Are comics better than films and animated series?

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

A lot of TMNT fans think the Archie comics is better than the MWS series, and prefer the IDW comics over the Nickelodeon and the Platinum Dunes films. (The exception may be the 4 Kids series being better than the Dreamwave comics, but they were quickly cancelled before anything could happen).

I've heard people complain over other hero and superhero films, so is this view common in general (especially hero and superhero fiction)?

[Andrew NDB]

The Mirage comics are way better than anything else TMNT that's come out, ever.

But that's not super true of other franchises and source material.

[Spike Spiegel]

Comics don't have a budget; they are limited only by a person/team's imagination, talent, and the amount of time they're willing to spend working on it. A teenager in Mom's basement can write and draw a great comic if they want.

Animation is closer to comics than films, so some of that carries over to that medium. With how cheap computers are and software like Flash or Plastic Animation Paper, you can market your stuff directly on Youtube or Newgrounds now. On the corporate side, you've got places like [adult swim] if you don't want to draw toy commercials for the rest of your career.

As for movies...just mentally compare them to the source material or animated adaptations. Also, try not to think about all the committee planning, producer/corporate mandated edits that ruin good films, and literal d*ck sucking that happens behind the scenes.

The Batman comics vs. Batman: TAS and Brave and the Bold vs the Burton/Schumacher films, the Nolan trilogy, and Batfleck?

The Avengers comics vs Earth's Mightiest Heroes vs. the MCU?

The Dikto /Romita era Spider-Man comics vs the '94 show and Spectacular Spider-Man vs. the Raimi trilogy, TASM, and the cringiest parts of Homecoming.

Claremont's X-Men run vs. the 1992 series and X-Men: Evolution vs. Fox's X-films (all of them, not just Singer's first two).

The choice here is clear, at least for me.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Well would you say the Batman comics are better than Batman: TAS? It's subjective, really.

[Spike Spiegel]

Well would you say the Batman comics are better than Batman: TAS? It's subjective, really.

Everything good about Batman: TAS is just a distilled, streamlined version of the best parts of fifty-odd years worth of comics at the time.

But I can see how one might cherry-pick a goofy silver age story about Batman and Robin fighting Martians or something and then unfavorably compare it to say, "Heart of Ice."

[Donnie]

It all depends.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

The TMNT Adventures comics seemed to get away with more violence than the MWS series, and still those comics were labelled "approced by the comics code". So I guess even children's comics are less affected by censors.