Do you agree with Alan Moore that the modern Superhero Fan is trying too hard to escape from today's reality?

The subject of comic-related-films (or film-related-comics) had understandably arisen and, when asked, I had ventured my honest opinion that I found something worrying about the fact that the superhero film audience was now almost entirely composed of adults, men and women in their thirties, forties and fifties who were eagerly lining up to watch characters and situations that had been expressly created to entertain the twelve year-old boys of fifty years ago. I not only feel this is a valid point, I also believe it to be fairly self-evident to any disinterested observer. To my mind, this embracing of what were unambiguously children’s characters at their mid-20th century inception seems to indicate a retreat from the admittedly overwhelming complexities of modern existence. It looks to me very much like a significant section of the public, having given up on attempting to understand the reality they are actually living in, have instead reasoned that they might at least be able to comprehend the sprawling, meaningless, but at-least-still-finite ‘universes’ presented by DC or Marvel Comics. I would also observe that it is, potentially, culturally catastrophic to have the ephemera of a previous century squatting possessively on the cultural stage and refusing to allow this surely unprecedented era to develop a culture of its own, relevant and sufficient to its times.

Alan Moore, 2014

Source: Last Alan Moore Interview?

I honestly kind of get it. it seems that to Alan Moore, The modern super hero genre isn't innovative because the audience keeps crying back to the past. Although they try, current Marvel Comics and to some degree, DC Comics, aren't really helping in innovating the genre and making the superhero genre's target demographic think without completely sounding so preachy and one-sided in its ideals instead of exploring its complexities (Although, this might be something telling about the modern mostly American influenced targeted audience).

Marvel's doing better than DC atm in terms of quality

Can you blame them for not liking reality though?

Comics and movies have always served as escapism.

It's nothing new that people would much rather watch the morally up right protagonist (Luke Skywalker for example) punch the moustache twirling obviously evil baddie (Palpatine).

It only seems like more people are into, it because people are more vocal about it thanks to social.

Unfortunately the same social media has instigated the issues of today.

The world hasn't become complex it's just had its vocal minorities voices dialed up to 11 and the majority people are just dumbfounded by the vitriol they spill.

So, yes lots of people retreat to the comfort of well written epics to hide from the idiots.

And frankly to some extent I feel it's good.

The less time wasted on sorting on the attention seeking weirdos the better.

But we have to deal with it for the rest of our lives so the best we can do is adapt to it and not try and run for it, it's not healthy for us, our love ones or anyone else.

Rampant escapism in different media is not exactly a new phenomenon. Sure, superheroes are a good example of it, but it's not like the general public were all fervently reading deep and philosophical literature before the superhero fad.

Eh, Reading fathomless complexities or extremities of fiction or literature is not something new before comics adapted. If anything it does is making it more relative to modern society. Heck given chances Claremont or Miller with their traditional style of writing comics had failed to make an influence among consensus over the last couple of decades. Whereas Giffen or Johns who were supposedly traditional writers have made peace with modern reality and wrote great comics with 52 or Annihilation.

That’s not running though. It’s just how people spend their free time.

Let’s say you are correct about humanity running from their problems. If humanity has a problem running from its problems, superhero movies are not the culprit. Take them out of the equation for instance. Where would the people spend their time? On the things of reality? No. They would find something else just as distracting to focus on.

Dude sounds very pretentious, tbh. I do agree that a lot of people use superhero media for escapism - but it's not exclusive to this genre, and it's not a bad thing. It doesn't mean people have "given up on attempting to understand the reality they are actually living in"...

Nerds and geeks had always existed. Moore doesn't know these people ever had existed.

Moore these people are called geeks and nerds. Books also escapism.

A majority of media serves as escapism. Escapist stuff has arguably existed since long before superheroes. I really don't see what his point is supposed to be.

in movies yes. in books dc stomps there and its not even close.

Not true at all. Current DC comics are so terrible that there's barely a good DC comic these days. Immortal Hulk and current Daredevil are the among the top 10 for the best comic in recent years

The Indies and several marvel titles are doing really good