvel material, they'll do so as a wholesaler on behalf of PRH[[/note]]. The latter deal has been seen as far more consequential, as Penguin Random House is a worldwide leader in book publishing[[note]]How big? They control 24% of the North American publishing market, more than any other book publisher;[=HarperCollins=] trails it by 11%[[/note]] and therefore could conceivably sell comic books to other retailers beyond comic book stores, including grocery stores and retail chains. While this has led to concerns about the future of comic book retailers as a whole, it could also lead to comic books being more widely available than they've ever been, which could push other comic book publishers to venture beyond Diamond as well.

Eventually, Diamond resumed operations and comics began returning to circulation a few months later, but the damage was already done. Diamond's handling of the crisis was heavily criticized, and comic book publishers saw the writing on the wall that Diamond's monopoly was no longer sustainable. Within the course of nearly a year, Diamond lost two-thirds of its business when DC and Marvel ended their contracts with them and shifted distribution, respectively, to Indiana-based Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, respectively[[note]]While Diamond will still distribute Marvel material, they'll do so as a wholesaler on behalf of PRH[[/note]]. The latter deal has been seen as far more consequential, as Penguin Random House is a worldwide leader in book publishing and therefore could conceivably sell comic books to other retailers beyond comic book stores, including grocery stores and retail chains. While this has led to concerns about the future of comic book retailers as a whole, it could also lead to comic books being more widely available than they've ever been, which could push other comic book publishers to venture beyond Diamond as well.

** Civil War addressed the stupidity of having the government let walking A-bombs blow themselves up in New York every day, while simultaneously showing how said government control plans would fail. This is shown in the ''deliberate'' {{Flanderization}} of Captain America and Iron Man showing how both sides are pretty stupid. This was also exposited in the what-if story arc when both sides find a balance and thus achieve peace.

Eventually, Diamond resumed operations and comics began returning to circulation a few months later, but the damage was already done. Diamond's handling of the crisis was heavily criticized, and comic book publishers saw the writing on the wall that Diamond's monopoly was no longer sustainable. Within the course of nearly a year, Diamond lost two-thirds of its business when DC and Marvel ended their contracts with them and shifted distribution, respectively, to Indiana-based Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, respectively[[note]]While Diamond will still distribute Marvel material, they'll do so as a wholesaler on behalf of PRH[[/note]]. The latter deal has been seen as far more consequential, as Penguin Random House is a worldwide leader in book publishing and therefore could conceivably sell comic books to other retailers beyond comic book stores, including grocery stores and retail chains. While this has led to concerns about the future of comic book retailers as a whole, it could also lead to comic books being more widely available than they've ever been in history, which could push other comic book publishers to venture beyond Diamond as well.

Unfortunately, the physical comic book medium is undergoing perhaps its most existential crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In an even more severe version of the theatrical film medium's business situation of being paralysed by the mass temporary closure of the theatrical chains, Diamond Distributing, the major comic distributing business in North America, announced that it would accept no more material from publishers starting April 1 until further notice. Given that Diamond has a virtual monopoly supplying comic book stores since the 1990s since Marvel Comics' botched attempt to bring distribution in-house, this could devastate the business viability of the North America comic book medium depending on how long the situation lasts and if things can return to normal in time. However, outside the general book retail sector, that could leave digital publishing, either through commercial sites like Amazon.com's Comixology for the commercial publishers or crowd-funding sites like Patreon for independent creators, as the future of the art.

* Creator/ArchieComics could definitely be said to have gone through its Renaissance. Having finally shed the constraints of the CCA, it proved capable of making more mature stories with genuine cliffhangers. A precursor in 2006 involved ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' shedding its old guard of writers in favor of new blood and utilising an ''Infinite Crisis'' style reboot to clean up a cast that had become bloated by Ken Penders' increasingly smothering cast of [[CreatorsPet Creator's Pets]] and a truly convoluted continuity due to writers in constant disagreement over what counted as Canon, so that Sonic could return to his roots. This would eventually end in 2017, with SEGA of America taking the rights away from Archie after years of problematic scenarios.

Unfortunately, the physical comic book medium is undergoing perhaps its most existential crisis with the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In an even more severe version of the theatrical film medium's business situation of being paralysed by the mass temporary closure of the theatrical chains, Diamond Distributing, the major comic distributing business in North America, announced that it would accept no more material from publishers starting April 1 until further notice. Given that Diamond has a virtual monopoly supplying comic book stores since the 1990s since Marvel Comics' botched attempt to bring distribution in-house, this could devastate the business viability of the North America comic book medium depending on how long the situation lasts and if things can return to normal in time. However, outside the general book retail sector, that could leave digital publishing, either through commercial sites like Amazon.com's Comixology for the commercial publishers or crowd-funding sites like Patreon for independent creators, as the future of the art.

It's too early to say for sure, but if an "age" of comic books lasts fifteen or so years, and the Modern Age began in the mid-90s, then it is likely to be reaching its end point now. Certainly, the September 2011 [[ComicBook/{{New 52}} reboot]] of Franchise/TheDCU following ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' appears to be a significant change, similar to how some consider ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' to mark the end of UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}. Also, Franchise/ArchieComics and DC finally officially dropped UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode in 2011. The fact that the reboot also marks the beginning of DC's major digital publishing initiative is also a sign that times are changing. On the Marvel side of things, September is also the month that ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', one of the launchers of the Modern Age, officially passes the torch from Peter Parker to new character Miles Morales; Marvel also experimented with their own relaunch in 2012, beginning Marvel NOW. 2014 has seen a wave of LighterAndSofter titles with more cartoony artwork, as publishers attempt to capture audiences outside of traditional markets, particularly those buying digital comics. Examples include Matt Fraction's ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'', ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'', and ''[[ComicBook/SquirrelGirl The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]]'' from Marvel, and ''Gotham Academy'' and the Cameron Stewart/Brenden Fletcher/Babs Tarr ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}}'' from DC.

* Franchise/ArchieComics could definitely be said to have gone through its Renaissance. Having finally shed the constraints of the CCA, it proved capable of making more mature stories with genuine cliffhangers. A precursor in 2006 involved ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' shedding its old guard of writers in favor of new blood and utilising an ''Infinite Crisis'' style reboot to clean up a cast that had become bloated by Ken Penders' increasingly smothering cast of [[CreatorsPet Creator's Pets]] and a truly convoluted continuity due to writers in constant disagreement over what counted as Canon, so that Sonic could return to his roots. This would eventually end in 2017, with SEGA of America taking the rights away from Archie after years of problematic scenarios.

* After years of fumbling, Marvel decided to come back swinging with the ''ComicBook/MarvelAFreshStart'' initiative, which saw a number of changes with the end of the intercompany turmoil. This saw the return of the Fantastic Four, the rise of the X-Men and the fall of the Inhumans in prominence, and a back-to-basis approach to Spider-Man.

* ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' proved to DC Comics that the third time is always a charm when it comes to revitalizing their heroes as the mistakes made with ''ComicBook/TheNew52'' and the ''DC YOU'' brandings were fixed, bringing back the brightness and adventure to the constant darkness that permeated the titles since the reboot, especially as a lot of hints in some of their books seem to lean towards the idea of fighting the thing that got them there in the first place: [[spoiler:''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'']]

Unfortunately, the physical comic book medium is undergoing perhaps its most existential crisis with the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In an even more severe version of the theatrical film medium's business being paralysed the mass temporary closure of the theatrical chains, Diamond Distributing, the major distributing business in North America, announced that it accept no more material from publishers starting April 1 until further notice given the public health crisis. Give that Diamond has a virtual monopoly supplying comic book stores since the 1990s since Marvel Comics' botched attempt to bring distribution in-house, this could devastate the business viability of the North America comic book medium depending on how long the situation lasts and if things can return to normal in time. However, that could leave digital publishing, either through commercial sites like Amazon.com's Comixology for the commercial publishers or crowd-funding sites like Patreon for independent creators, the future of the art.

Unfortunately, the physical comic book medium is undergoing perhaps its most existential crisis with the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In an even more severe version of the theatrical film medium's business being paralysed the mass temporary closure of the theatrical chains, Diamond Distributing, the major distributing business in North America, announced that it accept no more material from publishers starting April 1 until further notice given the public health crisis. Give that Diamond has a virtual monopoly supplying comic book stores since the 1990s since Marvel Comics' botched attempt to bring distribution in-house, this could devastate the business viability of the North America comic book medium. However, that could leave digital publishing, either through commercial sites like Amazon.com's Comixology for the commercial publishers or crowd-funding sites like Patreon for independent creators, the future of the art.