Writing for Forbes.com, Matthew Kirdahy wonders why some superheroes stand the test of time while others toil in Spandex-clad obscurity:
Comic book legend and the truest of “true believers,” Stan Lee told Forbes.com that there’s no real math to figuring out why certain characters, good or bad, don’t take.
“I’m not sure I have the full answer, but my guess would be in many cases it’s just the quality of the writing, or the artwork or whatever,” Lee said.
“For example, take Sherlock Holmes. There have been millions of detective stories over the years. Many of them are forgettable. Somehow Sherlock Holmes has endured, mainly because no one could write a detective story as brilliantly as (Arthur) Conan Doyle, and nobody could come up with a character as interesting and flawed as Sherlock Holmes.”
There’s also a “Gallery of Greats” that showcases DC and Marvel characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and The Joker.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Stan must have stopped reading the Holmes stories before he got to the clunkers. But like other icons, Sherlock was able even to withstand his own writer’s failings (in this case, loss of interest).
Forbes left off Wonder Woman. And the X-Men.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
They’re pretty cool- that’s why.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
They were given a chance, rather than being killed off within 10 issues.