American comic book
An
American comic book is a small
magazine originating in the
United States containing a
narrative in the
comics form.
Since the invention of the
comic book format in the 1930s, the United States has been the leading producer with only the
British comic (during the inter-war period and up until the 1970s) and Japanese
manga as close competitors in terms of quantity.
The comic book saw a decline from a
World War II high but has increased drastically during the last 30 years. This has been caused by a number of factors, including the advent of the
underground comics, the influence from and rise in popularity of manga and the recognition of the comic medium among academics and literature critics not just as trivial children's entertainment, but as a serious form of literature and art.
A number of
ages or
historical eras are recognized in the history of American comic books.
The Platinum Age
Any comic book published prior to 1937 is considered to be part of the "Platinum Age" of comics.
The first comic book published in the United States is thought to be
The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck, a pirated translation of
Rodolphe Töpffer's "Histoire de M. Vieux Bois" from the 1830s. The English version was published in the U.S. in 1842 as a newspaper supplement.
Future Platinum age comic books would include collections of such well-known American comic strips as
The Yellow Kid,
Popeye and
Mickey Mouse.
|
Cover of Superman #14, dated January-February 1942 |
Comic books developed from earlier
comic strips that had begun appearing in
newspapers in the late 19th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, early comic books began to appear in the form of
pulp magazines collecting previously-published comic strips. Since comic strips at this time were primarily
humorous in nature, the term "comic book" was adapted from "comic strip". This has caused some confusion over time, since "comic book" grew to refer to the medium, not to the type of content being published.
Some credit
Max Gaines with publishing the first American comic book, in the format we know today, with
Funnies on Parade in 1933. He printed an 8-page comic section that folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format containing reprints of comic strips. Others have contended that comic books had begun appearing in the previous decade. The
Belgian comic book "
Tintin au Congo" had already been published in 1931.
In February 1935,
National Periodical Publications published
New Fun Comics, which contained the first original characters and stories in the new format. National followed this up with
Detective Comics (in which
Batman would first appear). Both series were heavily influenced by
pulp magazines, and the content was heavy on
adventure and
detective fiction.
The most significant event in comic book history occurred in 1938 with the publication by National's
Action Comics #1, which introduced
Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster's
Superman, the first comic book
superhero. (Their sale of the first story to National cost them the rights to the character, and millions of dollars in subsequent royalties.) Influenced by the pulps, by the legend of the
Golem of
Prague, and by
Philip Wylie's novel
Gladiator, Superman had
superhuman strength, speed and other abilities; fought crime wearing a bright uniform reminiscent of sideshow-strongman costumes; and lived day-to-day in his
secret identity as a mild-mannered
reporter, Clark Kent. The impact of Superman on comic books cannot be overstated, as within two years most comic-book companies were publishing large lines of superhero titles, and Superman has gone on to become one of the world's most recognizable characters.
The period from 1930 through about 1951 is known as the
Golden Age of comic books. It is characterized by extremely large print runs (comic books being very popular as cheap entertainment during
World War II); erratic quality of stories, art and print quality; and by being a rare industry that provided jobs to an ethnic cross-section of Americans, albeit often at low wages and in
sweatshop working conditions. However, since comic books were primarily aimed at children, many adults remember the era fondly and uncritically, a hallmark of a golden age.
Following the war, new genres were added and old ones expanded upon.
Teen humor (epitomized by
Archie Comics),
funny animal comics (such as those published featuring
Walt Disney's characters),
science fiction,
western,
romance, and
satiric humor comics all found comfortable niches. Except for three enduring originals, Superman, Batman, and
Wonder Woman, superheroes were all but wiped out by 1952.
The Comics Code
In the late 1940s and early 1950s,
horror and
true crime comics flourished, with
EC Comics the most successful, artistically creative, and infamous publisher of such comics, many containing violence and gore. Targeting these and other comics,
politicians and moral crusaders (without any basis of evidence) blamed comic books as a cause of crime,
juvenile delinquency, drug use, and poor grades. The psychiatrist
Frederic Wertham's book
Seduction of the Innocent, obsessed with sadistic and homosexual undertones in superhero comics, raised anxieties about comics. This led the
Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency to take an interest in comic books. As a result of these concerns, schools and parent groups held public comic-book burnings, and some cities
banned comic books. Industry circulation declined drastically.
In the wake of these events, many comics publishers, most notably National and Archie, founded the
Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the
Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media." A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on the satiric
Mad â€" a comic book it changed to magazine format in order to circumvent the Code.
|
Cover of The Avengers #4, dated 1964 |
In the mid-1950s, following the popularity of TV series
The Adventures of Superman, publishers experimented with the superhero once more.
Showcase #4 (National, 1956) introduced the
rebooted hero
The Flash, which began a second wave of superhero popularity known as the
Silver Age of comic books. National expanded its line of superheroes over the next six years, introducing new versions of
Green Lantern,
The Atom,
Hawkman and others.
In 1961 writer/editor
Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter
Jack Kirby created the
Fantastic Four for
Marvel Comics. In a landmark that changed the industry,
The Fantastic Four #1 initiated a
naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons, who squabbled and worried about the likes of rent money. In contrast to the super heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby,
Steve Ditko,
Don Heck and others complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style found an audience among children (who loved the superheroes) and college students (who were entertained by the deeper themes). Marvel was initially restricted in the number of titles it could produce in that its books were distributed by rival National, a situation not alleviated until the late 1960s. This inhibited the introduction of a Lee/Ditko character, first to surpass Superman in sales since writer Bill Parker and artist Clarence "C.C." Beck's original Captain Marvel,
Spider-Man.
National (colloquially called
DC Comics by this time), Marvel, and Archie were the major players in the 1960s. Other notable companies included the low-budget
Charlton, where many professionals such as
Dick Giordano got their start;
Dell;
Gold Key;
Harvey Comics, home of the Harvey cartoon characters (
Casper the Friendly Ghost) and non-animated others (
Richie Rich); and
Tower, best-known for
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a surge of
underground comics occurred. These comics were published independently of the established comic book publishers and most reflected the youth
counterculture and
drug culture of the time. Many were notable for their uninhibited, irreverent style, which hadn't been seen in comics before. The movement is often considered to have been started by Canadian
R. Crumb (Robert Crumb)'s publication of
Zap Comix #1 in 1968. Crumb created
Fritz the Cat and published
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.
The term
Bronze Age is commonly used for the period of American mainstream comics history that begins with a period of concentrated changes to comic books that happened around 1970, particularly in reference to DC and Marvel. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involved many continually published books, making the transition less sharp; not every book can be said to have entered the Bronze Age at the same time.
Changes commonly considered to mark the transition between Silver and Bronze Age include:
* A reshuffling of popular creators, including the retirement of
Mort Weisinger, editor of the Superman books, and the movement of
Jack Kirby to DC, where he created the
Fourth World.
* A boom in non-superhero and borderline superhero comics such as
Conan,
Kamandi,
Jonah Hex,
Swamp Thing,
Ghost Rider, and the revived
Doctor Strange.
* "Relevant" comics which attempted to address serious social issues, such as the Spider-Man drug abuse issues and the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series.
* A loosening in the
Comics Code Authority rules which happened in 1971.
* Revamping of several popular characters, including a "darker" Batman closer to the original version, several changes to Superman such as making him a TV reporter and getting rid of Kryptonite, and a temporary non-powered era for Wonder Woman. The New
X-Men revamp a few years later may be considered part of this trend.
* The death of major characters such as Spider-Man's girlfriend
Gwen Stacy, the
Doom Patrol, and several members of the
Legion of Super-Heroes.
Developments in mainstream comics
The development of a non-returnable "
direct market" distribution system in the 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic book specialty stores across
North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. Between 1970 and 1990, comic book prices rose sharply because of a combination of factors: a nationwide paper shortage, increasing production values, and the minimal profit incentive for stores to stock comic books (due to the small unit price of an individual comic book relative to a magazine). These factors are often pointed to when considering the decline in comic book popularity in America.
|
Cover of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1, dated 1985 |
In the mid-to-late 1980s, two comic book series published by
DC Comics (
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and
Watchmen) had a profound impact upon the American comic book industry. The phenomenal popularity of these series led both of the major publishers (DC and Marvel) to change the content of their titles to a more realistic, "darker" tone, often derisively termed "grim-and-gritty". This change was underscored by the growing popularity of
anti-heroes such as the
Punisher,
Wolverine, and
Spawn, as well as the darker tone of some independent publishers such as
First Comics and
Dark Horse Comics. For a period of several years the pages of mainstream comics were filled with brooding mutants and "dark avengers". This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was also manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as "
A Death in the Family" in the
Batman series (in which Batman's sidekick
Robin was brutally murdered by
The Joker), while at Marvel, the continuing popularity of the various
X-Men books led to storylines such as "
Mutant Massacre" and "Acts of Vengeance."
Though a speculator boom in the early 1990s temporarily increased specialty store sales—collectors "invested" in multiple copies of a single comic to sell at a profit later—these booms ended in a collectibles glut, and comic sales declined sharply in the mid-1990s, leading to the demise of many hundreds of stores. (See
comic book collecting for a more detailed look at the speculator boom.) Today fewer comics sell in North America than at any time in their publishing history. Though the large superhero-oriented publishers like Marvel and DC are still often referred to as the "mainstream" of comics, they are no longer a mass medium in the same sense as in previous decades.
Prestige format
Prestige format comic books are typically longer than standard comic books, typically being of between 48 and 72 pages, and printed on glossy paper with a spine and card stock cover. The format was first used by DC on
Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. The success of this work led to the establishment of the format, and it is now used generally to showcase works by big name creators or to spotlight significant storylines.
These storylines can be serialised over a limited number of issues, or can be standalone. Standalone works published in the form, such as
Batman: The Killing Joke, are sometimes referred to either as
graphic novels or novellas.
Independent and alternative comics
 |
Art Spiegelman's Maus |
Comic specialty stores did help encourage several waves of independent-produced comics, beginning in the late 1970s. The first of these was generally referred to as "independent" or "
alternative comics"; some of these continued somewhat in the tradition of underground comics, while others resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist, and a few (notably
RAW) were experimental attempts to bring comics closer to the world of
fine art.
The "small press" scene continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in the 1990s changing the format and distribution of their books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The "
minicomics" form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing, arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small press. "Art comics" has sometimes been used as a general term for alternative, small-press, or minicomic artists working outside of mainstream traditions. Publishers and artists working in all of these forms stated a desire to refine
comics further as an art form.
Wider recognition of comics
Some comic books have gained recognition and earned their creators awards from outside the genre, such as
Art Spiegelman's
Maus (which won the
Pulitzer Prize) and
Neil Gaiman's
The Sandman (an issue of which won the
World Fantasy Award for "Best Short Story"). Though not a comic book itself,
Michael Chabon's comic-book themed
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay won the 2001
Pulitzer Prize for
fiction.
Popular interest in superheroes increased with the success of feature
films such as
X-Men (2000) and
Spider-Man (2002). To capitalize on this interest, comics publishers launched concerted promotional efforts such as
Free Comic Book Day (first held on
May 5,
2002). In addition, the filmed adaptation of non-superhero comic books like
Ghost World,
Road to Perdition, and
American Splendor raised hopes that the medium's image can be changed for the better.
Decline of serial comic book format
In the early 2000s, sales of monthly comic books (22-to-30 page issues) has continued to decline, while there has been a steady increase in sales of graphic novels at retail bookstores. Besides the shift toward graphic novels among comics publishers, traditional book publishers such as Pantheon have released several dozen graphic novels in the last decade, including many works that were originally released by comics publishers with much less publicity.
Comic-book industry insiders have publicly opined that the era of monthly comic books may be coming to an end. While this cautionary note has been sounded at intervals since the 1970s, when paper shortage contributed to cover prices being raised for the first time in a decade, the industry now has the alternative of graphic novels. Many publishers have begun planning for their stories to run for a page-length appropriate for binding into a graphic novel.
The superhero genre has dominated American comic books for half a century. Before the 1960s, there were popular comics in many genres, including funny animal comics,
westerns,
romance,
horror,
war stories, and
crime, with dozens of publishers small and large. This diversity disappeared rapidly in the 1950s, due to two factors.
The first was a series of highly publicized campaigns against "unwholesome" children's comics, leading to the establishment of the highly restrictive
Comics Code Authority. Although the Code severely constrained superhero comics, it completely banned the grittier genres. This wiped out many small publishers, but left the large superhero companies intact.
Secondly,
television drew away much of the audience for light entertainment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By the time publishers moved away from the Comics Code and produced something other than light entertainment, television and
movies were far more profitable. However, comics were still able to depict outlandish action-oriented adventures such as superhero tales without expensive
special effects and in a higher volume than the movie industry.
Typical prices of a new, standard size, mainstream (DC/Marvel) comic book:Timing varies slightly by publisher as not all publishers changed prices at the same time(data samples taken from X-Men, Action Comics and Avengers cover price listings in ComicBase 10 Archive Edition)
* Prior to 1962 $ .10
* 1962 - 1969 $ .12
* 1969 - 1971 $ .15
* 1971 - 1974 $ .20
* 1974 - 1976 $ .25
* 1976 - 1977 $ .30
* 1977 - 1979 $ .35
* 1979 - 1980 $ .40
* 1980 - 1981 $ .50
* 1982 - 1985 $ .60
* 1985 - 1986 $ .65
* 1986 - 1988 $ .75
* 1988 - 1991 $ 1.00
* 1992 - 1995 $ 1.25
* 1995 - 1996 $ 1.50
* 1996 - 1997 $ 1.95
* 1997 - 2000 $ 1.99
* 2000 - 2005 $ 2.25
* 2005 - 2006 $ 2.50
* 2006 - Present $ 2.99
The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck Famous Funnies #1 - first magazine compilation of comic strips
New Fun #1 (1935) - first comic magazine with new material rather than reprints
Detective Comics #1 (1937) - first comic book devoted exclusively to one
genreAction Comics #1 (1938) - introduction of
Superman by
Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster Marvel Comics #1 (1939)
Detective Comics #27 (1939) - introduction of
Batman by
Bill Finger and
Bob Kane Whiz Comics #2 (1940) - introduction of
Captain Marvel by
Bill Parker and
C.C. BeckCaptain America Comics #1 (1940) - by
Joe Simon and
Jack Kirby All-Star Comics #8 (December 1941) - 1st appearance of
Wonder Woman by
William Moulton MarstonWalt Disney's Comics and Stories and Donald Duck Comics Tales from the Crypt (and other
EC titles)
MADShowcase #4 (1956) - first appearance of
Barry Allen Flash. Beginning of the
Silver Age of Comic Books.
The Fantastic Four #1 (1961) by
Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) - First appearance of the
Incredible HulkAmazing Fantasy #15 (1962) - introduction of
Spider-Man by
Stan Lee and
Steve Ditko X-Men #1 (1963) by
Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby - 1st appearance of
X-MenZap Comix by
Robert CrumbThe Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1971) - Death of Gwen Stacy.
Bronze Age of Comic Books begins.
Savage Tales #1 (1971) - first black and white comics magazine from a major comics publisher; first appearance of
Man-Thing House of Secrets #92 (1971) by
Len Wein and
Berni Wrightson - introduction of
Swamp Thing, foreshadowing
VertigoThe Incredible Hulk #180-181 (1974) - first appearance of
WolverineGiant Size X-Men #1 (1975) by
Len Wein and
Dave Cockrum - 70s relaunch of title with NEW team. 1st appearance of
Storm (Ororo Munroe),
Colossus (
Peter Rasputin),
Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner).
Wolverine joins team.
Marvel Presents #7 (1976) - first explicitly sexual scene in a mainstream,
Comics Code-approved book, by
Steve Gerber and
Al MilgromDestroyer Duck #1 - the first comicbook used as a
fundraiser for
legal aid in a
lawsuit against a comics company, by Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby
Swamp Thing Vol. 2, #29 (1984) - first book from a mainstream publisher to permanently forego the Comics Code, by
Alan Moore and
Stephen R. BissetteBatman: The Dark Knight Returns by
Frank Miller Watchmen by
Alan Moore and
Dave GibbonsCrisis on Infinite Earths (1985) #1 to #12 - Complete restructuring of
DC Comics universe, by
Marv Wolfman and
George PérezThe Sandman (1988) by
Neil GaimanDeath: The High Cost of Living (1992) - first comic published under the Vertigo imprint
Exiles (1993) by writers Steve Gerber, Tom Mason, Dave Olbrich and Chris Ulm, and artist Paul Pelletier - first comic book of the
Ultraverse and the first comic in which superhero
incompetence is played for
tragedy rather than
comedy (such as The
Inferior Five or the
Great Lakes Avengers).
Identity Crisis (2004) #1 to #7 - The reintroduction of the importance of secret identities in the DC Comics universe.
*
List of films based on American comic books*
All in Color for a Dime by Dick Lupoff & Don Thompson ISBN 0873414985
*
The Comic Book Makers by
Joe Simon with Jim Simon ISBN 1887591354
*
DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes by Les Daniels ISBN 0821220764
*
The Great Comic Book Heroes by
Jules Feiffer ISBN 1560975016
*
Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics by Les Daniels ISBN 0810938219
*
Masters of Imagination: The Comic Book Artists Hall of Fame by Mike Benton ISBN 0878338594
*
The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide by Robert Overstreet â€" Edition #35 ISBN 037572107X
*
The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 1 & 2, by
James Steranko â€" Vol. 1 ISBN 0517501880
The
Comics Buyer's Guide's
Comic Book Sales Charts and Sales Analysis Pages
