During my second year at college I took up the Extended Project Qualification. This allows you to write up a 5,000 page essay on a chosen subject and being a comic geek I quickly decided on a topic. I thought that now it has been marked I will publish it on my blog for all to read. :)
To what extent did the silver age of comics (1956-1985)
revolutionise the industry?
When DC
Comics’ editor, Julius Schwartz, published Showcase #4 in 1956 featuring the
reinvented fastest man alive, the Flash, he sparked the most revolutionising
age in the history of comics. The age that introduced a new universe of
characters such as world famous Spider-Man and revived the superhero genre that
is still going strong today. The age that readers call today, the ‘Silver Age’.
In prequel
to the Silver Age, there was the Golden Age which ran from late 1930s (where characters
such as Batman and Superman were created) to 1956. During the time of the
Second World War, comics such as Captain America were influenced by what was
happening in society and so became a source of morale boosting as they reflected
American patriotism. An example of this would be the cover to Captain America
Comics #1, printed in 1941 (the year America joined the war) which showed
Captain America winning a fight against Adolf Hitler. However, after World War
II, when times were at peace, the demand for superhero books began to fade away
leaving comic publishing companies to focus on different genres such as crime
and horror. The excessive gore found in
these comics led to widespread condemnation, with Frederic Wertham, a
pop-psychologist, blaming comic books for juvenile delinquency. Wertham wrote, “I have come to the conclusion that this
chronic stimulation, temptation and seduction by comic books, both their content and their alluring advertisement of
knives and guns, are contributing factors to many children’s maladjustment”.
The aftermath of Wertham’s findings inspired a
campaign for censorship and thus the Comic Code Authority (CCA) was established
in September, 1954. A specialist in juvenile delinquency, Charles F. Murphy, was put in
charge of the authority, creating the various publication policies of comics
that had to be obeyed if they wished to print and distribute titles. Examples
of these policies vary from “No comic
magazine shall use the words ‘horror’ or ‘terror’ in its title” to “Scenes dealing with, or instruments
associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism,
and werewolfism are prohibited.”
These specific policies were responsible for the
shutdown of most of EC Comics’ titles, a publishing company specializing in
everything the CCA prohibited. It is interesting to note if these policies were
still in place today many popular franchises such as the Walking Dead would not
exist.
I would argue that this ban on comic content, predominantly
effecting the horror, crime and romance genre, helped revive superhero comics
in the Silver Age as publishers were now restricted to what they could and
could not print. This is reinforced with a ‘what if?’ article written in
Bleeding Cool magazine that addresses the possibility of Congress failing to
establish the CCA and so “William Gaines gets to keep publishing his EC Comics
horror and crime titles” and publishers “would expect a growing older audience
for comic books.” This
would have meant, as pointed out in the article, that characters in comics would
continue as monsters and criminals. The Fantastic Four would have been created
as the “Ferocious Four” and Spider-Man would have been an eight legged beast,
meaning comics would not be as they are today.
In the late 1950s/early 60s, DC Comics reached a large
readership when they reintroduced and reinvented many old superheroes such as
the Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman. When Marvel Comics (another publisher who at the
time specialised in sci-fi stories starring various monsters trying to take
over the world) noticed the success DC were having with their new
titles the ‘Marvel Age’ was born.
The Marvel Age, starting in 1961, was
one of the most significant chapters of the Silver Age as it birthed a series
of characters that are very famous today such as Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men. In
an attempt to almost mimic one of DC’s top selling books, the Justice League of
America, long term collaborators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic
Four, a comic that they themselves would want to read. This comic helped revolutionize the industry
as it introduced the idea that these superhuman characters could be relatable
to their audience as each member of the Fantastic Four were given personal
problems and did not always work well as a team. Following these characters came
the bullied school kid, Peter Parker as Spider-Man, the blind Matt Murdock as
Daredevil as well as the mutant X-Men who were hated by the public despite the
good deeds they did.
The X-Men comic
focused around the theme of discrimination and racism, tying in with the Civil
Rights Movement that was happening during this time. This was highlighted by
Uncanny X-Men writer, Chris Claremont, in 1981 when he said, “The X-Men are hated, feared and despised
collectively by humanity for no other reason than that they are mutants. So
what we have here, intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and
prejudice."
The reason why members of the X-Men were discriminated against is in the
title. The ‘X’ stands for the fictional ‘X-Gene’ that these characters possess
as the source of their power which makes them different to the world, a factor
of vulnerability that no other super team had to face. Spider-Man is another
example of a very strong character that readers could possibly identify
themselves with as in 1962, he was a geeky student at a high school just like
most of his audience. In fact, I believe he was one of the first teenage
superheroes who was not a sidekick such as Robin in Batman!
Another key feature of the Silver Age is the
characterization of not just the super heroes, but their surrounding cast. As I
have already mentioned Spider-Man quite a bit I feel like I should use his
friends and family as a reference to this point. Since the death of his
parents, Peter Parker lived with his older Aunt May and Uncle Ben. In
Spider-Man’s origin, the tragic murder of Uncle Ben took place, which Spidey
always blamed himself for and so took his Uncle’s teaching,
‘with great power comes great responsibility’ to heart. When we got the chance
to speak to his creator, Stan Lee, at London Super Comic Convention (due
to our work on a comic magazine we produced called ‘First Class Comic Review’)
we asked him how he invented this motto to which Stan Lee said “I don’t know, I
just did” which we thought was very cool!
The fact that Peter and Aunt May now only had each other
creates stories of massive bonding, something which was emotionally absent in
the Golden Age of comics. This has recently been drawn upon in today’s issues,
particularly Amazing Spider-Man #38 (Volume 2, 2004) written by J. Michael
Straczynski with pencils by John Romita Junior (the son of a key Silver Age
artist, John Romita Senior). In this issue, Aunt May confronts her nephew about
his secret identity after recently finding out he is Spider-Man. It’s the type
of story start that reminds you of when your parents told you off for doing
something wrong, where you think Peter Parker will be safer going into battle
with the Green Goblin but of course, with the strength of their relationship,
the conversation ends well. An online reviewer, ‘spidermad’ commented on this
issue, saying “What
follows is a touching conversation, where Pete and May lay it all out on the
table. They don't exactly agree or understand all the time, but they tell the
truth to each other. They find common ground in guilt over Uncle Ben's death
and promise to not lie to each other anymore. To not let lies separate them any
longer”
which is a wonderful summary of their life like relationship. The fact that
this reviewer referred to Spider-Man as ‘Pete’ shows how well the audience
responds to the character as it is like we know him. He is leading a life of
family in one of the world’s most renowned cities, New York, instead of
somewhere fictional such as Gotham in Batman, which is recognised by his fans.
The reason I particularly wanted to talk about this is because it not only
shows relatable characters but how what was set up in the Silver Age is still
being used in today’s comics, showing how fundamental and revolutionising this
era was.
My last point
about how characters were developed and made relatable during the Silver Age falls
within the super villain category. In
the Fantastic Four #48-#50, the two ‘villains’ Galactus and the Silver Surfer
are given so much complexity that even though what they are doing is wrong, it could
be understood. This Silver Age revolution is so different to the Golden Age
which seems black and white due to the simplicity of the heroes being good and
the villains being bad. Galactus is a cosmic entity, which in order to survive,
hunts out planets and consumes them. When Galactus discovered his next ‘meal’,
Norrin Radd’s (aka the Silver Surfer) home planet, ‘Zenn-La’, a powerful morale
decision was made by the Surfer. In order to save all the lives of his people,
the Silver Surfer promised to serve as Galactus’ herald and seek out other
planets for him to devour. Of course, this meant other lives were to be
destroyed and so the Fantastic Four had to put a stop to this. But the question
left by this saga is are these two characters actually villains? Is Galactus
intending to be evil or is he just led by a biological need to feed? Surely he
cannot help but eat a diet of what is the only source that can sustain
him. And did the Silver Surfer make the
wrong choice by saving the ones he loves through the sacrifice of others? These
scenarios are based on choices we as people have to make, but on a much larger
scale. This story was put on the big screen through Fantastic Four 2, Rise of
the Silver Surfer in 2007, showing how the movies based on these characters
take their inspiration solely from the comics themselves, in this case Silver
Age comics, showing how important its stories were. This reflects how comics
have impacted today’s media culture as they have gone from page to screen,
grossing $131,920,333 at
US box office.
I would argue that the amount of characterization in
superhero comics during the Silver Age is a reason for its rise in readership.
A peak in comic book sales at this time reinforces this point. Figures
collected on a line graph titled, ‘Marvel and DC sales figures’, were posted
online by Jonathan Hoyle showing that during the Marvel Age, Marvel sold 9.2
million comics in a month compared to their previous average sale of 2.2
million a month in 1957.
They also outsold DC comics whose sales were constantly in decline from around
1965, showing Marvel Comics had become the more popular publisher during the
Silver Age. Today titles from both publishers are often seen in the top ten
bestselling comics. The popularity
of comics during the Silver Age was also reflected through the 1960s Batman TV
show with Adam West filling the role of Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. This is
an example of a very early link between comics and the wider media culture. In
2013 the TV show is looked back on with the release of the Batman’66 comic
written by Jeff Parker and Mattel releasing the Batman’66 Ken doll and the
Catwoman’66 Barbie doll.
Another
significant impact the Silver Age made on the comic industry is the influence
the artists had at the time and even in today’s comic books. A number of greats
were working during this period such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jim Steranko
and Neal Adams.
Jack Kirby (1917-1994) was effectively Stan Lee’s other half during the
Marvel Age. Kirby designed most of the key character’s costumes, giving them
iconic looks that are still in use today, but with some perhaps edited in some
way by other artists. Kirby’s influence on other artists is quite spectacular
as so many have said Kirby was their inspiration. An example of one of the
artists influenced by Kirby is Frank Millar in the 1986 four issue comic
mini-series, ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and his work on the ‘300’. The
characters are drawn as larger than life, blocky looking drawings, similar to
Kirby’s art style. The Dark Knight Returns is a hugely influential work and
changed the tone of comic book storytelling to a darker, more realistic style.
Another legacy it has also had today is that it has also been adapted into a
two part, animated movie which went straight to DVD in 2012 and 2013 featuring
similar animation to Kirby’s Silver Age style of art. This DVD saga also shows
how this particular comic series leaked into the wider media culture, helping
the story reach a much larger audience.
Kirby’s art
can be seen today in many back issues and reprints as well as in the Kirby
Museum, a pop up American art exhibit that is currently trying to raise enough
money to hold an exhibition near where Kirby was born in New York City.
Steve Ditko (born in 1927) worked on
many early issues of Spider-Man as well as many other titles such as Dr
Strange, master of the mystic arts. Ditko was responsible for designing the
look of all the early Spider-Man villains and supporting cast of characters
whose iconic looks have been used today on page and on screen. When Spider-Man
first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962, Jack Kirby illustrated the cover
and was originally intended to draw the interiors but Stan Lee felt that
Ditko’s style would be more suited to the book. Therefore, the three Spider-Man
films in recent times, featuring Tobey Maguire in the lead role and directed by
Sam Raimi, heavily featured these characters of which the Green Goblin, Dr
Octopus, Sandman, J Jonah Jameson, Aunt May and several others were drawn on
Ditko’s designs. This is evidenced by the film’s credits that said “Based on
the comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.”
Ditko’s other work on Dr Strange has
helped set a blueprint for all mystical and magic universes, with floating objects,
crazy shapes and vibrant colours being the new norm. In a blog post by ‘pop culture ronin’, it is
summarised why Ditko’s art helped set new grounds of drawing during the Silver
Age, “Simply put, there was nothing else like it in comics at the time, with
the possible exception of Jack Kirby's experiments with collage in FANTASTIC
FOUR and THE MIGHTY THOR.”
Jim Steranko (born in 1938) influenced
the work of comic art and storytelling during his iconic run on Nick Fury Agent
of S.H.I.E.L.D, commencing in Strange Tales with issues 151-168 and finishing
in Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D issues 1-5 in the 1960s. In 2013, a complete
collection of Steranko’s Silver Age work on this series has been collected and
published into one single trade paperback, showing how his style is still
appreciated today. This collection ties in well with the recent release of the TV
show, ‘Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’. However, it is important to note that
none of Steranko’s characters have been used in the programme and so Steranko
didn’t really like the first episode. Although this comic series was created by
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Steranko who was influenced by Kirby, used a more
realistic artistic style in the issues of Nick Fury that he worked on which
have become very popular in modern day comic book culture.
The last Silver Age artist I am going to
focus on is Neal Adams who is most famous for his work on DC titles, Batman and
Green Lantern/Green Arrow during the 1960s. Throughout this period, he
redesigned Batman’s image, taking him away from the less serious look of the TV
series which had crept into the comic books into the Dark Knight that has
become the way audiences perceived Batman today. Two of the ways he did this
were by increasing the length of the ears on Batman’s cowl and dramatizing the
effects of his cape which took the early concept of Batman as a creature of the
night that would instill fear into his enemies, one step further. Frank
Millar’s work on the previously mentioned Dark Knight Returns was directly
influenced by Adam’s work on this character as well as Jack Kirby overall
artistic style.
In 1969, Adams
joined Marvel Comics and requested to work on their worst selling title, which
unknown to him was the X-Men. Through his dramatic covers and newly designed
panel work such as the incredible Sauron double page spread, he influenced
comic book work for generations.
Another key revolutionising feature
of the Silver Age was in its legacy. Some comic historians argue the Bronze Age
(1970-1985) to be the Silver Age part two which I agree with as it is simply a
continuation of the era but with new titles and some darker themes. The
differences between the two ages are not highly significant as there are still
many similarities like the art styles used. Comic historians also argue the
date of when the Bronze Age actually started as some state it was as early as
1970 while others say it was in 1973 with Marvel’s release of the Amazing
Spider-Man #121. Now this comic is no stranger to any comic book fan for it
features the hard hitting murder of Spider-Man’s teenage sweetheart, Gwen Stacy
at the hands of his enemy, the Green Goblin. This has been argued because this
story broke the ‘innocence’ that the Silver Age was so used to.
Gwen Stacy
was not the only victim of the Silver Age II, other notable deaths include the
X-Men’s Marvel Girl in the Dark Phoenix Saga which ran through a couple of
Uncanny X-Men issues during 1980 and Elektra in Daredevil #181 in April 1982.
Within this age, superhero titles
were still very mainstream however darker themes were being introduced as publishers
were starting to edge away from the Comic Book Code. Comics were very popular
on college campuses perhaps because of the more adult themes now used. An
example of these adult themes being incorporated into comic books is the drug
awareness issues in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85-#86 where written on the
cover is "DC attacks youth's greatest problem... DRUGS!"
What was particularly special about this comic is outlined in a recent DC
Comics fact file, “It was taboo to depict drugs in comics,
even in ways that openly condemned their use. However, writer Denny O'Neil and
artist Neal Adams collaborated on an unforgettable two-part arc that brought
the issue directly into Green Arrow's home, and demonstrated the power comics
had to affect change and perception." This shows how comics were starting to change, superhuman characters
were becoming even more ‘human’, suffering from the same issues that some
readers were in the drug culture of the 1970s. These particular two comics show
how some titles could be more than just a story but a help tool, a
revolutionizing feature. What was quite
interesting about this story is that it was originally intended for Robin to be
the drug addict, not Speedy. However, this had to be changed as Robin was used
as a poster boy for DC after becoming popular through the comic and the Batman
TV show.
During the Silver Age part II, comics
were starting to shift from cheap racks in newsagents and newspaper stands to
being a product on comic shop shelves. This had an impact on readership as now
comics were not so widely dispersed but instead a subject of speciality. As my
Dad was a collector during this period, as well as today, he remembers having
to buy special sized comics that were not distributed in the UK, such as the
double sized X-Men #137, in a specialist book shop called ‘Books, Bits and
Bobs’. Today we buy our comic books online under a subscription with Reed
Comics showing how purchasing comics today is very different from how they used
to be purchased during the Silver Age due to new technology like the internet.
The internet has also played a role in introducing comics to the wider media
culture through digital comics, attracting more readers. These digital comics
are much like e-books, they are cheaper than in print and can be read from any
device anywhere, while not taking up too much room at home. IDW Comics, Webber,
who has been a specialist in digital comic publishing since 2003, made the
point that “Digital [comics] has opened it back up
to those casual readers who just want to read." Plenty
of casual readers want to read comics purely because of the comic book blockbusters
that are trending at a certain time and so may only want to read characters
that have appeared in the recent movie.
Similar to the comic book films come the
animated TV programs. Ranging from the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series to
today’s Ultimate Spider-Man TV show shown on Disney XD, many episodes have been
inspired by the pages of comic books themselves and even have some of the comic
book creators working on their screenplay. An example of this is Paul Dini’s
and Bruce Timm’s work on Batman Adventures which won four Emmy Awards for
‘Outstanding Animated Program.’
A couple of episodes recreate stories seen in the Silver Age of comics such as
an iconic Batman character’s first appearance, Talia Al Ghul, who was seen as
one of the villains in
the recent Dark Knight Rises. Talia first appeared in Detective Comics #411 in
May 1971, in a story called ‘Batman: Into the Den of the Death-Dealers’,
written by Dennis O’Neil with art by Bob Brown and cover by Neal Adams. This
story was then adapted into an episode of Batman: The Animated Series called
‘off balance’ which aired in 1992, showing Batman and Talia’s first ever
encounter on screen. This is a very significant example of how a Silver Age
comic impacted a particular piece of wider media culture, particularly one
aimed at children. Interestingly, the Batman: Animated Series had an impact on
comic books, the reverse effect of comics impacting media culture through
events such as the introduction of the now very popular Harley Quinn. Known as the Joker’s girlfriend, Harley Quinn first appeared
in ‘The Joker’s favour’, an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, produced by
Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. She then went from TV to page in The Batman
Adventures #12 (1993) and today, has her own comic book series that started in
November 2013. I believe some of the darker/suggestive themes occasionally
featured in these episodes would never get past the regulations of children’s
TV programs today.
Another popular type of merchandise are the video games
such as the Batman Arkham trilogy which was released on the X-Box, the
PlayStation 3 and the PC. The first in the trilogy, Arkham Asylum (2009), holds
the Guinness World Record for ‘Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever’
after “achieving the
highest average score of 91.67 from reviews around the world.”
This shows how comic book characters can impact the media culture through being
the basis of one of the most popular trilogy of games in history.
Similar to the Arkham trilogy are the Lego superhero
games. The Lego Company have licensed the DC characters as well as the Marvel
characters, bringing out the Lego Batman: The Videogame in 2008, selling 11
million copies, Lego Batman 2 in 2012 and Lego Marvel: The Videogame in 2013. These
games incorporate both the comic publishers’ styles, using characters just as
they are in comics but simply crafting them into Lego mini-figures surrounded
by a universe made of bricks! These Lego
games inspired by the comics show the popular demand for these characters and
how they can be used in other forms of media. The Lego superhero games will
most probably have a younger audience compared to the Arkham trilogy which
shows the large range of people who are interested in this genre established during
the Silver Age.
Celebrations of everything comics are often held at
various comic conventions around the world. A very popular one includes the San
Diego Comic Con which was first held during the Silver Age in 1970, under the
name ‘Golden State Comic Book Convention’. In 2010, over 130,000 guests
attended. This is a prime event that leaks into the wider media culture as not
only comics are showcased but films and TV shows such as the Big Bang Theory
hold a panel, where the actors often hold question and answer sessions with
their fans. San Diego Comic Convention particularly attracts media attention
shown through various news reports such as the Daily Mail who reviewed 2013
event with a headline saying “Set phasers for fun!
Comic-Con fans and celebrities take San Diego by storm.”
Even though my argument is for the Silver Age of
comics revolutionizing the industry, there are arguments against this. An
example of this was given to me when I asked Will Morgan, a comic shop clerk/expert at
30th Century Comics in Putney his opinion. Will highlighted the fact
that “comics as a
medium were doing just fine” and so even though the Silver Age reintroduced
superheroes, the actual comic industry was still at large. Will used evidence
to support his point, saying that, “Even
minor titles in the 1950's, generally regarded as a 'slump' by historians, had
circulations that would be unattainable to today's titles. Uncanny X-Men, one
of the contemporary industry leaders, only wishes it sold as much now as
Bugs Bunny did in the 50's!”
To conclude,
the Silver Age of comics revolutionised the industry by re-introducing the
superhero genre on a whole new level. Superhuman characters were made relatable
to the audience for the first time ever as well as artists such as Jack Kirby
being a source of inspiration for today’s creators. As darker themes were being
introduced, the comic industry was breaking away from the Comic Book Code which
was introduced during the Golden Age while readership numbers were
increasing. Furthermore, the Silver Age
set the foundation for the comic industry we know today with stories being
adapted into the wider media culture through cinematic blockbusters, TV
programmes, video games and even celebratory events such as comic conventions.
Bibliography
Books, Comics and
Magazines
Wertham, Fedric, Seduction of the Innocent, Clarke,
Irwin & Company Ltd, Toronto, 1954.
Jonston, Rich, Bleeding Cool Magazine #6, Avatar
Press, September 2013
Cowsill, Alan and McAvennie, Michael, DC
Comics Year by Year a Visual Chronicle, page 146, 2010.
Showcase #4, 1956, DC Comics.
Captain America Comics #1, 1941, Marvel/Timely Comics.
The Vault of Horror #17, EC Comics.
Fantastic Four #1, Vol.1, 1961, Marvel Comics.
X-Men #1, 1963, Marvel Comics.
Fantastic Four #49, April 1966, Marvel Comics.
Batman the Dark Knight Returns #2, 1986, DC Comics.
X-Men #60, 1970, Marvel Comics.
Amazing Spider-Man #121, 197, Marvel Comics.
Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85, 1971, DC Comics.
Legal Reports
Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency,
Interim Report,
1955 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1955).
Found on http://www.thecomicbooks.com/1955senateinterim.html on 24/10/2013
Websites
Wertham,
Fedric, Seduction of the Innocent, Clarke, Irwin & Company Ltd,
Toronto, 1954.
