HISTORY OF COMIC BOOKS

Illustrated folios and wooden plates have been

categorized as important artistic and political
devices since the early points in most
civilizations. Graffiti in Roman cities were
political, but also crude and funny. Illuminated
manuscripts contained holy images, but also
doodles that have baffled historians for centuries.
Illustrating a story to make it more appealing to
an audience has been at the forefront of the
human mind since its early existence in caves.
So, when we talk about the evolution of graphic
novels and comics, we are also talking about
historical events, political debates, and even
fashion.

To start with, it’s essential to go through some

term definitions. What are graphic novels exactly,
and how do they differ from comics or trade
paperbacks? According to the Norman Rockwell
Museum archives on illustration media, graphic
novels are never before told stories, generally
compiled into one single volume. However, the
term includes ‘novel’; not all graphic novels are
fiction. Many are also memoirs, which may be
written and illustrated by the same person,
instead of a team. Comic books and trade
paperbacks, on the other hand, are
serialized stories, often contained in an
already preconceived universe and
storyline. Some comics are continuously
written and illustrated by a wide range of
artists, changing every few years, to give
way to a new artistic concept or storyline.
They should also not be confused with
comic strips or cartoons, both of which tend
to be formatted to fit a newspaper or
magazine section, and do not always
require serialization or a range of
characters.
1897–1938
As I mentioned before, we could start reviewing
the history and influence of illustrated
storytelling all the way back to cave paintings,
illuminated manuscripts, and Greek vases;
however, as that should be the role of someone
actually well versed in art history, writing a book
on the subject, or, just to be honest, more
qualified than myself, I decided to start from the
early onset of serialized comic books as we know
them today.
The Platinum Age of comic books owes most of
its purpose to political cartoons and propaganda.
Yep, you heard it here first, Superman and
Captain America are not apolitical, much less
without an agenda. However, the first-ever comic
book was a simple collection of works previously
published on a comic strip, marketed to kids due
to its slapstick humor and short storylines. That
book was The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flat,
published in the UK in 1897, and the notable
thing about it is that it actually acknowledged
itself as a “comic book,” a terminology which
wasn’t used until that point. Yeah, the name isn’t
great, which was a trend at that time and for
most comics history. Racially motivated
stereotypes and names, even if this one, in
particular, isn’t a descriptor of the character
(although there are some very bad racial
stereotypes in these strips) but rather is yellow
dress and relation to “yellow journalism” (AKA
sensationalism). These stories were very
prominent and used to disseminate
misinformation and propaganda, as we will see
more clearly later on.
This would pave the way to the standard format
we see today, with glossy covers and colorful
illustrations in 1922, very informative titled
Comic Monthly. It wouldn’t be until 1935 when
the precursor of DC comic’s, National Allied
Publications, created the ‘modern’ superhero.
Consequently, a cult following began to appeal to
an older audience, with longer storylines, more
complex artwork, and ultimately an identity. But
the cult following and wide-spread pop culture
influence would only come later in the 1950s with
mass production.
1938–1956 GOLDEN AGE
This era, known as the Golden age, was mostly
marked by the raving political propaganda that
surrounded all the World War II period. Captain
America showed up in his modern form we know
him as, and many other superheroes like Wonder
Woman and Superman started selling in huge
scales.

During the war period, comic book consumption

skyrocketed, becoming not only an established
past-time for young boys but also a fertile ground
for the recruitment of young men into the Army.
The government discovered the value of comic
books as a medium: the mass production of
entertainment in the follow-up to the war had a
built-in market for endless storytelling showing
the glorious victory of the U.S. over the Nazis.
Because comic books were seen as a low-brow
form of entertainment, they were ideal for the
American government in disseminating patriotic
and anti-Japanese and anti-Nazi ideals, without
seeming too close to actual propaganda. The new
world order made heroes and villains in comics
the perfect recruitment technique.
Captain America was ahead of the curve in that
sense. It was already being published before the
U.S. entered the war, and the debate of whether
the Americans should join was still in full swing.
So, having Captain punching Hitler in the front
cover was not uncontroversial, as there were still
some mainstream Nazi sentiments among the
political debates in the U.S.
By 1944 Comic books were so popular with men
in the American Armed forces that around 44% of
men in the Army identified themselves as avid
comic book readers. Superheroes following in the
footsteps of Captain America became poster boys
for American’s fighting in World War II, and
because of it, their stories became explicitly tools
of propaganda.
1956–1970 SILVER AGE

The censorship of comic books only grew in the

post-war period, after psychiatrist Fredric
Wertham published a book entitled Seduction of
the Innocent, claiming that comics were
corrupting young American minds, and more
specifically that characters like Wonder Woman
and Batman and Robin promoted ‘homosexual
ideals.’ His book inspired such a popular frenzy
that he was eventually called to testify in the
Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency.
This censorship frenzy and parent panic led
comic book companies to cancel some of their
most popular titles in genres other than
superheroes. Even so, several superhero
storylines were continuously censored, and
production became very sparse. Storylines
became less complicated and political, and
gimmicks like animal superheroes and celebrity
feature joined adventures across the DC and
Marvel universe.
By the mid 1960s a shift happened, specifically in
Marvel comics. Stan Lee became the head of
Marvel’s creative team, creating what we now
know as “The Marvel Method,” which allowed for
greater collaboration between artists and writers.
This period saw the rise of complex heroes like
Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and the Hulk. With
darker storylines and more human personalities,
these characters became more identifiable and
marketable than the exhausted simplistic and
invisible superhero that had characterized the
boom of the 1940s and ’50s.
The 1960s also ushered in the creative
underground of comics, with artists with more
innovative and some times risky designs, which
led to people like Wertham and many other
mainstream political actors to denounce comics
as immoral and subversive to “good American
ideals.”
1970–1985 BRONZE AGE
Around the late 1960s, superheroes began
reinventing themselves. With the age of Aquarius
and the hippie movement, kaleidoscopic art, and
the Sergeant Pepper era of the Beatles, both the
artwork and storylines became more complex
and a bit trippy. Marvel comics became a
household name when it came to innovationand
artist development, and they had a fully formed
and popular catalog of heroes to rival DC.
Another remarkable facet of this time period is
the return to more relaxed restrictions on
violence, political issues, and themes. Horror
comics, for instance, gained more space, as did
more socially conscious narratives. Unlike the
wartime narratives of racial inclusivity and
American social progress, these new narratives
found characters of color at their center. They
dabbled into the aggressions African Americans
suffered at the hands of police and denounced
the racism present in American society, rather
than denying it. Thus they were more effective in
their message. There wasn’t room for
interpretations (which lead many readers to see
racial prejudice as inevitable, as was the case in
the 1940s–’60s); instead, many superheroes of
color like Storm and Black Panther took center
stage, with their own narratives. With that,
comics went deeper into exploring the social
politics of their time, which at that moment were
not considered mainstream.
This would also lead to the preamble to what
would become known as the Dark Ages, where
art styles and narratives would take darker tones.
Suddenly superheroes had very human problems,
like alcoholism and drug addiction.
1985–1996 COPPER AGE
The aforementioned “Dark Age” was defined by
both the darker tones in comic styles and the
darker topics. A very good example of this style
is Watchmen, which reflects a disenchantment
with the American superhero and the more adult
themes that were becoming popular in the
medium.
Many of these narratives are still popular today,
especially in the DC universe such as Batman’s
The Dark Knight Returns; however, sales slumped
across the board, leading to Marvel Comics filling
for bankruptcy in 1996.
Another big facet of this time is the rise go the
graphic novel, more remarkably; Maus by Art
Spiegelman was published in November 1996. A
pioneer for its time, Spiegelman’s
autobiographical story of a Jewish family trying to
survive Nazi-occupied Poland completely
changed the medium that, up until this point,
was still seen as only a low-brow form of
entertainment.
AGE OF MANGA
IN the 1980s, another new style took over
the world, the Japanese comics known to
most of us now as Manga. Manga nowadays
has many different styles, but the most
defining characteristic is the black and
white color palette and the exaggerated
emotional expressions.
Manga in Japanese can literally mean comic book
or comic strip, and it developed as an art form
from the old woodblock illustrations that have
been present throughout Japanese history. The
modern manga style only gained mainstream
notoriety in the 1980s when Japan became a
household name in terms of international
technology and entertainment.
One of the most versatile types of illustrated
storytelling, mangas—like American comic books
—started out being exclusively marketed to
children, but soon expanded to encompass every
aspect of human life. From overtly specific
categories like cookbooks and even tech manuals
to the more mainstream subjects like horror,
romance, and comedy.

Today you can find a manga for any taste and

genre you might like.
1996–2020 AND BEYOND
Comics today are some of the most popular
mediums in the book world, as technology has
allowed for more democratic outlets for both
artists and readers. Mainstream publishers DC
and Marvel are now the giants of the industry
and have taken over almost every corner of
entertainment you can find. Let’s be honest; it’s
hard to think of a single year for the past ten
years in which a superhero movie hasn’t been in
theaters.
Plus, nowadays, artistic styles have branched out
a lot more, so if you don’t like the classic
superheroes, you are certain to find something to
your liking. Like the Brazilian brother’s Gabriel Bá
and Fabio Moon‘s cubic and watercolor
influences. Or the many iterations of essential
classics being adapted to graphic novels, like
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler or Anne
Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl.
Comics are a fascinating format, in which
the visual arts and literature meet in a
unique but at the same time, timeless
medium

COMIC BOOK ERAS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=T7Sk5dmRli4