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In yesterday’s Previous Issues I talked about some of the tonal differences in the Sweet Tooth comics versus the Netflix series. When the series first premiered, writer and artist Jeff Lemire talked about the decision to adapt the comics’ tone in a much lighter manner for the Netflix series by focusing on a return to nature instead of a traditional apocalyptic setting. He stated:

The visual language of the apocalypse would feel kind of familiar and kind of boring, you know? So I think Jim [Mickles, the director] was smart in leaning into the the idea of nature returning in that aspect of this world, and kind of creating a post-apocalyptic future that was a little different than what you normally see.

Jeff Lemire to CinemaBlend

One major reason he cited for feeling that the traditional dark, gritty, and barren landscape that he had depicted in the comics was no longer as effective is the prevalence of the tone in media and comic adaptations today. It’s no longer as shocking as it once was.

Gritty

Growing up, comics media was one of the two extremes. I was raised on the ultra campy 1966 Batman series in reruns, the dark camp of the Burton Batman film, and the poorly received camp of Batman and Robin, complete with bat-nipples. Meanwhile, my parents never encouraged me or my brother to read comics because the style of the late 80’s-early 90’s was pretty vicious, brutal, and violent. When my dad thought of Batman comics, he was picturing the 1986 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. My mom thought of 1991’s Batman: Venom, (in her case though, it was because she actually knew one of the artists on that arc- Russ Braun, who also worked on The Boys and Jimmy’s Little Bastards). Still, the comics of this era were known to be darkly adult.

All of these featured storylines with dark lighting, harsh shadows, bold lines, and plots that focused on impossible situations and the grayness of morality. We still see the lasting impact of that trend in adapted media like Titans, Zach Snyder’s Justice League, The Boys, and Daredevil.

Ditty

There’s also been a push to return to the camp of comics. Batman ’66 reanimated interested in the television series by continuing those stories in a comic title. Absolutely outlandish humor took center stage for the younger audience with Teen Titans GO!, a reboot of the original cartoon that features substantially more juvenile humor as well as inside jokes about marketing and branding. And while I’ve focused mainly on DC in this post, Marvel isn’t immune. She-Hulk set itself up to be billed as a “campy legal comedy”. Slapstick humor, allusions to crass language with quick cuts to censor, and innuendos abound in this style of tone.

These often feature graphic design with far brighter, almost neon colors, more curves, shapes, and fluidity, or more minimalistic approach to character design with a focus on basic and recognizable shapes.

Contrast

If there was any hope for the in-between in tone, it was things like Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, the Justice League animated series, and eventually Teen Titans and Young Justice. However, when it comes to the balance in writing and design, more and more titles are justifying their use of violence, not glorifying it, and finding comic relief in natural places rather than just stuffing in humor to ease the tension. One of my favorite early balancers of these styles is DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke. Far more light-hearted at first glance, the discussion of the issues facing heroes in the 1950’s finds a great way to blend both tonal styles into one beautifully written and designed book.