by Matthew Russell - Posted 2 weeks ago
Welcome, my CryptoComics Compatriots! If you’ve ever tried explaining comic book history, you’ve probably run into the same problem I have: the so-called “Modern Age” has lasted longer than some superhero “deaths” and refuses to end.
Seriously, are we really going to lump Watchmen, Spawn, The Walking Dead, and Web3 digital comics all under the same umbrella?
It’s time for a long-overdue retcon.
This idea hit me after watching Alexander Webb’s hilarious video on the dark reality of comics (check it out Alexander Webb's YouTube channel here). The guy’s been making me laugh for years, and honestly, he’s right: Modern Age is too long, too vague, and kinda useless as a label. So, let’s fix it.
Let’s take a sword of continuity to comic history and split the "Modern Age" into three distinct eras—because, trust me, they each deserve their own name.
The Golden Age was a time of pure, unfiltered heroism. This was when comics exploded in popularity, with caped crime fighters taking center stage and leaping off the pages into pop culture.
These early heroes had clear-cut morals, unwavering justice, and a knack for solving problems with a good right hook. Back then, comic books weren’t just entertainment—they were cultural powerhouses, shaping how people saw heroism.
But, as with any era, it wasn’t all sunshine and super-strength.
By the mid-1950s, censorship came knocking, leading to the creation of the Comics Code Authority, which neutered storytelling and ensured that heroes behaved in the most family-friendly way possible—whether it made sense or not. (Special shout-out to the legendary Dr. Fredric Wertham - the man who proved that you could have a Doctorith Degree and still be an idiot of EPIC PROPORTIONS!!!)
The Silver Age was a wild, experimental playground, where science fiction and superheroics collided in the best way possible. Radiation, cosmic rays, mutations, and other questionable science fueled the industry, giving us characters with extraordinary powers and even bigger problems.
Superheroes became more relatable, flawed, and, in some cases, absolutely bizarre. Writers weren’t afraid to get weird, and thanks to the birth of the multiverse concept, continuity suddenly had infinite possibilities.
This era was a massive reset button for comics, reinventing old characters and launching new icons into the stratosphere.
Gone were the days of simple good vs. evil—comics grew up in the Bronze Age. This was the era where real-world issues made their way into the pages, tackling everything from urban crime to substance abuse.
Comics weren’t just about heroes in tights anymore; they were about people, struggles, and the often messy morality of being a superhero. Characters became darker, more complex, and more anti-heroic, reflecting a world that was far more nuanced than the simple battles of previous decades.
Meanwhile, horror, supernatural, and indie comics started carving out their own space, proving that comic books could be more than just costumed crusaders.
Now, this is where things get weird. Officially, comic historians just lump everything after the Bronze Age into one massive, sprawling "Modern Age"—which is like calling everything after the Industrial Revolution just the “Modern Era” of history.
It’s vague, it’s lazy, and it completely ignores the fact that comics have changed dramatically over the past four decades.
We can do better.
If we’re going to make sense of comic history, we need to break the so-called "Modern Age" into smaller, distinct ages that actually reflect how the industry evolved. And that’s exactly what I’m proposing here.
Instead of treating Watchmen, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, and Web3 digital comics as part of the same “age,” let’s divide them into clear, meaningful eras:
The Dark Age (1985–1996) – The rise of gritty, hyper-violent antiheroes and the comics speculation bubble.
The Events Age (1997–2010) – The era where every major storyline was a crossover event that “changed everything” (until the next event undid it).
The Frontier Age (2011–Present) – The explosion of indie comics, digital platforms, crowdfunding, and creator-owned projects, shaping the future of the industry.
The Dark Age ushered in a gritty, mature, and often downright cynical approach to storytelling. Thanks to Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and other landmark books, superheroes stopped smiling—and they never really started again.
The industry embraced moral ambiguity, violence, and extreme realism, with characters dealing with psychological trauma, dystopian futures, and moral compromises. This was the era of anti-heroes, oversized guns, trench coats, and exactly zero feet being drawn correctly.
At the same time, speculation fever hit the industry hard—people started buying comics not to read them, but to collect them as "investments." This led to an oversaturated market, countless variant covers, and a spectacular crash by the mid-90s.
With the industry desperately trying to recover from the 90s crash, publishers went all-in on crossover events. Every year, there was another massive universe-shattering event that changed everything—until it inevitably got undone a few months later.
If you were following comics during this time, you probably remember Civil War, Infinite Crisis, Secret Invasion, Blackest Night, House of M, Final Crisis, and more—each one bigger, bolder, and somehow more convoluted than the last. Continuity became an absolute mess, and major deaths were about as permanent as a summer vacation.
It was an era of shock value, massive reboots, and marketing gimmicks, and while some of it was great, it often felt like the stories took a backseat to the hype machine.
Finally, we arrive at the Frontier Age, the true modern era of comics—where everything is experimental, independent, and boundary-pushing. With digital comics becoming mainstream and creators taking ownership of their work, we’re seeing a huge shift away from the traditional model.
Indie comics are thriving, crowdfunding is changing how books get made, and platforms like CryptoComics Marketplace are giving readers a way to own, trade, and collect digital comics in ways never before possible.
This is the age of self-publishing, global accessibility, and interactive storytelling. No longer are comics confined to the big publishers—this is a new frontier, and the possibilities are endless. Yes, I named it after "The New Frontier" from writer/artist Darwyn Cooke!
The Frontier Age is all about exploring new formats, ownership models, and creative independence. We’ve gone from superhero slugfests to indie comics dominating the charts—and the future of comics is more exciting than ever.
If you’re looking for the best indie comics of this new era, you need to check out the CryptoComics Marketplace—where digital comics are finally yours to keep, trade, and collect forever.
It’s time to leave the outdated “Modern Age” label in the past. Welcome to The Frontier Age —where anything is possible. I would love to hear your opinion on this and other topics. Feel free to join us on Discord or leave a comment below. If you have suggestions for other topics for us to cover, let us know. It's hard coming up with these topics on my own and I want to know what you want to talk about.
