~ Comics Books ~

Comic Books: aka comic strips, aka graphic novels, aka…

• Can be defined as visual narratives with juxtaposed images.

• Words and text are not required, but in general adds to the narrative flow.

Comic BooksComic Strips

Graphic Novels and NovellasComic MagazinesFumetti (Italian)

Bande Dessine (French)Manga (Japanese)

History: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Wikipedia

• Prehistory – Cave Paintings• Ancient Times – Egyptian Hieroglyphics• 1895 - Richard Felton Outcault’s The Yellow Kid, in Joseph

Pulitzer’s The New York World newspaper• 1930-1950 – The Adventures begin (The Golden Age)• 1956-1971 – Creation of the Comic Code Authority (The

Silver Age)• 1971-1980 – Comics as Art (The Bronze Age)• 1980-1987 – Death of a Superhero (The Iron Age)• 1987-Present – Out of the Basement and into the Big

Screen

The Golden Age1930 – 1950

• Modern comic books first published and enjoyed surge of popularity.

• The archetype of the superhero created and defined. • Many famous superheroes debuted: Superman, Batman, Captain

America, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel. • One event cited for the beginning of the Golden Age was the

1938 debut of Superman in Action Comics #1, published by a predecessor of modern-day DC comics. (What does predecessor mean?)

• Superman’s creation by Jerome Siegal and Joseph Shuster made comic books into a major industry.

The Silver Age1956 – 1971

• Period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American Comic books, mostly in superhero genre.

• Important writers and artists: Stan Lee, John Romita Sr. • Popularity and circulation of comic books about superheroes declined

following WWII.• Comics about horror, crime, and romance took larger shares of the market. • Controversy: alleged links between comic books and juvenile delinquency. • 1954: publishers implemented Comics Code Authority to regulate comic

content. • Began introducing superhero stories again beginning with a new version of

DC’s The Flash in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956)• DC began Justice League of America, which prompted Marvel to create the

Fantastic 4. • Collectible: Amazing Fantasy, debut of Spider-Man worth $1.1 million.

The Bronze Age1971 – 1980

• The Bronze Age retained many of the conventions of the Silver Age.• Mainstay of the industry: traditional superhero titles. • However, return of darker plot elements and socially relevant storylines

featuring real-world issues like drug use, alcoholism, and environmental pollution.

• The term Bronze Age was first used by comic book fandom and later the Overstreet Price Guide to refer to the more mature and modern comic books of the early 70s to the mid-80s.

• April 1970 issue of Green Lantern, where the character Green Arrow experiences poverty and self-doubt.

• The era also encompassed major changes in the distribution of and audience for comic books. Over time, the medium shifted from cheap mass market products sold at newsstands to expensive products sold at specialty comic book shops. The shift allowed small-print publishers to enter the market.

The Iron Age1980 – 1987

• The Modern Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period in the history of mainstream American comic books lasting from mid 1980s until today.

• Characters became darker, more psychologically complex (ex. Superman). • Large publishing houses became commercialized: DC & Marvel• The Rise of Independent Publishers: Mause• Fantasy, Horror, and “Sophisticated Suspense:” Since the Comic Code in the

1950s, authors and publishers steered away from science fiction and horror. The Iron Age changed that.

• The 1990s and 2000s saw many comic books created into movies. • In the mid-1970s, anti-heroes (Wolverine, Punisher, Elektra) challenged the

model of the superhero as a cheerful humanitarian. They began to have much more developed characteristics, storylines, backgrounds, and inner problems.

• Rise of Manga

1895 : Congratulations! It’s a Comic!

• Richard Felton Outcault’s The Yellow Kid – first “real” comic strip

• Primarily humoristic – called the Funnies, the Famous Funnies, the Comics, etc.

1930-1950: It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

• Jerome Siegal and Joseph Shuster create Superman in June 1938.

• Detective Comics (DC) introduces Batman in 1939.

• Marvel Comics introduces the Human Torch and Captain America.

• Will Eisner’s The Spirit (1940).

• World War II a boon for comic books.– DC stressed a common

interest in public welfare and a strong government

– Marvel stressed patriotism

1956-1971: It’s a Comic! Burn it with fire!

• Loss of readers after WWII due to lack of purpose and competition with television and radio.

• Attracted attention of Senate investigations, particularly popular “horror” themed comics.

• Dr. Fredric Wertham’s The Seduction of the Innocent (1954).• Comics Code Authority – to self-police the industry.• Comic themes moved from consensus to critical.• Marvel introduces heroes with weaknesses such as the Hulk

(i.e., anger management) and Spiderman (i.e., teenage angst).

1971-1980: We’re artists and we need money!

• Shift from social issues to an emphasis on form and stylistic details– Sharp rise in non-superhero comics such as

Conan the Barbarian and Ghost Rider.

• Reshuffling of comic creators and reimagining of popular characters.

• Creation of the Academy of Comic-Book Arts (ACBA) and the Comic Guild.– Largely unsuccessful.

• First update of the Comics Code Authority.

• DC And Marvel began to license out their characters to movie and television shows deals to make revenue.

1980-1987: Why so Serious? :(

• Form becomes content.• Heroes began questioning

their own heroism and face their mortality.

• Growing popularity of anti-heroes.– Grim and gritty genres and

stories.

• Comic distribution shifts to specialty retail shops.– Rising prices and profits.– Targets loyal fanbase over

casual readers. – Creates the “nerd niche” in

comic book readership.

1987-Present: From nerd closets to Summer Blockbusters

• Reconstruction of genre.• Comics become collector’s items by the 1990’s (TinTin @

A$1.32 million).• Marvel became first comic book publisher to be listed on the

New York Stock Exchange (as MVL).• CGI: Superhero movies’ best friend.

Manga: What the Neighbors were Doing

• Widely by readers of all ages.• Broad range of genres and subjects.• Increasingly popular worldwide.• Originated during the US occupation

of Japan. – Influenced by the American comic books that

were brought over by soldiers. (1945-1952) But held onto Japanese culture and aesthetic traditions.

• Creation of Astroboy by Tezuka Osamu and Sazae-san by Hasegawa Machiko.

• 1969 saw the first major entry of women artists into manga. (Year 24 Group aka The Magnificent 24s)

Manga Genres: Like Baskin-Robbins ice cream for your eyes!

Shonen Manga

• Action-Adventure – usually with a male hero with slapstick humor and themes of honor.

• Popular settings and themes include: science fiction, sports, robots, technology, and the supernatural.

Shojo Manga

• Romance – usually done along themes of self-realizations with emotional and intense narratives.

• Superheroine – developed into teams of girls and women working together.

Web Comics: In your webs, stealing your work hours!

• T.H.E. Fox - Arguably the first webcomic published on Compuserve and Quantum Link in 1986.

• The late nineties saw an exponential rise in webcomics.• Austin Osueke launches eigoMANGA in 2000, an

independent comic book publisher that published his online “webmanga”. Garners attention from comic book industry and featured in comic book magazines.

• Scott McCloud’s Reinventing Comics, a treatise on webcomics. Advocates digital comics as well as micropayments.

Cool Links: For the cool kids

References

• http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/033comic.html• http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/5537/hist.htm• http://www.wikipedia.com• http://www.mangafox.com/

Sample Webcomics

• http://www.sinfest.net/• http://www.snafu-comics.com/• http://www.nuklearpower.com/• http://penny-arcade.com/• http://www.megatokyo.com/• http://vgcats.com/• http://keychain.patternspider.net/