max808•18d ago

Tried reading the original X-Men run from 1963 and the dialogue is way harder to get through than I expected

I always heard older comics were wordy, but man, those Stan Lee captions with all the dramatic pauses and internal thoughts about every single punch made issue #3 take me 45 minutes to get through and I'm wondering if anyone else has tips for getting past the silver age writing style without skipping the whole story.

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanc6818d ago

Gotta disagree a little... that wordiness is part of the charm for me, makes it feel like you're reading a 60s radio drama on paper. Took me a few issues to get the rhythm down but once you're in the flow it's almost hypnotic.

eric_price17d ago

My buddy Dave got issue 47 back in 2018 and couldn't get past page 12 for a whole week. He texted me at 2am one night all frustrated saying the prose was like reading molasses. Then something clicked for him around issue 52 and now he swears by that same wordiness you're talking about @jordanc68. He told me it's like the writer trusts you to sit with the story instead of rushing you through it. I think that hypnotic feeling is real once you stop fighting it and just let the sentences carry you along. Some people want their comics fast and punchy but there's something to be said for a script that makes you slow down your breathing.