If you were to survey the customer base of an average comic book shop, you would probably find that most of the patrons buy from several of the major publishers.  There exists, however, many who would proclaim themselves as either “Marvel only” or “DC only” readers, and for one reason or another they can usually tell you why.  For some, a certain story arc turned them off to a company, or perhaps a character’s death (read “death”) was the proverbial straw for them, making them swear off any title that Marvel or DC published from there on out.  While they may not read a certain company’s titles, they probably are aware of what the other is doing, and if they’ve paid attention to current trends in both companies, they may find the lines between companies starting to blur.  Perhaps merge is a better word.

Over the past two years, the stories, character directions and events from the two biggest comic book publishers are becoming increasingly similar, almost strangely similar.  It’s hard to say if this is purely intentional, as both DC and Marvel have enough devoted readers to not feel the need to riff on each other in a way that elicits obvious comparisons.  There are several notable incidents of this, and it doesn’t always work for the respective company.  At some point, each company has pulled off the theme/event better than the other.  Consider the following cases in point: read more….

Marvel Comics has found itself in the midst of a, pardon the use of the expression, tempest in a teapot.  In the latest issue of Captain Amierca, issue 602, current Captain America, Bucky Barnes and The Falcon are attempting to infiltrate a group called “The Watchdogs”, an anti-government militia group that has begun to swell in its numbers as of late.  That in itself is not the sole source of controversy.  What has caused a stir is the appearance of several protest signs that, unintentionally or not, point to the Tea Party movement that has popped up in parts of America.  Cap and Falcon are observing an anti-tax gathering, and several of the signs in the crowd indicate anti-tax and governement sentiment.  One sign that stands out ties directly to the Tea Party movement, and that link has caused a minor wave of uproar amongst Tea Parties for this depiction, which puts them on the opposite side of a popular American superhero.

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