Comics for Film, Games, and Animation

CHAPTER 23

Grim ‘n’ Gritty Chromium Holograms

The 1990s

Until the 1970s, the visual aesthetic of mainstream comics was defined by the “King,” Jack Kirby. His kinetic action, simple lines, and maximum impact with minimal effort shaped what the superhero comic book should look like to readers and fans for two generations. By the 1970s and 1980s, comics were infused with a neo-realistic (used loosely here), illustrative quality thanks to the pens of artists like Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Berni Wrightson, and Barry Windsor-Smith.

By the 1980s and 1990s, a new movement was taking place. This artistic movement combined the kinetic action of Kirby with the neo-realism of the 1970s and brought a baroque sensibility of “more is more” to the medium. ...