| American comics | |
|---|---|
.jpg) German refugee child at N.Y. Children's Colony, 1942, reading aSuperman comic book. | |
| Earliest publications | 1842 (comic strips in hardcover book form) 1933 (first modern American comic book) |
| Languages | English |
AnAmerican comic book is a thinperiodical literary work originating inthe United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containingcomics. While the form originated in 1933, Americancomic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication ofAction Comics, which included the debut of thesuperheroSuperman. This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end ofWorld War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake oftelevision[1] and the impact ofthe Comics Code Authority.[1] The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century.
Some fanscollect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more thanUS$1 million.Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect the comic books.
An American comic book is also known as afloppy comic. It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditionalbooks.[2]
American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along withJapanesemanga andthe Franco-Belgian comic books.[note 1]
The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages.
Historically, the size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each7+1⁄2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm).[citation needed] This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4.
In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches.[3][4][5]
The format of the American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially inCanada and theUnited Kingdom.
While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer andartist, or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds.[6]
Particularly in superhero comic books,[7] the art may be divided between:
The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into aplot andstoryline, finalizing it with ascript. After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have the final say before the comic is sent to the printer. Once the comic is ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes.[11]
The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for acomic bookpublisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such asDiamond Comic Distributors, the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers.
Another aspect of the process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s).Fan art andletters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition.
The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such asBig Apple Comix, continued somewhat in the tradition of the earlierunderground comics, while others, such asStar Reach, resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist.
This so-called "small press" scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in the 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The "minicomics" form, an extremely informal version ofself-publishing, arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses.
The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collectedcomic strips inhardcover book form as early as 1842, withThe Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck, a collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 bookHistoire de Mr. Vieux Bois byRodolphe Töpffer.[12]
The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US,The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats, in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—fromcartoonistRichard F. Outcault'snewspapercomic stripHogan's Alley, starring theYellow Kid. The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text byE. W. Townsend, measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover.[12] Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward,[12] the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company'sComic Monthly, did not appear until 1922. Produced in an8+1⁄2-by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted a year.[12][13]
In 1929,Dell Publishing (founded byGeorge T. Delacorte, Jr.) publishedThe Funnies, described by theLibrary of Congress as "a short-lived newspapertabloid insert"[14] and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page,four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than a true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold onnewsstands".[15]The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930.
In 1933, salespersonMaxwell Gaines, sales managerHarry I. Wildenberg, and ownerGeorge Janosik of theWaterbury, Connecticut, companyEastern Color Printing—which printed, among other things, Sunday-papercomic-strip sections – producedFunnies on Parade as a way to keep their presses running.[16] LikeThe Funnies, but only eight pages,[17] this appeared as anewsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from theMcNaught Syndicate, theLedger Syndicate, and theBell-McClure Syndicate.[18] These included such popular strips as cartoonistAl Smith'sMutt and Jeff,Ham Fisher'sJoe Palooka, andPercy Crosby'sSkippy. Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available onnewsstands, but rather sent it out free as a promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped fromProcter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies.[17] The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals forCanada Drysoft drinks,Kinney Shoes,Wheatenacereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000.[15][19]
Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish the 36-pageFamous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics, which historians consider the first true American comic book;[16] Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing".[15] Distribution took place through theWoolworth'sdepartment-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking a ten-cent pricetag [sic] on the comic books".[15]
When Delacorte declined to continue withFamous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics, Eastern Color on its own publishedFamous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammothAmerican News Company, it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strappedGreat Depression, selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $4,000 in the red.[15] That quickly changed, with the book turning a $30,000 profit each issue starting with #12.[15]Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a newmass medium.
When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisherMalcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve intoDC Comics, to releaseNew Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as atabloid-sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. Ananthology, it mixedhumor features such as thefunny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as theWestern strip "Jack Woods" and the "yellow-peril" adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring aFu Manchu-styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought the comic-book debut ofJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster, the future creators ofSuperman. The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under thepseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created thesupernatural-crimefighter adventureDoctor Occult.[20]
In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partnerHarry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editorVin Sullivan pulled a Siegel/Shuster creation from theslush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story)[21] inAction Comics#1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero,Superman, was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced byFlash Gordon's attire from 1934, evokedcircus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the "superheroes" that would follow.
In early 1939, the success of Superman inAction Comics prompted editors atNational Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response,Bob Kane andBill Finger createdBatman, who debuted inDetective Comics #27 (May 1939).[22] The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as theGolden Age of comic books. It featured extremely large print-runs, withAction Comics andCaptain Marvel selling over half a million copies a month each;[23] comics provided very popular cheap entertainment duringWorld War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books.[24]
In 1941,H. G. Peter andWilliam Moulton Marston, created the female superhero characterWonder Woman, who debuted inAll Star Comics #8 (December 1941) andSensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942.
MLJ'sPep Comics debuted as a superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itselfArchie Comics.
Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished,[25] while the comic-book industry itself expanded.[26] A few well-established characters such asSuperman,Batman andWonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring theFlash andGreen Lantern and convertedAll-American Comics andAll Star Comics toWestern titles, andStar Spangled Comics to awar title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles asStrange Adventures andMystery in Space.Martin Goodman'sTimely Comics, also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starringCaptain America (created byJoe Simon andJack Kirby), theHuman Torch, and theSub-Mariner, briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, withPrize Comics'Young Romance and withYoung Love, the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers.
Dell's comic books accounted for a third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, withWalt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles.[27] Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, andArchie were the major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time playersFawcett andFiction House had ceased publishing.[28]
Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies.[note 2] After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56.[29] The rapid decline followed the introduction of theComics Code Authority in the wake ofSenate hearings on juvenile delinquency, which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics.[30] While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%.[31] The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 ofDwight Eisenhower. The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded.[32] The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off:EC (the prime target of the CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead.[33] By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952).[29]
The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor,romance, television properties, andWesterns. Detective,fantasy, teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, andcomic strip reprints were in decline,[33] withFamous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955.[34]
In the late 1940s and early 1950shorror andtrue-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content,moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades tojuvenile delinquency to drug abuse.[note 3] This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books inSpencer, West Virginia andBinghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across the country.[35] Some cities passed lawsbanning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatristFredric Wertham published his bookSeduction of the Innocent, where he discussed what he perceived assadistic andhomosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled outEC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety, theSenate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954.
In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded theComics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media".[36] A Comic CodeSeal 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 satiricalMad—a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code.[37]
DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash inShowcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as bothTimely andAtlas) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954.[25] The new Flash is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, andShowcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined the bandwagon in 1960.[38]
In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero titleThe Justice League of America), writer/editorStan Lee and artist/co-plotterJack Kirby created theFantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itselfMarvel Comics. With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry,Fantastic Four #1 initiated anaturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby,Steve Ditko,Don Heck, and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with the angsty and irreverent nature of characters likeSpider-Man,Hulk,X-Men andFantastic Four. This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month.[39][40] This was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it.
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While the creators of comics were given credit in the early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic bookcompanies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists likeCarl Barks were not known by their creator's name—Disney comics by Barks were signed "Walt Disney". In the 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published.[41]
Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included theAmerican Comics Group (ACG),Charlton,Dell,Gold Key,Harvey Comics, andTower.
Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarianunderground comix made waves in 1968, following the publication ofRobert Crumb's irregularly publishedZap Comix.Frank Stack had publishedThe Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success.[42] What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, withPrint Mint,Kitchen Sink,Last Gasp andApex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed inhead shops that flourished in the countercultural era.[43]
Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s.[44]
Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote the Modern Horror age. But as of 2009[update] historians and fans use "Bronze Age" to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp.
The development of the "direct market" distribution system in the 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-bookspecialty 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.
In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published byDC Comics,Batman: The Dark Knight Returns andWatchmen, had a profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era.
The growing popularity ofantiheroes such asWolverine and thePunisher exemplified this change, as did the darker tone of some independent publishers such asFirst Comics,Dark Horse Comics, and (founded in the 1990s)Image Comics. This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as "A Death in the Family" in theBatman series (in whichThe Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekickRobin), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of the variousX-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpoweredmutants in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution.
In addition, published formats like thegraphic novel and the relatedtrade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common inbook retail and the collections of USpublic libraries.
Media related toComics of the United States at Wikimedia Commons
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