Comic books still remain a big part of geek culture
Comic books are stories told through panels that represent individual scenes, which then usually contain speech balloons to portray dialogue being spoken. It was not until the 1930s where comic books became popularised in the United States. The typical comic strips you would find then would very short condensed scenarios in which there would be only a few panels to convey a humorous situation and a narrative wouldn’t usually be a main standpoint and had a more of a focus on a punchline and were essentially one-shots. The term one-shot when used in the comic book industry means that the comic book that was published is intended to be seen as a single standalone issue with its own self contained story; whilst also not being a part of an ongoing series. Comics would typically stick to this format and have a formula when it came to story telling. When the superhero genre itself was introduced, they were used to promote the ideals of that contemporary society.
Comic books became increasingly popular, but it was particularly after the Great Depression that the popularity of newspaper cartoons expanded into a major industry. This became the Golden Age of comics which is where the modern comics were first published and swiftly increased in prominence. It can be said that the Golden Age was born from the creation of Superman in 1938, making his first debut in Action Comics number 1. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman is now one of the most recognisable comic book characters to this day. The success of Superman spawned a series of spin offs and created a new genre of characters with tropes such as secret identities, superhuman powers and colourful outfits – this being the superhero archetype. Characters such as Batman and Wonder Woman were amongst those that followed this trend. The sales of comic books continued to increase during World War II, which was not long after the introduction of the Golden Age of comics, as they were a cheap and portable form of entertainment. The fact that they were cheap and portable was not their only selling point – it was the fact that they told inspirational and poetic stories of good overcoming evil. The realm of comic books acted as a realm of escapism – it allowed people to briefly take a break from their problems and escape into fantasy where everything had a guaranteed positive ending and a strong sense of stability. The superhero archetype in particular provided an escapist of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy where adversities and hardships are rectified by these larger than life heroes.
Superman & Nuclear Man cosplay
The stories told would reflect the events and values of the time, which resonated with people and explains why there was such an increase in popularity. Pro-American characters were understandably popular, in particular Captain America, a superhero whose entire creation was based on aiding the country’s war effort. Captain America’s costume even sported the American flag on his costume by having the stars and stripes as his costume – he was pictured battling Adolf Hitler on the cover of his very first issue in March 1941. This was the epitome of the Golden Age era of comic books, with superheroes being the most popular genre in the industry. However, the popularity and distribution of superhero comic books declined after World War II and the comic book industry had more of a focus on crime and horror genres.
Marvel's huge cast of characters
To regain the public interest back into the superhero genre, Marvel and DC would reinvent their characters. This was due to the change of the times and it is key for stories and characters to grow with the times as they aim to stay relevant. The revival of of superheroes in publications came in the form of stories now being more sophisticated and a greater focus on characters. This would be known as the silver Age of comics, in where characters were now flawed and would have a greater focus on self-doubt. Spider-man creator Stan Lee supports this as the reason Spider-Man became an instant hit and became the marketable franchise it is now. There was now a realistic style of superhero that would have human flaws, fears and would squabble and face real life problems that we as an audience would face in our own lives.
With this huge contrast to the previous archetype of superhero, this shift in style would have been seen as a revolution of sorts, ushering a new age and increasing comic books admiration in the public eye. It was Spider-Man’s realism, relatability and psychological complexity that helped define what was to be expected from comics in the new era. It took a different approach to the superhero genre and the idea that super powers would not always improve your life, as Spider-Man would still face hardships of everyday people - those being financial issues, relationships and bullies. Spider-Man’s powers did not liberate him of his problems but only enhanced them – with bullies now being super villains and his relationships now having higher risks and then time management with his special life and being a superhero. This defined Spider-Man as the everyman hero that the audience could empathise with, understanding the hardships Peter Parker goes through as Spider-Man. Stan Lee provided his thoughts on Spider-Man’s everyman approach in an interview with NPR News with the host Renee Montagne (2006).
MONTAGNE: When Spiderman came on the scene, this was a real - first he was kind of young, but flawed as well as with regular human problems. I mean Peter Parker had dandruff. But he had also crushes on girls. He was a bit of a geek. I think it's fair to say. And he cried. He was vulnerable.
Mr. LEE: That's right. I wanted to make him as realistic as possible. I hated teenagers in comics because they were always sidekicks. And I always felt if I were a superhero, there's no way I'd pal around with some teenager, you know. At the very least people would talk. But I thought it might be interesting to make the teenager the actual hero. What would happen if a teenage kid got a power? And then I thought it'd be even more interesting to make him a kid with the normal problems that so many teenagers have.
(NPR News 2006)
Like many characters within the Marvel Universe, the reality in which other superheroes such as The Hulk and the fantastic Four reside, Spider-Man is a hero of circumstance. In Spider-Man’s origins, when he first discovers his powers he does not immediately jump into the role of a superhero. Instead he initially used his powers for profit, having no intention of being a hero. The one event that is continuously constant in the Spider-Man mythos is the death of Spider-Man’s uncle Ben. Uncle Ben was murdered by a thief and it is the outcome of the selfish choice Spider-Man makes and not taking action to stop him when he had the chance. It is this guilt that informs the entire character. The character of Spider-Man is then flawed but he learns he grows and may not always make the right decision and try to help people to the best of his abilities, and all this complexity is what makes the character relatable and real.
This is what makes Spider-Man so universally loved, as the character is constructed to be make the same mistakes and decisions any one of us would make in the current situation. This realistic and rational approach of his character is what allowed people to become immersed in the story, as an audience could feel that anyone including themselves could be under the suit – the level of immersion varies across multiple platforms in the years to come.
I hope you enjoyed this look into the history of comics and superheroes. I'll hopefully be looking to expand upon this with Spider-Man as a case study. If you have any thoughts and opinions of your own please feel free to share with me. I would love to know your thoughts on this.
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