Comic Books Through the Ages

Comic books are one of the most fascinating mediums that have evolved in the world and inspired many things, including our video games, music, and most popularly our movies – especially with the Marvel blockbusters and the occasional guilty pleasures of DC films.

Not many people know where some of these wonderful worlds of fantasy and exciting set pieces first took root, however. There are so many great stories behind comics history, both in the separate world in which its inhabitants live and also the outside world that continues to affect it.

THE GOLDEN AGE

This was an era filled with pure excitement and fantasy galore when the world needed it the most, approximately starting in the mid-1930s with the release of “Action Comics #1.” This marked the debut of Superman, who would quickly become the gold standard for superheroes.

It was especially the time for comics to bring people together when the world was dealing with poverty and the Great Depression, and also a large wave of immigration with World War II on the horizon.

Timely comic’s Captain America was a great example of how the American people needed a great figure to fight against fascism. Beyond that, this period had a lot of what we would call mature material, and serious conflicts between people.

The Golden Age would end over a growing mob outrage that these comics were inciting youth violence that in turn created the “Comic Book Code Authority.”

THE SILVER AGE

The Silver Age followed the decline of the various trends that began in the Golden Age, with more mature genres such as horror, romance, and other topics being muted, thanks to the

Authority. The backlash against comics causing a “violent youth” led to fewer comic characters’ conflict with other humans and more with various creatures, monsters, and aliens instead.

The majority of the superheroes seen here are more child-friendly and take on less-mature subjects. There also is the introduction of child sidekicks for young readers to better relate to – such as the boy wonder, Robin.

This was a very optimistic time for the stories being told, as all the heroes were meant to come out on top against foreign foes, or more silly guys in costumes. Friendship and love conquers all. Dubbed “the era of innocence,” it wound down with the final Silver Age Marvel comic “The Night that Gwen Stacy Died,” where one of the most important girlfriends of Spiderman was killed on the page, during an era when death was rare. The era died almost overnight, in the early 1970s.

THE BRONZE AGE

From the infamous death in the Spiderman comic, things pseudo-returned to the vibe of the Golden Age, with the relaxation of the comic book code making certain stories sharable again. Parts of harsh reality bled into the Bronze Age comics as the U.S. found itself in the middle of the Vietnam War and with the topics of civil rights, poverty, and drugs being explored, a big shift after the childproofing of the Silver Age.

On top of that, many artists, editors, and writers were retiring from the industry which opened wide the doors for new and young minds to tell the amazing fantasies yet to be explored. A much more inclusive roster of characters was another defining characteristic of the times. Since Marvel effectively ended the previous era, it seems fitting that DC would close the Bronze Age with the end of the comic event of “Infinite Crisis on Infinite Earth.”

THE MODERN AGE

The Modern Age is ongoing, but we have seen the uphill battles of the comic book industry, the lowest lows and the highest highs, such as Marvel almost going bankrupt in the late 1990s.

The greatest enduring trend is the diversity of stories being told and characters being explored; a few characters that help define this era arrive with major reboots of universes for a modern audience.

There’s also a great surge of independent comics, with more different types of characters than ever. They now include anti-heroes, those characters in a moral gray area who are willing to do whatever is needed for their end goal, such as killing their adversaries.