Nerdish Commentary - The Great Debate of DC versus Marvel

Like many of my stories, I found myself toying with a new tech toy. The seminary issued iPads to us, and I immediately cradled it in my ever-so-gentle-and-loving hands, bestowing upon it the royal treatment that I so often give to the computing technology that is entrusted to my care.

This iPad, a gen 6, is quite the upgrade from my last one, which was almost 7 years old at the time I finally shut it down for good. My old iPad2 had served me well in spite of some massive damage that it had endured - a cracked screen and a bent frame which belie the end of my previous paragraph. This was not a result of my actions, but those of an errant driver in a school parking lot on a rainy day (fortunately, the kids were all in the building by that point). Still, I continued to care for it, and even changed the name from "phoenix32's iPad" to "Megatron." This name change was prompted by two factor; the first being that I had a naming convention for my machines that incorporated Autobot leaders for my Linux and Windows boxes, and the second being that Megatron and his namesake iPad still function after receiving quite a beatdown.

That being said, I decided to call my upgrade "Galvatron," then I instantly installed my Mobile Device Manager and went to work to incorporate my new iPad into my network of systems. Being a Google user, I really turned my iPad into a GooglePad. I then proceeded to find a picture of me holding my nephew from a year ago, when he was 3 months old, and I set it as both my home and lock screen.

Once I had Galvatron running exactly as I wanted it, I grabbed a few of the apps that I considered to be "extras," particularly both the Marvel Comics and DC Comics apps. Both of them are terrific, and having both on my GooglePad has been a source of confusion for any and all who borrow it from me. Typically, when the subject of comic books comes up, I am asked the question: "DC or Marvel?" As if there is a strict two-party system in play, a comic book industry rivalry akin to the floors of the United States Congress. The answer to that question is met with baffled and incredulous looks - as if liking both Marvel and DC is some sort of weird mutation or cranial defect.

There are aspects and characters of both Marvel and DC that I greatly appreciate. Heck, I am also a fan of IDW, as they are the currently publishers for the Transformers - just in case you didn't realize that I am a fan. Or even Boom!, which publishes Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Granted, they do not carry the weight in my collection that the Big Two do. There is a healthy division of the breakdown of my collection of graphic novels.

DC has a host of characters that I love - Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Batman Beyond, Catwoman, Supergirl, Superboy (Kon-El, like from the 90's until Flashpoint Vol. 2 [http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Flashpoint_Vol_2]), Teen Titans, even Big Blue and the Dark Knight themselves. DC also has a few runs of Masters of the Universe.

Marvel also has characters that I love - Spider-Man (both Peter Parker and Miles Morales), Venom/Anti-Venom (both Eddie Brock and Flash Thompson), Scarlet Spider (both Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker), Wolverine (both Logan and Laura) [notice a trend there...?], Spider-Girl, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man 2099, and the X-Men. Marvel publishers Star Wars now, so that supplements them in my collection rather nicely.

Lately, I have taken to strictly collecting graphic novels. I had many, many short boxes that were full to the brim, but a restricted income and new living accommodations made it impossible to maintain purchasing comic books every week and to keep the collection. Now while these pictures of my bookshelves are over 2 years old, they should give you a sign of how serious I am as a collector and a reader.

Things about both publishers have been bothering me for a little while now. Mostly, it is the reboots and the continuity shifts, which they do just to keep on pumping out "Issue #1 of [superhero name]" over and over again. But what is really galling me is the difference that I saw in the apps. As I was checking out the various and sundry titles in the digital realm, I noticed that Marvel can truly be described as a progressive and modern title in terms of technology. While it is great to have the physical books in my hand, I see the benefit of the digital copies, especially when I do not have access to all of my graphic novels. Marvel has taken a good number of risks when it comes to screen-based media, and it has paid off for them, with few exceptions.

DC has languished with regards to digital comics and movies. DC is way late to the digital app game, languishing while Marvel, on the other hand, has a veritable deluge of titles (bet you thought I was going to say "title wave," huh?). DC started offering only a limited number of titles for sale with a digital code, but Marvel was offering free copies of books - new and old, popular and obscure - along with the main title that was purchased. The Dark Knight Trilogy gave us a gritty and realistic take on Batman, and DC has great shows that take place in the Arrowverse; their cinematic ventures have not reached the heights that Marvel's movies reach easily. Honestly, it is like watching 5'5" me going 1-on-1 with Wilt Chamberlain. DC debated as to whether or not a Wonder Woman movie would be possible, and Marvel tossed a talking raccoon with a bazooka and a gigantic tree with a three word vocabulary onto the silver screen without hesitation.

DC had a great run of movies in the 70's into the early 90's, with the Superman quadrilogy and the Batman duology. Marvel spent the 80's with a Fantastic Four and a Punisher movie that we all hope remain locked away. The 90's saw a shift as Blade and X-Men emerged and paved the way for Spider-Man, while Joel Schumacher tanked the Batman franchise to the point where I have to count them separately from Tim Burton's movies.

Yes, Marvel has flubbed up a bit, with Spider-Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, or The Wolverine being just shy of disastrous. But I still give them credit for daring greatly when it comes to everything except for Spider-Man 3, which was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. But then they carefully place precious gems in our hands in the form of Logan, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Both Marvel and DC have excellent characters and great teams of writers and artists. I would love to see them just keep the continuities going for a spell in their books - enough with the reboots already! Maybe DC should stick to television and Marvel to the big screen. But no matter what, just keep the numbers going. Some of us would like to see a Nightwing issue #100 again without having to do some creative combining of Volumes 2-4, or maybe a Kaine Parker/Scarlet Spider run that makes it up to issue #50 - another failing of Marvel's publishing team, killing off titles before they really have a chance to take off and fly.

Let's see some long-term runs from both of them, and have them stick to their strengths when it comes to screens.

And for pity's sake, DC Comics, step up your digital comics game. I have a ton of rubbish on my Marvel list that I would never have purchased (e.g., Deadpool) that came for free with just about every single issue that I bought. DC could stand to take a lesson from their competition in this case.