Comic Book Ages

The comics of the Victorian Age bear limited resemblance to what their future descendants would become, but still possess some of the key attributes: sequential storytelling told via the combination of artwork and text. 

The first American comic book is believed to have appeared in 1849 and is entitled “Journey to the Gold Diggins'” by Jeremiah Saddlebags, James Alexander Read, and Donald F. Read, a copy of which can be read here: https://archive.org/details/JourneyToTheGoldDiggins/mode/2up 

The comics of the Platinum Age primarily appeared in the comic supplements of newspapers, and featured ongoing stories and featuring an ongoing cast of characters. 

One of the first and more popular comic characters of the Platinum Age is the Yellow Kid, created by Richard F. Outcault and one of the first to use a word balloon to convey what he was saying as opposed to the usage of narrative captions. 

The comics of the Golden Age established many of the standard attributes that continue to this day: an inexpensive (typically ten cents) combination of content and advertising printed on newsprint, collected in a smaller magazine format, and sold on newsstands. 

The Golden Age began in 1938 when the character Superman was introduced in Action Comics #1, a copy of which can be read here: https://archive.org/details/action-comics-1-6/Action%20Comics%20001/ 

Some comic book historians have bifurcated the latter, post-World War 2 and pre-Silver Age comics into what they deem the Atomic Age. 

While superhero characters such as Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and Captain America dominated the content of comic books through the mid-1940s, their popularity slowly waned, supplanted by horror, western, romance, science fiction, and anthropomorphic animals such as Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. 

The comics of the Silver Age featured a rebirth of the superhero genre, resulting in a significant growth in popularity. 

The start of the Silver Age of Comic Books began in 1956 with the publication of DC Comics' Showcase #4, which introduced an updated version of the Golden Age superhero The Flash. 

On the heels of DC Comics introducing the popular superhero team The Justice League of America in 1960, publisher Marvel Comics introduced their own super group known as the Fantastic Four In 1961. The success of this comic led to Marvel Comics creating several exceptionally popular characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, and the X-Men. 

Other publishers such as Charlton, Archie, and Tower follow the popular trend set by DC and Marvel by unveiling their own superhero comic books to varying degrees of success.

The comics of the Bronze Age were similar to the Silver Age, and maintained a focus on superhero characters, albeit with stories that were somewhat more mature and more socially relevant. 

One key factor that is often heralded as the start of the Bronze Age is the departure of Jack Kirby from Marvel Comics in 1970, ending more than a decade of creativity and collaboration with writer Stan Lee. Kirby migrated to DC Comics, creating such characters as the powerful villain Darkseid.  

A hallmark of the early Bronze Age was the growing solemnity of comic book stories in the early 1970s. Examples include the introduction of the antihero Conan the Barbarian, Green Arrow’s sidekick’s addiction to drugs, and the death of Spider-Man’s longtime girlfriend Gwen Stacy. 

Another characteristic of the Bronze Age was the introduction of minority characters, including Shang-Chi, the Green Lantern John Stewart, Luke Cage, Cyborg, Kitty Pryde, and White Tiger. 

A major shift that took place during the Bronze Age was the migration away from selling comic books exclusively on newsstands and towards the “direct market” consisting of comic book shops. 

The comics of the Modern Age were characterized by more serious content, improved printing quality, and the rise of alternative publishers. 

Two series, both from DC Comics, gained widespread attention for their mature approach and are often cited for ushering in the Modern Age: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. The gritty and adult take on superheroes would resonate with readers and influence the era for years to come. 

A major development that took place in the Modern Age was the rise of independent or “alternative” comic book publishers led initially by publishers such as Comico, First Comics, Pacific, and Eclipse. The alternative comic publishers truly made their mark in 1992 when several high-profile artists relinquished their ties with Marvel Comics to create their own very successful company, Image Comics. 

Another key event of the Modern Age was the rise of the speculator market in the early 1990s, spawned by collectors attempting to profit from the purchase and sale of what were believed to be highly collectible comic books. Adding fuel to the speculation craze, publishers began printing newly renumbered issues banking on the attractiveness of first editions, issuing variant or “enhanced” (e.g., foil-stamped) covers, or encasing comics in polybags that also included trading cards. After a few years of artificially inflated sales, the market ultimately crashed.