AND WHY NOT THE IRON AGE?

In the addendum to 2019's VERTIGO REVISIONS, I listed my determinations for "The Ages of Comics" from 1938 to the present. In the section of the "current age," I remarked that one could call it "the Iron Age." if one could escape the traditional negative connotations.

Then it occurred to me today: why should "iron" be negative in this context? Iron's not a "precious metal," but iron is a far more durable metal than gold, silver, or bronze, and durability is exactly what the medium needs at a point when most of the old distribution venues have collapsed.

My screed on the current age also focused on the change in "Big Two" priorities that made it possible for other companies, like Image, to take advantage of creator-owned properties. However, the Iron Age may actually be durable because of creators publishing their own properties, partly or wholly dependent on direct funding, which has become more viable in the Internet Era. Obviously not everyone succeeds, but this may be the main way that American comics prosper, especially at a time when the Big Two have become so creatively restrictive that they're being easily overtaken by translated manga. And so in this case, "iron" may stand not just for the durability of the industry, but of the resilience of the fans who support what they love.