As many of our most recognizable comic book heroes hit TV and the big screen alike, it can be argued we are in the second Golden Age of superheroes.
Brian Stelfreeze, the current illustrator of “Black Panther,” Afua Richardson, illustrator of a “Black Panther” companion, and Van Jensen, who authored several issues of “The Flash” and “Green Lantern,” joined us on “City Lights” to talk all things superheroes and comic books.
“Honestly, I think lately there’s been sort of a loss of hope and all the comic book characters boil down to, if you had the ability to do something, these are the things that you would do,” said Stelfreeze about the revitalization of superheroes. “And I think right now, people are looking for that altruistic escape.”
Richardson said she gravitated more toward the weirdos, aliens and outcasts because even though they weren’t accepted they did what they thought was right. She laughed as she said these characters inspired her teenage self to chase down a thief on a New York subway station who stole her friend’s book bag.
While superheroes are taking over the big screen, that doesn’t necessarily translate to the sale of comic books. It’s not one specific reason, as Jensen, Stelfreeze and Richardson discuss, but a change in demographics, a saturation of media, and how people choose to consume their media.
