Comic Books

Telling Stories with Pictures

• Cave Paintings
• Hieroglyphics
• Bayeaux Tapestry

Brief History

• The phrase Comic Book First Appeared in 1897
• "The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats"
• Inexpensive to produce
• This was the Platinum Age of Comics

The Golden Age of Comics

June 1938

• Action Comics #1
• Superman First Appearance
• Idea of Two Teenagers from Cleveland, Ohio
• Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
• But why was he so popular?

Superman

• America was a nation of immigrants
• Searching for the American Dream
• Superman was the ultimate immigrant
• He was separated from his parents and -- a feeling of adventure and uncertainty!

Superheroes and Patriotism

• What was happening in the world at this time?
• World War 2-
• Hitler, Nazis, the Axis Powers - oh my!
• 1939-1945

Patriotism and Propaganda

• America was at war
• Comic Books and Superheroes helped fuel Patriotism
• 44% of soldiers were believed to be comic book readers

Reflection of the times

• Good vs Evil
• Right over wrong

The Atomic Age

Science Fiction and Horror Comics

The Silver Age

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Timely Comics

DC Comics

• Detective Comics

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