Comic books are amazing mediums that capture the imagination of readers. They use visual storytelling to captivate and maintain readers’ attention. Their evolution reflects the shifting cultural and societal landscapes and the evolution in artistic prowess and trends.
For example, the Golden Age was more attuned to vibrant colors, whereas the modern era of comic books pays more attention to darker and more complex narratives. Comic book art leaves a lasting mark on pop culture and now forms the basis of many blockbuster movies, drawing incredible revenue numbers.
Let’s explore the origins of comic books and their evolution over time, culminating in their contemporary prominence.
The Origin of Comic Books
Comic books, as we know them today, draw from distinct traditions and more recent illustrated stories and comic strips. Comic strips crawled in newspapers and magazines before graphic novels and comic books, as we know them today, could proverbially walk.
We can trace modern comics back to the 1930s, starting with publications such as Action Comics #1, which came from publisher Detective Comics (a DC Comics predecessor). These magazines featured a mix of genres, including sci-fi, superheroes, and horrors, and introduced some of the most iconic characters of today. Yes, we’re talking about Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
The Golden Age: A Staple of Comic Book History
Between the 1930s and 1950s the world became a different place, with many advancements and diversification in terms of entertainment. This Golden Age of comic books got its name from the emergence of superheroes.
The most famous superhero of all, Superman, was born in 1938 and was the first character branded as a hero with superpowers fighting for justice and protecting humans.
The second famous hero that “lives” today is Batman. He “was born” a year later, in 1939. He was followed by Wonder Woman in 1941. A thing that all these heroes had in common is that they stood for justice, truth, and bravery. They were main characters of simple stories with a lot of action, where readers could clearly distinguish good from evil.
DC Comics’ ancestor was already a staple in this time period. But Fawcett Comics was not far off. Actually, Captain Marvel Adventures was the best-selling superhero of this era with impressive sales of over 1.4 million copies per issue. Captain America “was born” in 1941, springing a popular genre of patriotic heroes in red, white, and blue fighting the Axis powers during the Second World War.
The Atomic Age of Comics
This is a short period of time lasting from 1945, after the Second World War was over, until the 1950s when the popularity of superheroes started to wane. Instead, comic publishers moved closer to genres like westerns, war, sci-fi, romance, horror, and crime.
Many superhero comics from DC Comics were renamed (ex. All-Star Comics with the Justice Society of America became All-Star Western) or cancelled altogether. The new media focus was on mystery, space, and suspense. Comic books were now meant to reduce the fear of nuclear war and atomic power fights.
The Silver Age of Comics
The end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s brought the Silver Age. This period saw a renewed interest in comics. Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, visionaries who started the Golden Age revolution, continued to shape the niche market.
For DC Comics, the Silver Age started with the modern version of the Flash (Showcase #4, 1956). Martian Manhunter, introduced a year prior, is considered by others to be the first hero of the Silver Age of comics. Many of the heroes thriving in the 1940s returned: Aquaman, Atom, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, while Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman restarted a new superhero age.
Marvel capitalized on DC Comics’ newfound success with the Justice League of America, which had a team consisting of the most popular superheroes. The Fantastic Four (1961) was launched by Stan Lee as a response to DC’s team of superheroes. Under his guidance, Marvel began to rise in popularity. They created countercultural superheroes driven by angst and irreverence (Spiderman, Hulk, The X-Men).
Superhero power was now obtained through science, inspired by co-occurring science fiction, whereas in the Golden Age, it was the result of magic or mysticism.
Other comics publishers of the time were Harvey Comics (Richie Rich, Little Dot, Casper the Friendly Ghost), Gilberton (illustrating classic stories like Oliver Twist and Frankenstein), Dell Comics (with comics inspired by TV shows like The Twilight Zone and Top Hat), and Gold Key Comics (with comics featuring characters like Bugs Bunny).
The Bronze Age of Comic Books
This period lasted from the 1970s to 1985. The new stories focused on character development, realism, and social issues. New and old superhero stories like Green Lantern and Green Arrow started to discuss political and social themes, being more in tune with how things were in real life at the time.
Gothic horrors came to life with Swamp Thing at the hands of Bernie Wrightson. Other characters rising to prominence during this time were Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, Beowulf, Warlord, and Tarzan.
The death of Gwen Stacy, Spiderman’s longtime girlfriend, is considered an essential Bronze Age event. It was the cornerstone of the movement toward darker tones and a willingness to subvert readers’ expectations. Other influential comic books of the age are Watchmen, The Sandman, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Stan Lee even wrote a comic book story about drug abuse (Green Goblin Reborn!) at the request of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. This moment led to a relaxation of rules from the Comics Code Authority, leading to more complex and darker stories and themes.
Characters like Swamp Thing, Ghost Rider, and Dracula grew, while superhero power waned again, leading to cancellations. Instead, DC and Marvel focused more on monster stories, horrors, and westerns. Many independent and alternative comics emerged, pinpointing the rise of the graphic novel.
The Modern Age
This era started in the 1980s, marking the rise of various genres and formats, including digital comics. It continues to this day. It is also known as the Dark Age of Comic Books, thanks to the artistic influence of darker comics like Watchmen or Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Comic books, once considered niche, have gained mainstream acceptance as forms of art and literature. Many comic book characters are redesigned, and many independent publishers and stories emerge to stardom.
Some popular comic books of the modern era of comics include:
- Saga – A sci-fi epic exploring themes of family, politics, and love with beautiful artwork and innovative storytelling.
- The Walking Dead – Robert Kirkman’s series is a horror-drama following a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world invaded by zombies. This title became a worldwide phenomenon and produced a number of successful TV shows.
- The Boys – This superhero satire follows a team of vigilantes trying to take down hypocritical superheroes.
- The Umbrella Academy – This superhero drama follows a dysfunctional family of young superheroes on their quest to stop the world from ending.
Other famous titles are Sin City and The Dark Knight Returns, which are by Frank Miller, a specialist in gritty and noir visuals, and titles such as Saga, Scott Pilgrim, and, more recently, BioWars (2013).
This is the age of Marvel antiheroes, with character names like Wolverine, the Punisher, Elektra, Venom, and Cable, and ambiguous characters from DC, such as John Constantine, Lobo, and Hellblazer.
DC Comics and Marvel changed their stories and brought new dynamics with universe reboots, the death of superheroes, and their eventual re-emergence. They continue to shape and reshape their universes, removing and introducing new and old characters as their stories demand.
Conclusion
Comic books have evolved over the years, but they continue to inspire and entertain us, generation after generation. And the future only seems brighter and brighter, with more diversity and the option of reading comics on your tablet, computer, or phone.
Whether you're a fan of the old-school classics or the latest superhero saga, there's no denying the magic of comic books. They're more than just stories; they're a window into our dreams and our hopes.
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