A Preference For Medium

What medium do you prefer for experiencing comic books?

This is a topic I have given a lot of thought to.  And quite frankly my attitude continues to change.  I use the word experience because not everyone reads their comic books.  Small children who can’t read still love to flip through comics and look at the pictures.  (Almost half of the folks at the Free Comic Book Day I attended this year were children).  Some comics have no dialogue (or almost no dialogue) and rely almost entirely on sequential art, letting the pictures be the narrative. (A quick aside: Fantastic Four #588 is one of my favorite examples of this).  Motion Comics exist in a space between animation and comic book but have their own distinct experience.  More broadly, almost everyone you know has seen some movie or TV show based on a comic book, maybe without even realizing it!

There are countless other mediums with which to experience comic books, such as trade paperbacks, hardcover editions, webpages, and tablet devices just to name a few more.

I used to reside firmly in the print-based camp.  Comic books were comic books and were meant to be read as such.  In some cases collected editions were acceptable (if not necessary — I wasn’t going to shell out for Amazing Fantasy #15).  Graphic novels were meant to be bought in book form, devoured, and set on a bookshelf.  Comic book movies were rarely bearable (back then, the only decent ones were Spider-Man and X-Men 1 and 2).  I remember going to see V for Vendetta in the theater and walking out on the other end feeling like I had just watched someone throw red paint on the Mona Lisa.  I truly understood why Alan Moore wanted nothing to do with the project.  Film wasn’t the medium in which V for Vendetta was meant to be presented.  But looking back now I can see how limiting this attitude was.

My first major shift in attitude was more financially driven than anything else (as is often the case with people).  I was at the comic book shop I frequented in the mall when I saw The Amazing Spider-Man: The Complete Collection DVD by GIT.  (Sadly, they don’t make these anymore).  Intrigued, I picked it up.  One disc contained PDF copies of Amazing Fantasy #15; The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #1-441; The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #1-58; The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 #500-531; Annual #1-34.  Literally every issue of ASM up to several months prior all for the low low price of $40.  I was flabbergasted.  I had been collecting Spider-Man since I was 11 or so, and I had bought up a number of TPB collections and odd issues here and there.  But I had never had the means to “complete” my collection.  There were large gaps I had never had an opportunity to read…until now.  So I bought it and read every single ASM up to that point…on my computer.  And I softened a little on the exclusivity of print.  Over the years I have gone back and filled in large swaths of my collection with the actual comics, but if I had been too close-minded to try a new medium, to this day I would have no clue what happened in almost 300 issues of Spider-Man.

Another shift came in the spring and summer of 2008 when Iron Man came to theaters followed by the Dark Knight.  True, Batman Begins had come out a few years prior and was better than other comic book films at the time but 2008 marked a why so serious shift in these movies.  They were bolder and better and they seemed somehow more authentic.  If you had told me then that Iron Man would one day be Marvel’s most popular hero and the cornerstone of their film franchise I would have said you were crazy.  And I would have been so wrong.  Because for the first time a film was able to provide, if not an exact replication of the comic books, an analogous experience in a different medium.  Watching Iron Man the movie felt like reading a Marvel comic book.  And they’ve kept that train rolling which in turn has altered the comic books in such a way that there is now more synergy than ever between the experiences.  Similarly, the Dark Knight really captured Batman in a way that the older films never had.  Gone was the campiness that had defined Batman for so long (despite this being mostly absent from the comics for decades).  This grittier tone really resonated with viewers and helped to redefine people’s experience of Batman.  (Personally, outside of Snyder and Capullo’s monthly, my favorite Batman experience — the one that feels most authentic to me — is Rocksteady’s Arkham games.)  Post 2008 comic books movies (on the whole) were no longer anathema to me and are something I get really excited for.  Instead of feeling like terrible misshapen representations of something I love, they now feel like genuine comic book experiences.

There is still one major hurdle I am overcoming with regard to the question of medium, and that is digital print.  I love comic books.  I love the physical medium.  I like to flip through them.  I like to bag them and sort them.  I like to fuss over my boxes.  I feel genuinely bad if a comic gets ripped or creased or crumpled.  One of the highlights of my week (for years now) is going to pick up my comics on New Comic Night.  I love the newsprint smell and soft feel of old comics.  So when the discussion of same-day digital comics began, I retreated to my old ways.  Comic books are meant to be physical, you need to be able to hold it, feel it, smell it.  Digital is no good for new comics.  And then Marvel started including a “free” (read: $1 more) digital copy of the books I was buying.  Then Comixology (the digital comics service) gave away around 700 free digital Marvel comics.  And y’know what?  I started to read them.  Before a long trip I’d load up the last few issues of Spider-Man just case.  I read a few issues here and there at my desk during lunch.  The Humble Bundle had a ridiculous deal for Image comics so I picked that up too.  I bought ComicZeal reader for the iPad so I could lay in bed and read comics in the dark.  And all of a sudden I have a collection of digital comics too!  And it’s really nice.

So, what medium do you prefer for experiencing comic books?

Not to give a spineless answer, but it depends on the experience I want to have!  I still primarily read physical comics, and that still feels the most…comic booky (?) to me.  But I also love to sit down and devour a fat TPB, and I like to punch up bad guys as Batman on the XBox, and I will most certainly be seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past this weekend!  So, don’t allow yourself to be limited by your biases about medium.  It’s true, some things are better in one medium or another, and some things are worse, but often times they are are just different.  And different experiences are almost always worth your time.

 

Where to start?

Often when I am talking with people and they find out that my passion for comics exceeds the occasional superhero film or odd graphic novel, they tell me something along the lines of “I’ve always been curious about comics but I’m not sure where to start.” And then, giddy with the rush of introducing a new reader to comics (one of us! one of us!), I blabber for an embarrassingly long time and insist that they read <insert title here>.

I have a list of what I call gateway comics.  These are comic books that are so tantalizingly awesome that the reader can’t help but want more.  My usual recommendation for the uninitiated is Watchmen because it is physically impossible not to like Watchmen.  Sometimes though, depending on the person (for instance, if they are young or averse to seeing blue dongs or saw the movie and loved/hated it) I will suggest something else.  The comics I suggest are loosely linked to other things that the person likes.  For instance if they say “I like Star Wars!” I might suggest they try some of Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four because of the sci-fi elements and because they are excellent comics that make you want more more more.

I put together this handy dandy flow chart to help people find a good comic book to try, depending on their other tastes.  The categories have two “If You Liked This!” suggestions and are color-coded along with the arrows.  The comics have been color-coded according to what genres they more or less align with.  Happy reading!

New Page! What Am I Reading Now?

Hello hello hello!  I’m here to let you know that I’ve added a new page called “What Am I Reading Now?”  As my monthly reading list shifts and changes I’ll add and subtract titles from this page.  This will give you an idea of where I’m coming from each month and might give you ideas for books you want to try or things that you think I should try.

I figured that I would dedicate this post to this page’s inaugural run by giving a brief run down of each title and my feelings on them.  I’ve added *Do Not Miss* to the beginning of titles that I think are really worth your time and money.

 

*Do Not Miss* Adventure Time – KaBOOM! Studios

Adventure Time #25

This monthly book by KaBOOM! follows Finn, Jake, and  a whole cast of other crazy characters on their adventures through the land of Ooo.  This is absolutely one my favorite books each month (and easily my favorite “silly” book).  If you are  a fan of the show this comic won’t disappoint.  They seem to have bottled lightning and transmuted everything great about the show into a comic that is more fun than any other comic I’ve read.  I literally laugh out loud (lol for you hip internet kidz) when I read it.  Each main story run is between 3 and 6 issues long so they feel like extra long episodes of the show!  In between those runs are individual issues that feel just like an episode.  I can’t recommend this book enough!  If you’ve never seen the show check it out; if you have seen the show go buy all of these.

 

Adventure Time: The Flip Side – KaBOOM! Studios

This is a monthly mini-series by KaBOOM! which is in keeping with their tradition of having a 6 issue mini series running in tandem with their main Adventure Time series.  I would say that Flip Side is the strongest of these mini-series yet.  It centers on Finn and Jake on a topsy-turvy adventure to convince a wizard to kidnap a princess!  I’ve enjoyed this book more than the other Adventure Time mini series but I think it will be the last one I get until one really jumps out at me.

 

* Do Not Miss* Batman – DC Comics

Batman #27

This monthly book by DC was a part of their “New 52” a few years ago.  Under the tutelage of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo this book has easily turned into the best monthly series of the past 2+ years.  Even if you aren’t a huge Batman fan (I wasn’t) this book is well worth your time because of Snyder’s nuanced writing and Capullo’s gritty, dynamic art.  The real strength of this book has been the way that it reflects on the 75 year history of Batman and re-imagines the mythos.  It constantly reads the way Batman should read, looks the way Batman should look, and feels the way Batman should feel while simultaneously bucking your expectations.  Pick up a copy of Batman Annual #1 (written by Synder and Tynion, art by Fabok) and you’ll see what I’m talking about.  I can’t stress enough how good this book is and how good a mood I’m in any day I get to pick it up at the shop!

 

*Do Not Miss* Black Science – Image Comics

Black Science #4

This monthly series by Image reads like old school sci-fi pulp for a modern era.  Honestly I picked this up after reading a review of #1 on ign.com which gave it a 10/10.  How could I not check it out?  And boy-howdy, let me tell you, I was not disappointed.  The thing that stands out most to me about this title is the unbelievable pacing.  It is a modern exploration in en medias res.  We come into the story right as things go wrong.  You are bombarded with phrases and concepts (anarchist league of scientists, trans-dimensional travel, the pillar) with no context but you never feel lost.  This allows the reader to be swept up in the excitement of dimensional exploration while having the back story filled in as you go.  Each issue is about 60% current action and 40% back story which feels impeccably balanced to me.  Another thing that made this a stand out for me was that this book hit right as Matt Fraction’s run on Fantastic Four was wrapping up.  It really shone for me because it felt like an adult version of what I wished Fraction’s Fantastic Four had been (on the other hand, his FF run was great).  They share similar themes: family, exploration, the boundaries of science and ethics…but Black Science does it better.  Give it shot if you like sci-fi and weird worlds.

 

Detective Comics – DC Comics

This is another monthly book by DC that was a part of their “New 52” and serves as a different kind of Batman book from Snyder’s Batman in a few key ways.  It tends to have much shorter story arcs that feature villains (and allies) broadly.  The first year was intentionally devoid of the Joker, who then reappeared in Batman during the “Death of the Family” story arc.  This gave the team time to focus on other Batman rogues such as the Dollmaker, Penguin (later Emperor Penguin), and Scarecrow.  This book seems to me to be more about action and detective work than character development.  And it is really fun in that way.  You don’t have to think much about it but the stories tend to be enjoyable and the art is varied and strong. Definitely worth checking out if you like the Batman.

 

Fantastic Four – Marvel Comics

A brand new volume of the classic Marvel title, this new Fantastic Four seems to be taking a darker turn this time around.  I won’t lie, I love the Fantastic Four.  They have always been one of my favorites.  Something about the campy pseudo-scf-fi adventure thing really speaks to me.  Jonathan Hickman’s run on Fantastic Four (and then FF) is one of my favorite runs of all time of any book.  I was wary when Fraction took over and they re-branded/re-numbered under the Marvel NOW! initiative.  As discussed in my Black Science post, I was disappointed in how the title turned out.  That being said, I loved FF and wish that it was still going.  I hope that this new volume turns out well but I have my concerns.  Fantastic Four shines when the odds are stacked against them, yet they can band together as a family against those odds.  Typically dark story arcs feel out of place for me.

 

Hellboy in Hell – Dark Horse Comics

I’m not entirely sure the release schedule for this Dark Horse title.  There will be a burst of releases for 2 or 3 months then nothing for 6 months.  But Atomic Empire considers it a monthly title, so here it is.  Any and all Hellboy books have been favorites for me for a long time.  I discovered Hellboy when I was about 12 and bought every trade paperback I could get my hands on.  I started collecting the issues thereafter.  While they only come out sporadically, they never cease to be a book that pleases.  With Hellboy in Hell, Mike Mignola is back on the art which is glorious.  His use of shadow to obscure and accentuate detail is unparalleled.  The dynamics of his forms is practically animated.  Hellboy books have always tended toward the esoteric and generally read fairly sparsely.  But if you can commit to reading things that you might not understand at first, you won’t be dissapointed.  I tend to read each issue a few times and, once the series is done, read them all in series because otherwise there is a lot of subtly that will slip through the cracks while you’re waiting 1 or 6 months for a new issue.  If you like mythology and religion, Hellboy is a great comic for exposing yourself to cool beliefs and stories from around the world.

 

Miracleman – Marvel Comics

This monthly reprint of the classic Miracleman stories from The Warrior magazine (amongst reprints from other volumes) is published by Marvel who acquired the rights in 2009.  I wanted to check this out because Alan Moore wrote the Warrior issues and I love me some Alan Moore.  I was intrigued by the fact that he explores themes in Miracleman that are similar to Watchmen.  I’ve been enjoying the book but it definitely feels like it was written by a younger author, which is really interesting.  The writing is much more heavy-handed than later Moore work.  It’s good, but not by any means his best.  I’ll be curious to move forward into the issues write by Neil Gaiman.  I tend not to love Gaiman’s writing so I’ll have to see if I want to continue with it.

 

*Do Not Miss* Superior Spider-Man – Marvel Comics

Superior Spider-Man #28

If you couldn’t already tell by the name of the blog, I.  Love.  Spider-Man.  He’s always been my favorite.  I like the costume.  I like the corny jokes.  I like the drama.  I like pretty much all of it (barring One More Day).  This is a bi-weekly series that tells the story of Spider-Man who has been mind-swapped with Doctor Octopus!  I was interested in the idea and not as resistant to it as a lot of Spider-Fans but I have been more or less disappointed with it until recently.  It took a while for Dan Slott to fully commit to the concept and there were some awkward issues at the beginning of the series with Peter’s consciousness exerting his will over Ock.  As the series moved forward, though, it came into its own.  Spider-Ock is not Peter.  He doesn’t tell jokes.  He is brutal, tactical, and uses words like dolt.  I can’t say that I “like” this Spider-Man, but he is fun to read in a cringe-worthy kind of way.  This latest story (which I believe is the last Superior arc before Amazing comes back) is called “Goblin Nation” and it has rekindled my passion for Spider-Man.  It’s back to the basics: Spider-Man vs. the Green Goblin with the twist of Ock vs. Osborne.  I’m loving it.  I do wish that the whole “Superior” thing had just been a long story arc within Amazing rather than giving it its own title, but I suppose that was to give us the impression that this was going to last.  Check it out, this last story isn’t one to miss.

 

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up – Marvel Comics

I picked up this monthly companion series to Marvel’s Superior Spider-Man because I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing as too much Spider-Man.  This series has been strange.  It came out of the short lived Avenging Spider-Man which sort of reinvigorated the concept of the Spider-Man team up book.  I like team-up books.  They tend to be light and action filled and less story-heavy.  Since becoming Superior Team-Up, though, this book has actually been a pretty important companion book for the main series.  There is some overlap in the stories but mainly, due to the fact that this book has had a different writer than the main series, Spider-Ock’s personality has been different in this book.  While he was still being “good” in the main series, he was already scheming in this one.  It gave a glimpse into the sort of Spider-Man he was going to become.  I don’t think this title is much longer for this world but it has been a fun ride.

 

Superman Unchained – DC Comics

This is a more or less a monthly title by DC that I picked up simply because Scott Synder was writing and Jim Lee was on art.  I don’t typically love Superman.  I have some Superman stories that I do love but this is the first monthly Superman series I’ve ever bought.  Synder’s Superman is interesting.  He’s no dumb farm boy with black and white morals.  He kind of feels – not surprisingly – like Batman with superpowers…that operates during the day.  There has been an interesting exploration of the history and mythos of Superman (I believe this book was started to celebrate 75 years of the original superhero) which Snyder is really good at.  Lee’s Superman art is definitive for me and always has been.  In my head Superman and the X-Men are always drawn by Jim Lee, which I guess is a testament to when I was coming up.  It has been good but I don’t expect to continue with it after this first story arc wraps up later this year.

 

I hope this gives you an idea of where I’m coming from each month.  I know that several of these titles will be turning over soon for me so keep and eye on the “What Am I Reading Now?” page.  In case you’re curious today I’m getting Batman #29, Fantastic Four #2, and Superior Spider-Man #29.

Worst Blogger Ever Part 2: The Re-Bloggening

Alright, I admit it.  I’m a terrible, no-good, God-awful blogger.  I manage to crank out between one and three posts every eighteen months or so.  And I always come back with some lame apology and plan to do better and then stop blogging again.  I think part of the reason I’ve been bad at blogging is that I went too specific.  I still want to talk about Jews and comics, and I probably will…a lot.  But I also want freedom to roam and ramble and talk about any and everything!  So, I am pleased to announce the re-bloggening of this blog!  I’ve renamed it The Amazing Spider-Dan’s Comic Book Blog and will talk about whatever I damn well please.  And what I want to talk about is comic books.

Welcome back.  I’m sorry to have stayed away for so long.  I hope to be able to keep this up with some (semi) regularity.

Peace,

Daniel

Review – Before Watchmen: Comedian #1

SPOILER ALERT!  This post may include SPOILERS.  Consider yourself warned.

This post is about Comedian #1 (of six total), part of DC’s Before Watchmen event.  It is was written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by J.G Jones.  It focuses on the Comedian in the early 1960s, right before the Kennedy Assassination in November of 1963.  To tell this story Azzarello and Jones take what was a brief (albeit interesting) tidbit in Watchmen* and turn it into easily the strongest of the first three Before Watchmen books.

S&M Man…Oh wait! Never mind, that’s the Comedian.

The cover of Comedian #1 is fantastic.  It is grotesque, compelling, and unique.  If the leather S&M mask, cigar, and droplet of blood (the shape of which is a nod to the droplet of blood on the smiley face pin from Watchmen #1) dripping down his head weren’t clues enough, someone that was unfamiliar with the Comedian should still have a pretty good idea what they are getting into in this book.  The composition of the cover screams “villain”.  Unlike a traditional superhero book, where the character is posed in some heroically action-y pose  (think every Superman cover ever), Jones uses a tight shot of the Comedian’s face, slightly off-kilter, and smiling….menacingly(!?) a cover composition reserved exclusively for villains.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this classic Amazing Spider-Man cover from issue #55:

“Wow, that guy above me is waaaaaay scarier!”

It’s practically the same cover!  Except that the Comedian looks scarier (in my opinion) than Doc Ock.  Okay, maybe the Comedian isn’t a villain–though it’s debatable–but he certainly is an anti-hero.  If Captain America and the Punisher had a baby, and that baby was a nihilist, it would surely grow up to be the Comedian.  And this cover says that, and oh so much more!

Jones’ art on this cover is moody, expressive, and generally unsettling.  And I love it!  It sets the mood for what is presumably going to be a brutal six issues and, more importantly, will make people want to pick this book up and look at it.  Seriously, when was the last time you remember the hero of a comic book leering murderously on the cover?

This story takes something that you thought you knew about the Comedian and konks it over the head, drives it out the woods, and leaves it there.  In Watchmen, the Comedian killed J.F.K., right?  He joked about in issue #9.  Ozymandias reports in issue #11 that the Comedian was in Dallas “minding Nixon”on the day of Kennedy’s assassination and that “Nobody’s sure why Nixon was there.”  Conspiracy, right!?  Azzarello and Jones sure think so.  But not in the way you do.

The book opens with the Comedian sitting in bed, reminiscing about playing touch football.  With the Kennedys.  Teddy, Robert, and John.  President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  (Aside: at this point–page 3–my brain broke a little and slowly began to reform, something that a comic book with the name Watchmen on it should do.)  The Comedian goes inside to take a break from the game and to have a drink and a smoke with Jackie Kennedy.  They chat for a while and we learn more about the Comedian’s relationship with the Kennedys.  Jackie says that he loves John (as a friend), he insists that he only respects him.  Still, their relationship is clearly positive (perhaps brotherly?) and it seems impossible that the Comedian would be able to blow Kennedy’s brains out in Dallas.

But this is the Comedian we’re talking about here.  A tangled mass of contradictions and violence.  And the conversation quickly turns as Jackie hires him to hit “that blonde bitch,” because she could hurt the President’s reputation.  Cut to the Comedian buttoning his shirt and leaving the room of an OD’d Marilyn Monroe.

After a scene that builds the Comedian and Kennedy’s relationship (apparently they fought together in the Pacific Theater in the war) the Comedian confirms that he will meet Kennedy in Dallas later in the week.  Just before he boards the plane to Dallas though he is caught by an F.B.I. agent who says that they need him for a special mission.  Apparently Moloch the Mystic (remember him as a pointy-eared old man in Watchmen?) has become involved in narcotics and the F.B.I. wants the Comedian there when they bust him, both for help as well as publicity.  Instead of sticking to the plan and going in slowly, the Comedian barges into Moloch’s warehouse firing with both barrels (and looking really freakin’ awesome as he does so!).  He fights his way to the office above the warehouse floor to find Moloch sitting in a chair, crying.  Moloch, watching the news reports through tears, informs him that Kennedy was shot.  As the news continues to report, the Comedian asks Moloch about the drugs to which Moloch replies “Heh…That’s why you’re here? Then you shouldn’t be.”  The Comedian looks down in ashamed understanding.  The book ends with the grim looking Comedian standing with his hand on Moloch’s shoulder watching the news of the assassination.

I can’t say enough good stuff about this book.  Azarello took something that we took for granted about the Comedian and turned it on it’s head.  Not only did the Comedian not kill J.F.K., but he was best friends with the man!  The dialogue that builds that relationship is brilliant.  When the Comedian is interacting with Kennedy (and the other Kennedy boys) they speak in an exceedingly casual, friendly, and even vulgar voice.  Certainly not the way I would speak with the President, but most definitely how I would speak to a friend.  And it is hilarious to see the President telling Robert Kennedy to go “F–k himself”.  When the Comedian speaks with Jackie it is with the same casual voice, which she lightly chastises him for.  She, as a women, is much more comfortable discussing his and Kennedy’s relationship.  It is clear that he really does love and respect Kennedy but is too macho to say so (That being said, would you expect any less from the Comedian?  Y’know, the guy on the cover?  You probably didn’t pick up this magazine to see guys letting their emotions out.)  Still, before you even get to the meat of the story, through character development alone, you know that the Comedian can’t be the guy that kills Kennedy.  And that is brilliant writing.

I loved the way that Azarello tied Moloch into the story because it gives context to the Comedian’s drunken appeal to Moloch in Watchmen.  If these two men, who for all intents and purposes should be bitter enemies, shared the traumatic experience of Kennedy’s assassination, it would make sense that in some way they would be bonded and that the Comedian might once again seek him out in a time of crisis.

I will be very curious to see how Azarello continues this story.  He has to work in a way for the Comedian to get to Dallas and meet with Nixon.  If the J.F.K. Assassination was a conspiracy lead by Nixon it will be interesting to see how that effects their relationship with one another.  Perhaps Nixon will deceive him?  Or maybe there is something that he has on the Comedian to keep him in line?  Either way my bet is that it will be pretty fantastic.

Jones’ art throughout the book is exemplary.  The line work is simple and expressive.  The range of environments he draws (lawns and houses, bars, offices, manufacturing plants, and warehouses) are impressive, detailed, and consistent.  The action sequence in the warehouse is exciting and really cool!  But where his art in this book really shines is in the faces.  When you flip the first page and see the touch football game, before reading a word there is no doubt who the Comedian is playing with.  It’s uncanny.  He gets each Kennedy down so perfectly that you know exactly who each one is.  His Jackie Kennedy is right on the money too.  And the range of emotion, both subtle and blatant, that he portrays is spectacular.  When Jackie orders the hit she has a cold, seething expression that looks almost blank except for a slight curl of the lip and twinge of the nose.  When the Comedian hears of the assassination his bewilderment is palpable.  And as the realization that he was intentionally diverted to allow it to take place sets in, Jones captures an emotion that I can only describe as the Comedian’s understanding that he is part of the joke.  It is somewhere between sad, world-weary, and ever-so-slightly bemused.  My point is this, his art in this book shows a varied depth not often seen in comic books, and it works perfectly.

This was the last of the first three Before Watchmen books that I read.  If I had read this first I would have gone into the other two with ludicrously high expectations and would have been disappointed.  By reading it last I was pleasantly surprised, not just because it was better than the other two Before Watchmen books, but because it was a fantastic comic book all on its own.  It adds a new depth of understanding of the Comedian by taking one of the most interesting and complex characters of Watchmen and adding something new and valuable to the mix.  If you haven’t gotten a copy of this book go out and get one now.  You won’t be sorry.

*In issue #9 of Watchmen Laurie recalls an altercation with the Comedian at a state dinner in his honor.  At the dinner the Comedian is speaking with some men about the Watchmen universe equivalent of the Watergate Scandal and says “Nah…I’m clean, guys.  Just don’t ask where I was when I heard about J.F.K.”

While each book contains a two page chapter of The Curse of the Crimson Corsair I want to wait to review that story in its entirety.

Review – Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1

SPOILER ALERT!  This post may include SPOILERS.  Consider yourself warned.

Another day another post!  This post deals with Silk Spectre #1 (of four total), another title that is part of DC’s Before Watchmen event.  Co-written by Darwyn Cooke (who you may recall wrote Minutemen #1) and Amanda Conner, with art by Conner, Silk Spectre #1 turns the clock back to 1966 where it focuses on the two Silk Spectres: the first, a middle-aged Sally Jupiter, and the second, her angst ridden teenage daughter, Laurie “Jupiter” Juspeczyk.  This issue intends to explore some of Laurie’s formative years to offer a deeper understanding of her relationship with her mother in Watchmen.  But I would say that it was easily the weakest of the three books that I read.

Something that no one wants to see: the Silk Spectre’s angsty teenage years.

The cover to Silk Spectre #1 has a lot and nothing going on all at once.  She stands largely in the center, fist clenched, looking…angsty? bored? detached?  Her fading body reveals figures from her past: her mother as the first Silk Spectre looms at the top, looking carefree and sensual.  Below her, Edward Blake, the Comedian…I think…looking lecherously ambivalent.  Then Nite Owl numero uno whose head is fading away for some unknown reason.  Her mother (again?) and her step-father, Larry Schexnayder, who looks bored, at their wedding.  Lastly, a fading version of herself as a young girl looking youthful and optimistic.  At the bottom is the snow globe from Watchmen #9.  What it is doing on the cover is beyond me.  Perhaps if it had been falling to the ground, moments away from crashing but frozen in time on the cover–an allusion to the “slow time” mentioned in issue #9–I might have understood.  But there it sits…conspicuously close to her crotch.

The art is modern–effective, but nothing to write home about.  The composition is not bad but certainly not good either.  Where this cover does shine is in the colors.  Paul Mounts (one of my favorite colorists!) provides a subtle nuance that the drawings lack.  The background has a quiet canvas texture while the costume looks fragile, as though it is made of parchment paper.  A touch that I love is that the yellow from the costume gradually changes into the skin of her young self, perhaps symbolizing the change from youthful optimism to teenage angst.  All that analysis aside, all I really pulled away from this cover at first glance–and let’s be real; first glance is all that matters for an item sold on a newspaper rack–was angst.

I will admit, this one was going to be a hard sell for me.  Silk Spectre is my least favorite character from Watchmen.  I have always found her to be needy, shallow, and less multi-dimensional than the other characters in the book.  Plus, I don’t really want to read about teenage girls who hate their mothers.  The story begins when Laurie is five, just after Schexnayder leaves and the snow globe has smashed (aside: wouldn’t it have been cool to see it careening on the cover and open the book to see it smash? C’mon editors!).  Laurie declares that she hates Schexnayder to which Sally rebuffs, “Oh sweetie, you’re too young to hate.  Wait until you’re older and the world gives you a good reason.  Trust me, it won’t let you down.”

Fast-forward to 1966, where a teenage boy, Greg, shows interest in Laurie.  Despite her daydreams about a relationship she tells him that she can’t go out with him.  We find out that she is alienated from her classmates because her mother believes that when she’s not at school she should be studying.  And when she’s not studying she should be training.  And when she’s not training she should be at school…you get the picture.

After thwarting a home invader (who turns out to be her mother in disguise.  Why? To train her, of course…yeah, I know.  That $%*# is messed up!) Laurie has it out with her mother and sneaks off to do teenage stuff with Greg.  After some late night parent bashing (and smooching) they retire to a cliché teeny-bopper diner where Laurie gets picked on by the most popular girl in school.  The girl says that everyone knows that her mother was the Silk Spectre and says some choice things about her mom, going so far as to call her a tramp.  Laurie punches the girl out and runs home, where Sally has been sitting, worrying, and drinking.  After another fight, Laurie runs away.  Feeling alienated from her peers because of her mother, she tells her “You make me ashamed.”  Finally, she meets back up with Greg.  The two of them hitch a ride with a hippie van heading to San Fransisco.

Well, that was a lot.  I will say this much for Silk Spectre #1, it may be one of the only comic books–ever–to feature multiple mother/daughter fights (both verbal and physical!).  I could see what Cooke and Conner were going for in this book.  They wanted to show why Laurie and Sally don’t get along so well in Watchmen.  But was this the best way?  Sure, her mother is manipulative and crazy in this issue, but teenage girls are not known for their objectivity.  All I am saying is that if they want to show what created such tension between the two of them they are going to have to try harder.  Hopefully not all four issues will revolve around her running away in 1966 and will instead contain a number of vignettes, throughout their lives before Watchmen (see what I did there?!), that portray several events that caused them to be distant.  A scene that I thought worked well was directly after the home invader training exercise.  They go from literally beating the crap out of one another to yelling at each other, and then, just as quickly as it began, the anger melts away and we see them acting like normal people; a little motherly concern and well intentioned daughterly indignation.  After all, in Watchmen they still interact with one another, they just don’t seem to like each other all that much.

The art throughout is serviceable.  It isn’t bad, it isn’t great.  It’s biggest flaw is that it isn’t consistent.  In some panels Conner conveys subtle emotion very well, while in others the characters look plastic.  Sometimes panels have dynamic energy, and sometimes they seem wooden.  And sometimes they are just poorly drawn (it is infrequent, but still, in a book that is part of a flagship event, I expect more).  I really liked Laurie’s little daydreams throughout the book.  Each one was done in a different style and each captured what it intended to very well.  I was also impressed with Conner’s commitment to detail.  From the castle in the snow globe to the photograph of the Minutemen to the original Silk Spectre costume, everything from Watchmen is just so.

As I suspected from the cover, Mount’s colors throughout were good.  Subtly textural and realistic.  The daydreams pop because of their cartoonish nature and bright, blocky coloring.  I was particularly a fan of the hippie van at the end.  It looked like it was straight out of Yellow Submarine!

Silk Spectre #1 was certainly not bad, but it wasn’t great either.  That is the third time I’ve typed that phrase (or a similar one) in this post and frankly that disappoints me.  In an event as ambitious and important as Before Watchmen I don’t want serviceable.  Or even good.  I want great.  And Silk Spectre #1 just didn’t deliver “great”.  The story was largely predictable, the art was consistently inconsistent, and when I finished it I was not blown away.  Even though I went into Silk Spectre #1 expecting not to be blown away, I hoped all along that I’d be proven wrong.  Here’s to hoping for issue #2.

While each book contains a two page chapter of The Curse of the Crimson Corsair I want to wait to review that story in its entirety.

Review – Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1

SPOILER ALERT!  This post may include SPOILERS.  Consider yourself warned.

This post marks the beginning of my new project to review each and every (sheesh!) book from DC’s Before Watchmen event.  I will begin by reviewing Minutemen #1–art and story by Darwyn Cooke–because it was the first one I read.  Minutemen #1 is the first of six books focusing on the Minutemen, the original super-hero team (from the 1930s and 1940s) in the Watchmen universe.

The first thing I noticed about the book was the feel of the material.  The cover is glossy and substantial, the pages a little firmer than your typical magazine (it is worth noting that all of the books have this same quality, this was just the first one that I read).  It may seem like a small deal to some, but DC clearly decided to print on slightly higher quality paper and that is something that I appreciate.  It sets this event apart from their regular titles by saying “hey, it may be a little more expensive but we are putting a lot into it”.

Golden Age styled art transports the reader back simpler days.

The cover, by artist and writer Darwyn Cooke, portrays Hollis Mason, the first Nite Owl, holding the key to the city at a ticker taper parade in his honor.  He is draped with a sash which reads “In gratitude”and smiling broadly.  On the cover, Cooke uses very simple, classic comic book art reminiscent of Golden Age Jack Kirby: angular face, clean lines, and proportional body.  The coloring is  subdued, almost faded, subconsciously signifying the passage of time.  There is a spotlight on the smiling Nite Owl that’s shape and color is eerily similar to the famous blood stained smiley face pin from the cover of Watchmen #1.

“Is that bean juice, or..?”
“That’s right. Human bean juice. Ha ha.”

The story begins four days into Hollis Mason’s retirement as he struggles to write an epilogue to his autobiography, Under the Hood.  Staring at a black and white photograph of the Minutemen (which should look familiar to fans of Watchmen) he nostalgically recalls the beginnings of masked crime fighting, in 1939, leading up to the formation of the Minutemen.  In a number of passages presumably from Under the Hood he narrates about each of his companions–the mysterious Hooded Justice, the sultry Silk Spectre, the rabid Comedian, the tortured Mothman, the phony Dollar Bill, the relentless Silhouette, and the calculating Captain Metropolis–as well as  his own career.

Cooke takes characters, all of whom except Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, and to some degree Comedian, are very briefly discussed in Watchmen and aims to flesh them out a bit more.  By telling their tales trough the perspective of Hollis Mason in Under the Hood he has a little background from the excerpts of Under the Hood presented in Watchmen.  While Cooke does not stray from the source material (thankfully!) he does add a new perspective.  For instance, readers know from Watchmen that the original Silk Spectre was kind of an act, but Cooke makes Dollar Bill into a movie serial icon (Captain America: The First Avenger anyone?) and Captain Metropolis into a calculating–almost business-like–leader.  This adds a whole new dimension to the dynamics within the group.  There are the phonies, like Silk Spectre, Dollar Bill, and Captain Metropolis.  There are the lunatics; Comedian, who we already know Mason doesn’t like, and Mothman, on whom we gain new perspective.  And there are the genuine heroes; Hooded Justice, who inspired Mason to become a mask, and Nite Owl himself.

Cooke’s art throughout is similar to the cover.  It is old style art which brings the reader back in time.  In that way I really liked it.  It felt particularly Golden Age when he was talking about the early days.  This is achieved in large part to the subtle coloring which tends toward earth and sepia tones.  My hat off to colorist Phil Noto!  I would have liked to have seen the present drawn a little differently, perhaps a bit more modern or in the style of Dave Gibbons.  That way the sections in the past would have felt very disparate.  But, all in all, the art in this book was very effective, dynamic, and enjoyable.

Minutemen #1was an interesting issue that adds new perspective to the history of the Watchmen universe.  I will be interested to see whether each subsequent issue takes up a new narrator or continues with Mason.  And the good news is that I am still interested to see where it goes!

While each book contains a two page chapter of The Curse of the Crimson Corsair I want to wait to review that story in its entirety.

Before Watchmen: Concerns and First Impressions

Hello to all you good people out in internet land.  I’m still alive.  It just seems that I am capable of producing only one of these posts every year or so.  I really intend to remedy that soon.  A lot has changed in the last year.  The biggest change is that I am now a college graduate living in my home town of Durham, North Carolina.  I am currently looking for work within communications/marketing/PR and hope to find something soon.

While I haven’t been blogging about comic books recently, I have been doing a lot of work about comic books.  During my senior year at the University of Rochester I completed a Senior Thesis under the guidance of Professor Norah Rubel called Apocalypse Nu.  This thesis postulated that the creation of the super-hero archetype beginning in comic books in 1938–and throughout the Golden Age of Comic Books–can be seen as a modernization and continuation of the Jewish themes found in apocalyptic writings dating back to the Second Temple Period.  I hope to present some of the work right here as soon as I am done with my initial posts about the history of comic books if I ever finish them.

I also continued to work at Park Avenue Comics & Games until my move in May.  We came into some great collections while I was there including a serious selection of books featuring first appearance of Silver Age Batman villains.  We also attended the Wizard World Toronto Comic Convention in March.  While there, we picked up some great stuff for the store and our own collections (a post about my haul is in the works.  I hope to have it posted before the time I have grey hair…).  If you are ever in Rochester, New York (and you aren’t frozen stiff) I suggest you stop by the shop.  Not only does the shop have a great selection of comic books, games, collectables, and other weird/cool stuff, it is one of the only comic books shops in the whole world that doesn’t give off that unpleasant we-haven’t-seen-the-light-of-day-in-years vibe so often associated with geek stores.

I am lucky enough to still be able to get my comics from the store.  They are shipped to me every two weeks and often include little surprises slipped in (like Dynamite’s Pantha #1).  I mention this arrangement because in this week’s shipment I received the first three books of DC’s Before Watchmen event.  For those of you who don’t know (is there anyone?), Watchmen was a twelve-issue limited series published by DC from 1986-1987.  It features brilliant art by Dave Gibbons and the unparalleled genius of Alan Moore’s writing.  If you haven’t read it GO READ IT NOW!

Seriously. Like, right now!

…

Are you back?  Good.  It was fantastic, right?  There is a reason that Watchmen is considered to be a classic.  It is easily my favorite super-hero story of all time and arguably one of the best comics ever written.  I first read Watchmen when I was about 14 years old.  I had borrowed it from a friend who had recommended it to me.  I read through it in one sitting, gripped in a way that no comic book or book had ever done to me before.  When I finished it I closed it and sat still for a few moments letting it all sink in…at which point I turned the book over and read it again.  I won’t spend time analyzing the book here (maybe I will in a future post?  I just create work for myself…); instead I will give my first impressions of the Before Watchmen event and set the stage for my coming reviews of the individual books that comprise the event.

As the name suggests Before Watchmen takes place, well, before the events of Watchmen.  The event consists of seven titles, each with between four and six issues.  Each book focuses on one of the heroes from Watchmen, therefore the titles are Comedian, Nite Owl, Rorschach, Silk Spectre, Ozymandias, and Dr. Manhattan.  There is also a book entitled Minutemen which focuses on the super-team from the 1930s and 1940s.  Each book contains a two page chapter of The Curse of the Crimson Corsair, a nautical tale which parallel’s Tales of the Black Freighter from the original Watchmen.

I must admit when I first heard about this event I was not excited.  In fact, at first, I was pretty angry about it.  I felt that DC was cashing in on sacred (to a geek) material.  In my estimation, the most beautiful thing about Watchmen was that it was finite.  In a scant twelve issues Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were able to flesh out a story so intricate and captivating, full of characters so fragile and real that it consistently tops lists of greatest comic books (and book-books).  The idea that other creative teams were going to invade this universe–this sacred space–25 years later was more than I could stand.  I had felt the same way when Watchmen finally came to the big screen in 2009.  I felt (and still feel) that it had been called “the unfilmable comic book” for a reason.  And while I own a copy of the film (the deluxe director’s cut in fact) it has always seemed a crude attempt to copy greatness and therefore exists as an entirely separate entity from Watchmen the book in my mind.  Perhaps on its own I could consider it an enjoyable, even good, film, but when stacked up against the source material it–in my opinion–not only falls flat but also seems profane.

But Before Watchmen, much like the film, got under my skin and I just had to know what it was about, perhaps more so out of morbid curiosity than genuine interest.  So I added it to my pull list.  Seven titles, each with four to six issues…at $3.99 a pop.  Good show, DC!  You got me.  The first three, Minutemen, Comedian, and Silk Spectre showed up on my doorstep this week.  I read them and decided that I wanted to post about them here.  Because I have a blog and I should post on it sometimes.  I’m hoping to review each book in it’s own post in a timely (hah!) manner.  Hopefully I’ll have a new post soon.  But you know me…

I am the worst.

Worst Blogger Ever.

So it turns out that I am the worst blogger in the world.  I have officially posted on my girlfriend Christine’s blog more than my own.  The good news is that that has lit a fire under my butt to pay attention to my own blog.  This post isn’t about the “Silver Age” like I had promised, but I swear to you I am working on that.  I actually really like blogging, I am just disgustingly lazy.  But it turns out that this post goes well with my first post detailing the history of the “Golden Age”.   So without further ado I present to you a new post (read: a slightly revamped version of my most recent post on Christine’s blog):

So you may have read on Christine’s blog that she and I took a special emergency trip down to Unadilla on Friday on account of that fact that her grandmother found a box of “Golden Age” Comics in a closet.  Now you probably know this by now, but I am a huge Huge HUGE comic book geek.  I even have my own (very infrequently updated) blog about them…as if you didn’t know!  Needless to say I had a serious dork attack and may or may not have (read: most certainly did) peed my pants out of excitement.  At 8 P.M., after frantically packing comic book bags and boards, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, and some adult diapers, we were off.  Three and half hours later we arrived to find Christine’s mother and sister thumbing through the comics as though they were a stack of three month-old People Magazine’s at the dentist’s office.  Doing my best to maintain my composure I uttered something along the lines of “Get your filthy hands off of those!  Do you realize what you are holding!?!” or something to that effect…or maybe I just wet myself again…I really don’t remember.  It was late, I was tired, and very VERY excited.

Sitting down at the kitchen table  with a small stack of the issues that Christine’s grandmother really wants to sell, I felt my body tense as I came to the realization that these would be the oldest comics that I have ever held in my hands.  Brow moist with nervous sweat, hands aquiver, I began to inspect the first comic, a little title called “Daredevil #1“.  Did you click that link?  Good.  Do you recognize that man on the front?  The swarthy looking one with the emo hair and the tiny mustache.  Yeah, that’s Adolf Hitler getting boomeranged in the face.  Now, I can’t overstate how incredibly valuable “Golden Age” Comics featuring Hitler are because the confines of written language dictate that I use real words that you will understand, but take my word when I say they are extremely valuable.  For instance, this very same issue graded in Near Mint condition (which, mind you, would be very unlikely considering the comic is 70 years old) can fetch over $20,000.  Aw dammit, I just peed again.

I actually held this in my hands. How cool is that!?

This isn’t to say that Christine’s grandma’s copy is worth that much.  All things considered, it was in very nice condition, the colors are vivid, the paper is relatively white and odorless, there aren’t too many nicks and rips.  In fact, the only major defect is that the cover of the issue was detached from the staples, though I have seen coverless copies of the same issue selling for $600.  And while that certainly is the biggest highlight insofar as the value of these books are concerned, there were still several other really cool issues.  She has a copy of “Detective Comics #96″!  To put that in perspective Batman appeared in “Detective Comics #27″, putting #96 around 1943.  This issues was in incredible condition barring the slight curling on the right side from being stored in a box in a closet for at least the last 30 some-odd years.  According to The Overstreet, Alfred’s last name is revealed to be “Beagle” in this issue; his name, of course, would later be changed to “Pennyworth” but it is an interesting tidbit.

That's my thumb in the corner to flatten it out.

She also has a copy of “Captain America #38″, complete with racist cover and all.  This issue was one of the coolest to me because I am a total Marvel doofus and “Golden Age” Cap is the man.  Interestingly, this issue along with some others only feature one staple in the center of the spine as opposed to the two on either end that is more common today.  This may have been because of metal conservation for the war effort.  For this reason there was a sizable stress hole on the left side of the cover, but the cover has remained attached.  Sadly the bottom right corner of this issue had also served as a buffet for a family mice at some point in time.  Lastly, it would appear that the centerfold poster of Cap, purported by The Overstreet, had been removed.  Still the inside was very readable and the art impeccable.  Plus it included a short seven page story featuring the original Human Torch.  Unbeatable stuff!

I'm just not sure if this is more offensive or awesome...

Another interesting highlight was a copy of the “Cocomalt Big Book of Comics”.  This promotional comic from 1938(!) was put out by Cocomalt brand chocolate milk and featured reprints of classic funnies including Windsor McCay’s “Little Nemo”…it also has a racist cartoon on the cover.  Aside from a thumb sized hole on the right side of the cover, this issue was in superb condition.  While not nearly as flashy as a “Captain America” or “Detective Comics”, this is an extremely rare comic that shared in a long held tradition within comics during the 1930′s of reprinting newspaper funnies.  Also, this issue premiered in 1938, that same year during the month of June a certain colorfully clad alien do-gooder would appear in “Action Comics #1″ changing the face of comics and American popular culture forever.

I know this is from 1938 but still, when did people start becoming sensitive to racism?

Aside from those issues there is a stack of around 20 more comics from the early 1940′s.  The majority of these are funny animal books, Mickey Mouse, Looney Tunes, Krazy Kat, just to name a few.  While these are not quite as highly sought after and therefore not as valuable as the ones listed above, they are still almost 70 years old.  Many of them are in good condition all things considered.  It is very interesting to see how the war effort was aimed at children by having Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny buying War Bonds and growing victory gardens.  Over the next few weeks I will go through these issues and grade them to the best of my ability.

Stacks of comics from the 1940s to look through--I gotta stop peeing myself...

Oh, and I forgot the best thing!  Christine’s grandma is letting pick a few to keep because my birthday is today.

Best birthday ever.

A Brief History of Comic Books (Part 1)

I figure before I get all fancy and try to make stupidly generalized statements like, “The comic book is, in its roots, Jewish” or “Spider-Man is by far the best superhero p-e-r-i-o-d”, that I should provide a working background with which to approach the material.  I present to you Part 1 of a 3 part outline of the history of the comic book.

Part 1 deals with the period commonly referred to as “The Golden Age of Comics” or simply “The Golden Age”.  “The Golden Age” covered an extensive period of time, ranging from the spring of 1933, when the first-ever comic book was produced, until early 1955, the time immediately proceeding the passage of the Comic Code Authority (a shonda!).  I want to make it abundantly clear that by no means is this an exhaustive or even extensive look at the history of the comic book.  Whatever information I may present here came almost exclusively from Mike Benton’s wonderful The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History.  If you are interested in finding the book, here’s a link to an Amazon.com sale of the paperback version.  I must also admit that while I love comic books, I am at heart a Marvel guy and, in this way, may tend to stray towards Captain America rather than Superman (Oy!).  Without further ado I present you with

The Golden Age (1933-1955):

1933– The first comic book, Funnies on Parade, was created by the Eastern Color Printing Company of Waterbury, CT.  It reprinted Sunday strips of popular comics such as “Mutt & Jeff” “Joe Palooka” and “Skippy”.  M.C. Gaines, Eastern Color’s best salesman (and the fella that came up with idea to begin with!), sold 10,000 copies to Proctor & Gamble as a mail in prize for customers who clipped and sent in coupons from their Proctor & Gamble soap products.  Within just a few weeks the supply was exhausted, showing the selling potential of the comic book.

Oh my God! That looks so funny!

1936– Comic Magazine Company, Inc.’s Detective Picture Stories was the first comic book dedicated to one specific subject.  Guess what it was.

1937– National Periodicals (later known as D.C.) was formed when Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson partnered with Harry Donenfield.  Wheeler-Nicholson, plagued by constant debt, sold his interest and left in late ’37 leaving Donenfield in charge.

1938– Superman, the first superhero, was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.  Appearing in Action Comics #1 in the early spring, Superman would prove to establish the superhero as the dominant actor of the comic book world throughout much of the Golden Age and beyond (and for that I am eternally grateful…even if Spider-Man is better…).

If you find a copy of this lying around you should totally send it to me…

1939– Batman premiered in Detective Comics #27 giving the comic book world a unique foil to Superman’s “golden boy” persona as well as the world’s first gritty, noir superhero.  Original material, both art and writing, was vastly outselling reprints of Sunday funnies, comic strips, and the like.  Martin Goodman, publisher of the popular Marvel Science Stories pulps, entered the industry.  Goodman hired Funnies, Inc., a popular comic book producing group, to create comic books for him.  Bill Everett and his studio produced Marvel Comics #1 which introduced the Human Torch (the first one) and the Sub-Mariner.

Also this one.

Also this one…Y’know what? If you find any comics send ’em my way.

1941– The impending war invigorated the industry with fresh material.  By summer, Nazi bashing was all the rage, and who better to bash Nazi’s than Jack Kirby and  (Rochester’s own) Joe Simon’s “Captain America”?  Produced for Marvel (who was at the time called Timely), Captain America would become one of the most popular heroes of the ’40’s.

Take that Hitler!

1942– Created by Charles Moulton (the pen name of Dr. William Marston, a psychologist) and Harry Peter, Wonder Woman embodied “the values he [Dr. Marston] held as a pioneer theorist of the women’s liberation movement of the 1940’s”.  Archie #1 also premiered this year, introducing America to its favorite teenager for the next sixty-eight (plus) years.

1944– Superhero’s hit their peak, with Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Adventures (you might know him as D.C.’s Shazam) having an all time high circulation of 14,067,535 issues!

1946– The newest trends in the wake of the (small) decline in superhero comic books were funny animals and comic book versions of both classics and true stories.  9/10 kids ages 8-15 read comics regularly.

1947– Romance comic books begin to gain popularity.

1948– Cowboy and crime comic books gain popularity.  In response to criticism about their products, the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) formed in July.  The idea of the ACMP was to self-regulate the industry.  It was too easily boycotted by companies that relied on violence and sex to sell their comics and fell through later in ’48.

1949– The Cincinnati Committee on the Evaluation of Comic Books found that “seventy percent of all comic books contained objectionable material”.  Thirty-two bills and resolutions were passed in sixteen states restricting the sale of comic books to children.

1950– William Gaines (son of the godfather of comic books himself, M.C. Gaines) and Al Feldstein turned M.C. Gaines’ “Educational Comics” into “Entertaining Comics”, more commonly called EC, a company that would pioneer the genres of horror, science-fiction, and (off color) humor in the early ’50s.  The beginning of the Korean War would affect the industry more considerably a few years later but at the time served as inspiration for new war comic books.  While technically inconclusive, a Senate Committee report investigating the effects of crime comic books on juvenile delinquency rates from 1945-1950 ultimately proved demonizing.

1951– Horror and science-fiction comic books gained popularity.

It’s OK you can keep yours, I actually own a copy of this one!

1952– Interest sparked by the Korean War caused increased demand for war comic books.  Horror and romance comic books were also at an all time high.  MAD #1 premiered this year, indelibly changing the face of humor comics (and modern humor) as we know them.

Now that’s what I call funny!

1953– The age of the superhero was officially over; almost all heroes were retired with the exceptions of the greats: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

1954– An infamous year in the history of the comic book, 1954 proved to create the perfect trifecta of comic book crushing power.  First, Dr. Frederick Wertham, an outspoken critic of comic books, published Seduction of the Innocent.  This demonizing text allegedly showed the ill effects of comic books depicting crime, sex, and violence on children.  Next, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency held a series of public hearings on the ill effects of comic books on children.  Finally, in the October of 1954, after succumbing to pressure, comic book publishers established the Comics Code Authority (CCA).  This self-regulating body imposed strict industry standards on all comic books, “[t]he Code’s emphasis was on eliminating all traces of crime, horror, violence, and sex in…comic books”.

1955– Due to the strict standards of the CCA, there was a more than fifty percent drop in titles and circulation.  Many companies who relied on crime, horror, and science fiction comic books did not make it through the next few years.

Well that was a cheery place to end this timeline…But have no fear true believer–not to give too much away–but the superheros save the day (natch)!  In my next post we’ll take a look at my favorite period in comic books, “The Silver Age of Comic Books” and its subcategory “The Marvel Age of Comic Books”.  ‘Til then!