Single Character or Team: Choosing Our Heroes in Comic Books

When a fan reads comic books, they are usually focused on a single character like Batman or a team of characters like X-Men. There are advantages to each. A Batman comic will have more in depth characterization because, obviously, Batman is the focus. But the team book like X-Men or Avengers will bring in more internal conflicts, bigger stories, and will often focus on a few or one single character in any issue. This essay will explore whether the fan should buy the single character comic book or the team comic book.

First off, comic books started with the single hero. Batman did not have Robin in his first issue. Superman did not work with Justice League or Batman in "World's Finest" for many years. So, it can be said that historically the single hero comic was chosen. Why? Because these titles sold. When team books like X-Men or Justice League became popular these books were written more often.

The single hero has advantages. One of the finer graphic novels ever, "The Dark Knight Returns," incorporated in it, like many Batman stories, the characterization of one hero battling against evil. There was a Robin character, but Batman was the focus of the book. There is a reason for this: Batman comics rarely struggle to sell, and the ones that focus on Bruce Wayne, like "The Dark Knight Returns" or "Batman: Year One," continue selling to this day.

There are more single hero comic books than team books. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Blade, Superman, Punisher, and many more have their own titles. Often these characters will be part of a team-for example, Iron Man is part of The Avengers-but the single issue comic book allows for more characterization of the character. Iron Man's battles with alcohol may have never reached comic book pages if he did not have his own title. Spider-Man has rarely fought in teams, because, as a character, he is one of the best super heroes ever.

But the best graphic novel of all time, Alan Moore's "Watchmen", was a team book in a sense. Instead of being a regular team like Fantastic Four, each character had been part of a team that disbanded. The history of this team formed the core of the book because the conflicts, so familiar in these stories, were still there. Each of the good guys chronicled had been on the super hero team.

So two best graphic novels, "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen," are on either side of the single character or team debate. Which is better? The question should be asked by the fan, but the average comic book lover sees the importance of teams like X-Men, and solo characters like Spider-Man. For some reason both stories continue to be written, sell, and entertain. j