The Generic Comic

FROM THE ARCHIVES (Comics That Time Forgot)

THE GENERIC COMIC

# 1, Marvel Comics, one-shot,April 1984

Scripter: Steve Skeates

Artists: Unknown

Assistant Editor: Christopher Priest

Editor: Larry Hama

Not to be confused with the long-running Comics Conspiracy title, Marvel’s 1984 one-shot The Generic Comic is something of an oddity: an attempted parody of standard comic book themes published by the very company responsible, as much as any other, for the endurance of these very same themes. In fact, The Generic Comic resembles Marvel’s various Spider-Man titles as much as anything.

The Generic Comic tells a simple story, one we’ve heard before in a variety of ways: teenage boy having trouble with girlfriends and parents acquires super powers through radiation, and uses them to fight a nasty super-villain while still trying to make an honest day’s wage while working for an insufferable boss.

There are no credits for The Generic Comic and one wonders how many people would have actually spent 60 cents to buy it, since the Marvel Zombies of the time period were interested in the very comics it was attempting to spoof. An Internet search reveals that veteran comic writer Steve Skeates scripted it, while Christoper Priest and Larry Hama (of Crazy fame) edited it. Several artists took part in its creation, but no other specific details could be found.

There are send-ups of several super-hero conventions. For example, the hero acquires his powers through long-term exposure to glow-in-the-dark toys, and buys his super-hero uniform from a costume shop. The funny thing about The Generic Comic is that to a large degree, it manages to achieve exactly what it aims for. With a different title and a few changed details, one can easily imagine flipping through this at a comic book store and believing it to be a standard super-hero title of the time period. Importantly, there is very little humor, either real or attempted. In a way, it’s not so much a straight parody as an all-too realistic distillation of the era’s standard comic book themes.