Jim has been taking in some advanced US art.
The Hulk was kind of creator Stan Lee's "Freudian extreme example" of
the general way he made Marvel Comics a serious competitor against DC
Comics.
As I recall, Marvel arose around 1961 or so. It was far distant in
revenues.
Lee built on a trend in other media to make characters more complex. So
he used his own pop psychology, relaying on Freudian ideas.
Marvel's Spiderman (Peter Parker) was like the first neurotic superhero.
He had personal problems, things readers could identify with.
DC's Superman was that sort of cardboard cut out character. Really
uninteresting. (The administration guys that you saw taking the news
conference microphone during the Iraq war.)
But Marvel became dominant after a while. It was just more fun. And
creative people tend to be Democrats. (As I non-American, I can state
this with obviously totally objective observer status.)
Surely someone in the US must have opined that DC Comics line-up of
heroes represents Republican cultural norms and Marvel line-up of heroes
represented Democratic cultural norms. :-)
Marvel was funny, fucked-up, and pushed social boundaries. Bill Clinton
is clearly a Marvel Comics creation.
DC was tight-assed, unquestioning of self, and rarely dared cross social
boundaries. George Jr. is clearly a DC creation.
Ken.
--
With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.
-- Ret Butler
