--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started out in the eighties, the…" description: "\"When I started out in the eighties, the idea of creating serious comics for adults was pretty laughable to most folks, and for the longest time it was ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/seth-1954_adult_when-i-started-out-in-the-eighties-the-i_1724445.jpg" --- # When I started out in the eighties, the idea of creating… ![“When I started out in the eighties, the idea of creating serious comics for adults was pretty laughable to most folks, and for the longest time it was hard to even explain what alternative comics or graphic novels were. Nobody seemed to understand or care. Not so, any longer.” quote by Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/seth-1954_adult_when-i-started-out-in-the-eighties-the-i_1724445.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/seth-1954_adult_when-i-started-out-in-the-eighties-the-i_1724445.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/seth-1954_adult_when-i-started-out-in-the-eighties-the-i_1724445.jpg) > “When I started out in the eighties, the idea of creating serious comics for adults was pretty laughable to most folks, and for the longest time it was hard to even explain what alternative comics or graphic novels were. Nobody seemed to understand or care. Not so, any longer.” [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early adult comics were dismissed, but acceptance grew as the medium proved its depth. **In simple terms:** Adult comics gained respect over time. Key Takeaway Support innovative storytelling. Themes culture media innovation Mood nostalgic optimistic Type historical analytical When to use this quote - publishing - education - collector markets Key Concepts sociology art history Questions to Reflect On - How did alternative comics change your view? - What barriers remain today? A Different Perspective Mainstream bias still limits some creators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult/) [Alternative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative/) [Alternative Comics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-comics-1370101/) [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comics/) [Comics Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comics-adults-1370099/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creating Comics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating-comics-1370100/) [Eighties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighties/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain/) [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Graphic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic/) [Graphic novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-novels/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Laughable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughable/) [Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer/) [Longest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longest/) [Longest time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longest-time/) [Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most/) [Nobody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty/) [Seemed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seemed/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) ## Related quotes > [It's just an easy catchall to describe a style because there are a lot of alternative comics who are completely different from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/it-s-just-an-easy-catchall-to-describe-a-style-because-there-are-a/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [Things improved a little bit in the '80s; there was kind of a revival of alternative comics, but then they went downhill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/things-improved-a-little-bit-in-the-80s-there-was-kind-of-a-revival/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [There are really funny alternative comics and really funny straight comics who write and perform traditionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/there-are-really-funny-alternative-comics-and-really-funny-straight/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [Underground and alternative comics existed in a vacuum for years, where money really wasn't an issue. No one would get into doing a black-and-white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tomine/underground-and-alternative-comics-existed-in-a-vacuum-for-years/) [Adrian Tomine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tomine/) > [The popularity of '2 Dope Queens' just showed there was like a hunger for new stories because we have alternative comics on our show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-williams/the-popularity-of-2-dope-queens-just-showed-there-was-like-a-hunger/) [Jessica Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-williams/) > [I'm very shy and awkward. I think the best thing is to embrace it. It's about accepting who you are and what you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-hayes/i-m-very-shy-and-awkward-i-think-the-best-thing-is-to-embrace-it-it-s/) [Hunter Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-hayes/) > [For the longest time, you couldn't even say boys and girls were different. It was taboo in the educational world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/for-the-longest-time-you-couldn-t-even-say-boys-and-girls-were/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [We tried our best for the longest time to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the matter, and at each step, we were thwarted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reno/we-tried-our-best-for-the-longest-time-to-negotiate-a-peaceful/) [Janet Reno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reno/) > [Working for Oprah is a dream come true. She was on my dream board for the longest time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tika-sumpter/working-for-oprah-is-a-dream-come-true-she-was-on-my-dream-board-for/) [Tika Sumpter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tika-sumpter/) > [Boyhood is the longest time in life for a boy. The last term of the school-year is made of decades, not of weeks, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booth-tarkington/boyhood-is-the-longest-time-in-life-for-a-boy-the-last-term-of-the/) [Booth Tarkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booth-tarkington/) > [I want to be young for the longest time possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/onew/i-want-to-be-young-for-the-longest-time-possible/) [Onew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/onew/) > [For the longest time, I didn't even want to admit I was serious about music. Before the Shins, I would tell myself, 'Oh, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/for-the-longest-time-i-didn-t-even-want-to-admit-i-was-serious-about/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [I've been wanting to do a book about baseball for the longest time, and nobody will let me do it. It's the one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-ve-been-wanting-to-do-a-book-about-baseball-for-the-longest-time/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you watch wrestling, you now know the hip-hop culture is being represented with wrestling. For the longest time, the cultures have almost been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/if-you-watch-wrestling-you-now-know-the-hip-hop-culture-is-being/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) ## More by Seth > [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/we-must-be-talented-powerful-and-resilient-creatures-indeed-given-how/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [“If you become so frightened of realities that are not your own, if you take upon yourselves tragedies that do not exist in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/if-you-become-so-frightened-of-realities-that-are-not-your-own-if-you/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [The connection economy rewards the leader, the initiator, and the rebel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/the-connection-economy-rewards-the-leader-the-initiator-and-the-rebel/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [There is no other way to change your physical reality but by changing your thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/there-is-no-other-way-to-change-your-physical-reality-but-by-changing/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [The search for the right answer is the enemy of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/the-search-for-the-right-answer-is-the-enemy-of-art/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [If you do not have a loving concern for the environment... it will no longer sustain you - you will not be worthy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/if-you-do-not-have-a-loving-concern-for-the-environment-it-will-no/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [The only real help is self-help. Anything else is just designed to get you to the point where you can help yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/the-only-real-help-is-self-help-anything-else-is-just-designed-to-get/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate. – When people ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/the-easiest-thing-is-to-react-the-second-easiest-thing-is-to-respond/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [“Love. It has always seemed to me that love is a combination of lust and pity. (...) I've got to have some feelings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/love-it-has-always-seemed-to-me-that-love-is-a-combination-of-lust/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [My life is mine and I form it. Tell yourself this often. Create your own life now, using your beliefs as an artist uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/my-life-is-mine-and-i-form-it-tell-yourself-this-often-create-your/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [There's a huge difference between the shallow pleasure of instant applause and the long-lasting impact of true connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/there-s-a-huge-difference-between-the-shallow-pleasure-of-instant/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [Ideas that spread win. Ideas don't have to be selfish to win, in fact, it turns out that the more generous the interactions an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/ideas-that-spread-win-ideas-don-t-have-to-be-selfish-to-win-in-fact/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [A good job is largely anonymous and forgotten (but still important). A personal job, on the other hand, is humanized. It brings us closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/a-good-job-is-largely-anonymous-and-forgotten-but-still-important-a/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [Don’t try to change someone’s worldview is the strategy smart marketers follow. Don’t try to use facts to prove your case and to insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/don-t-try-to-change-someone-s-worldview-is-the-strategy-smart/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) [Explore all 195 Seth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) ## More Adult quotes > [I feel as though I've fooled the world into thinking I'm an adult and now they're letting me procreate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/i-feel-as-though-i-ve-fooled-the-world-into-thinking-i-m-an-adult-and/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I am a big outliner. For my adult book, 'The Visibles,' I did not outline, and it took me two years to write because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/i-am-a-big-outliner-for-my-adult-book-the-visibles-i-did-not-outline/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I have spent my entire adult life trying to make Liberty University the world-class Christian university that was envisioned at its founding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/i-have-spent-my-entire-adult-life-trying-to-make-liberty-university/) [Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/) > [“To love was a privilege not afforded to those of us born in these trying times when survival was never guaranteed. We were products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-x-chang/to-love-was-a-privilege-not-afforded-to-those-of-us-born-in-these/) [Molly X. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-x-chang/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“There's such an intimate kind of beauty in the act of listening to music being created right in front of your eyes, watching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/there-s-such-an-intimate-kind-of-beauty-in-the-act-of-listening-to/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) > [Whether we think of Disney's blonde beauty and her pumpkin carriage or Marissa Meyer's recent recasting of 'Cinderella' as a cyborg in the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-rutkoski/whether-we-think-of-disney-s-blonde-beauty-and-her-pumpkin-carriage/) [Marie Rutkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-rutkoski/) > [You have, unfortunately, a K-12 educational system where the requirements to graduate are not the requirements to be college and career-ready. So if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/you-have-unfortunately-a-k-12-educational-system-where-the/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [Child actors going on to become adult actors never really works, apart from a few. Jodie Foster was the exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lester/child-actors-going-on-to-become-adult-actors-never-really-works-apart/) [Mark Lester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lester/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [“Oh, I don’t mean to infer that you’re not a great guy. I’m sure you’re the exception to the rule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaye-frances/oh-i-don-t-mean-to-infer-that-you-re-not-a-great-guy-i-m-sure-you-re/) [Jaye Frances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaye-frances/) [Browse all 1,153 Adult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I started out in the eighties, the idea of creating serious comics for adults was pretty laughable to most folks, and for the longest time it was hard to even explain what alternative comics or graphic novels were. Nobody seemed to understand or care. 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