Waking up at eight in the morning (sometimes even earlier...) rushing to the living room TV set on a bright Saturday morning to watch all my favorite cartoons. Too excited to eat breakfast for fear that I'll miss a pivotal moment in the stories very basic plot. I Remember sitting through all the cereal and toy commercials wide-eyed hoping that later on in the day I could convince my mom in taking my brothers and I to the local department store to see what goodies I could find and take home. Even now, as a grown man I still find myself wondering over to the toy section and reminisce on all the fun I use to have.

Which leaves me to wonder whatever happened to the fun? I'm talking about the feeling you got after watching an exciting episode of your favorite cartoon show, or the inspiration you felt after picking up and reading through another exciting issue of your favorite comic book. I use to think it was just me getting older, holding on to the past, but the more I look into it the more I am convinced that the fun is still there, its the creators and comic publishers whom have sucked the fun out of everything.

Comics books and cartoons are catering towards mature audiences  with darker and sexually rich tones which to me does not make much sense. I don't need to see Batman and Catwoman having relations on the roof tops of Gotham city--IN FULL costume!! I think the over saturation of mature comics is actually hurting the industry instead of drawing in new readers or introducing new characters and engaging us with fun and entertaining storytelling.

I also think that making something for mature readers/audiences is like taking the easy way out in some ways, especially if not done correctly. Just add some sex, violence and some strong language... Put that on the market, sit back and watch the royalty checks pour in. Gets very lazy and boring after a while and the story usually suffers because of the gratuitous mature subject matter. I think it is much harder to create something fun that both a 10yr old and a 30yr old can enjoy equally. A lost art I guess. Don't get me wrong there is a place for mature content in the cartooning industry, I myself have written and created some, but I am willing to admit that I miss the fun and excitement that flooded the good old days of comics and toons. Don't you agree?

Devon Ryan,
www.nextgenesiscomics.com
@nxgcomics @devon_ryan