There's no question that Marvel has more depth and complexity and it translates to the big screen as well as in the books.
To quote this History Channel Documentary, "When you're a kid you read DC. Then, as you get older with more adult sensibilities, you graduate to Marvel."
It's true, DC was fine when you're a kid. I read JLA a lot back then. When you grow up you do indeed graduate to Marvel. That's a true sign of maturity.
shareExpecting depth in a comic is like expecting depth in a puddle of water - BOTH major publishers are notoriously shallow
DC's superheroes are more fantastical, more God-like than Marvels so possibly for younger readers its harder to relate to the characters and stories. Superman has never really appealed to me as he's just too powerful. Batman is just a symbol of fascism...a billionaire dishing out justice - yeah right. Green lantern - who gives a damn
I used to be an avid reader of Marvel comics in the 1980s but hardly read any DC - I lived in England and simply a lot of newsagents never even stocked DC stuff. Though of that era I can recall that DCs hottest line was The New Teen Titans rivalling The X Men. JLA was very solid at the time too.
I think DC were more willing to take crazy risks at the time so we had stuff like Captain Carrot And His Amazing Zoo Crew - a superhero pastiche series starring funny animal versions of superheroes...
Also remember that DC and their offshoots have been involved with some of the genres more adult work - Watchmen, Dark Knight, Kingdom Come...so to knock DC as child-ish compared to Marvel is tad stupid