The chronological revolution in Comic Books
Are you an ARCHIE fan? What do you support- DC Comics or MARVEL? And what about MANGA series like Naruti and Death note? Comics are our sassy way of reading, right?
Well, do you know the genesis of comics and where they stand today? The article traces down the trajectory of comic books. It presents to you the most impactful and awesome comics from the ancient age to the age of digitalization.
According to Duncan and Smith in The Power of Comics, “Comics is a useful general term for designating the phenomena of juxtaposing images in a sequence.” Simplistically, Comic books or comics are a narrative told through sequential pictures. Comics have dialogues and narration- basically less of reading material and more pictures. They are also capable of conveying messages through just pictures with minimal dialogues. Let’s go through the trajectory of birth and the blooming age of comics.
Figuring the Origin
Are you familiar with broadsheets? If not, well not a problem, but you must be familiar with this.
Well, this is a broadsheet. If you could call anything that starts the spark of comics are broadsheets. Amul is one of the major brands to have broadsheets, however, the concept is age-old.
Since the broadsheets have animation with either ‘dialogue bubbles’ or just dialogues, thus they are thought to be a trendsetter. John Petty in A Brief History of Comic Books says, “most would agree that true comics began on May 5, 1895, in the pages of the New York World with the first appearance of R.F. Outcault’s Hogan’s Alley… This single-panel humor cartoon, which focused on the shenanigans of a group of young hooligans, introduced The Yellow Kid, one of the most popular fictional characters of the first few decades of the 20th Century.”
With the launch of Famous Funnies, a trend set up of perceiving comics in the funny genre. However, “Some, like visionary artist Winsor McCay, flourished in the fantasy field, and brought the odd and surreal to the printed page in strips like Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend, Little Sammy Sneeze, and, most successfully, Little Nemo in Slumberland,” mentions Petty.”
Thus, the division of comics could be done into 5 major ages:
THE GOLDEN AGE
The first publication to set apart the comics from funny to action genre was the Action Comics. Action comics came in 1938 and presented the eternal character, ‘The Man of Steel, Superman.’ Petty comments, “The product of two teenage boys from Cleveland, Ohio, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman was an overnight sensation and forever transformed the fledgling comic book industry. It is the publication of ACTION #1 that marks the beginning of the “Golden Age” of comics.”
THE ATOMIC AGE
It was the CRIMINAL age (don’t take the terminology seriously) well, it was an age of sudden shift in the genre. Comics started inculcating ‘crime fiction.’ Petty marks, “Crime and gangsters were hot! Radio gave us “Dragnet,” “The Shadow,” “The Black Museum,” “Crime Classics,” and “Night Beat,” and comics were quick to jump on the bandwagon. CRIME EXPOSED (1948), TRUE CRIME COMICS (1947), CRIMES BY WOMEN (1948), THE KILLERS (1947), and many, many more crime titles littered the newsstands, fueling the public’s insatiable appetite for “true crime” stories (an appetite that continues unabated to this day.”
This genre in the comics saved the industry from downfall. Gradually, comics started encapsulating HORROR which gave way to SCI-FI in the industry. A few examples Petty quotes are “THE VAULT OF HORROR, THE CRYPT OF TERROR, THE HAUNT OF FEAR…. And science-fiction wasn’t neglected, either. There were books like WEIRD SCIENCE, WEIRD FANTASY, and INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION.”
Dr. Frederic Wertham, a psychiatrist claimed that the genre started converting youth into criminals. This created a whirlpool and the Supreme court start interfering for the same. Thus, the comics community together in alliance banned ‘terror’ and ‘horror’ genres from the comics.
THE SILVER AGE
Do you know Julia Schwartz? You might or you might not, but you definitely be knowing THE FLASH!
The Flash was the creation of the prolific writer Schwartz. Petty says, “The Flash! After three more try-outs in SHOWCASE, the Flash graduated to his own starring book, and the Silver Age of Comics was born.”
Other superheroes revived with The flash- “And then, inevitably, subscribing to the theory that if one is good, more is better, they all met in the pages of THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the greatest gathering of heroes the world had ever known,” state Petty.
In the angst of booming recognition of Superman and The Flash, Martin Goodman, the publisher of Atlas/Marvel line of comics, introduced The Fantastic Four in November 1961. Petty posits, “…Marvel introduced such icons as Spider-Man, Thor, the Hulk, Iron Man, and the X-Men. Comics became hip with the college crowd, and, by about 1964, comic collecting became an increasingly organized hobby.”
THE BRONZE AGE
In the bronze age, comics started dealing with drug abuse, racism, poverty, and pollution. “It was a time of experimentation and expansion, about seeing how far the envelope could be pushed. It was a time of transformation. For the first time, heroes began questioning their motivations, just as their creators had been questioning their government on topics ranging from Vietnam to drug enforcement laws for several years,”
“…it would not be remiss to note that 1980, with the election of Ronald Reagan to the White House, saw a societal shift that was definitely felt in the comics world. However you look at it, by 1980 the Bronze Age was well and truly over.”
THE MODERN AGE
“The1980s also saw the influx of British creators to American comics, in a move that has been termed “The Second British Invasion.” Writers such as Alan Moore and artists including Dave Gibbons, John Bolton, Brian Bolland, and Alan Davis brought a new, fresh sensibility to comics. Moore and Gib- bons created one of the most revolutionary works of the de- cade with WATCHMEN…It artfully deconstructed the superhero genre, and brought cape-and-cowl characters, some kicking and scream- ing, into the new era,” says Petty.
According to Petty, by the end of the 20th century, paperbacks were introduced which disturbed the traditional packing of comics. Comics have finally come into their own, and those of us that have been around for the ride since we were kids couldn’t be happier.
EXPERT’S VIEWS
The experience of reading a printed comic book will never change, but now, thanks to the digital age, there are many different ways to enjoy the same story. Digital comic books, of course, can be interactive in many different ways, allowing the reader to feel like a participant in the story.
-Stan Lee, ActorOnce regarded as one of the lower forms of mass entertainment, comic books are today widely considered to be potentially capable of complex and profound expression as both literally and visual art forms.
-Nancy Dziedric and Scot Peacock, Literary critics
Conclusion
Thus, in conclusion, today, the comics industry is as diverse as it’s ever been. Readers and collectors can find comics to fit any taste, including crime, horror, western, romance…. even superheroes! Major bookstores carry comic books now, and their offshoots, the “graphic novel.”
Moreover, movies are taking inspiration from comic characters- therefore the ones who are not introduced to the comic world are a part of it anyway. Films like “Spider-Man, The X-Men, Batman, the Hulk, Daredevil and Elektra, with Superman and Wonder Woman,” are million-dollar project creating world-wide fans of comics.
The community is growing stronger and impacting the entertainment industry in all ways possible. We are sure, you are excited and thrilled to pick up an old comic of yours and read it. Do it! See whether you can find the characteristics you just read.
Compelling. Isn’t it?
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