A brief history of comics... Part 1

As anyone that knows me will be able to tell you, I'm a massive fan of the comic world.  I will confess, I am not the biggest source of knowledge when it comes to comics. In fact; my memory often leaves me when I most need it.  But despite all this I will still try give you a run down of what I know.

I was lucky to be brought into this marvelous world by my father, who was an avid collector (at least until the stories started getting out of hand).  Thanks to him I can give you an idea of what happened in all the different ages (This is what the different era/generations of comics are called).  I will also give you a better idea of where everything came from, what I believe their plans are, and where we will most likely land up.

The origins

The start of it all, the years of the mystery men.  The times of what if I could actually...
Admitedly I don't know much about these comics other than they were the prelude to greater revolution.  However wikipedia has kindly offered (okay not offered, but I have cited them tyvm) their knowledge to me.  According to wiki one of the more mainstream british comics started in this era, although now it has sunk to a shadow of its former glory... the beano and the dandy.  These are the more family friendly comics that one day spawned the likes of Dennis the menace (not the one you know) and his pal gnasher.

The Golden Age (1938-1950)

This is where most fans believe comics really began.  The start of the skyrocketing popularity of comics, which saw the advent of heroes such as Superman, Batman, and Green lantern for DC, and Namor and Captain America for Marvel.

These comics are usually very rare and extremely expensive. Most people wonder how a comic can be worth that much (Action Comics #1 sold for over $2,1 million in 2011).  The answer is actually quite silly.  During the golden age something incredible had happened, that would only happened once before and has not since been repeated... The world went to war.  Of course not only did this kick-start the comic industry, as everyone sought a bit of escapism, but it also resulted in the biggest attrocity to happen to comics.  Recycling.  Kids were marched by their parents to do their civil duty, to hand in all recyclable paper (ie their comics) in order to create war posters.

But the war ended, the allies won leaving comic manufacturers to spin massive tales of victory.

Footnote: Walt disney comics out sold all others during this time.

 


The Silver age (1950-1970)

These are probably the years my father looks fondly back on, as this is the age he started collecting in. Most comics in this era were still the one story kind, with very few major events.  Each title had its dedicated team, and no thought was given to contingency within the different universes.  With many of the golden age readers growing older and losing interest, the market geared itself up for major renovations.  This age saw in the introduction of the team aspect.  With teams such as the JLA and Fantastic four coming in.  However the individual heroes did not die out.  Spiderman and the Flash were amongst those being introduced.

This age was not without its fair share of controversy though.  Characters were reinvented.  Many people were against this (as many people always are when confronted with change).  When writers were faced with the challenge of how to change characters, without scaring away loyal fans of older titles, they came up with an interesting idea (not quite new to sci-fi lovers): Create an alternate universe.  This was an awful idea, with repurcussions would only be felt in years to come.

Footnote: Harvey comics first made their appearance at this time (the makers of casper, little lotta, huey, etc)

TO BE CONTINUED...