The Golden Age of Comics
1930’s to late 40’s or early 50’s
• During the Golden Age, modern comic
books were first published and enjoyed a
surge of popularity; the archetype of the
superhero was created and defined; and
many of the most famous superheroes
debuted, among them Superman, Batman,
Captain America, Wonder Woman, and
Captain Marvel.
Read On to Find Out
More…
The Golden Age Hawkman,
from Flash Comics # 71
(May 1946). Art by Joe
Kubert.
Namor's first cover
appearance:
Marvel Mystery Comics #4
(Feb. 1940). Art by
Alex Schomburg.
• In Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27, he is already operating as a crime
fighter. Batman's origin is first presented in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939), and is
later fleshed out in Batman #47.
• As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two
very wealthy and charitable Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor,
with its wealthy splendor, and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of eight,
when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill while on their way
home from a movie theater. Bruce Wayne swears an oath to rid the city of the evil that had
taken his parents' lives. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training; however,
he realizes that these skills alone would not be enough. "Criminals are a superstitious
cowardly lot," Wayne remarks, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their
hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..." As if responding to his desires, a
bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to take on the persona of Batman.
• In early strips, Batman's career as a vigilante earns him the ire of the police. During this
period Wayne has a fiancée named Julie Madison. Wayne takes in an orphaned circus
acrobat, Dick Grayson, who becomes his sidekick, Robin. Batman also becomes a founding
member of the Justice Society of America, although he, like Superman, is an honorary
member, and thus only participates occasionally. Batman's relationship with the law thaws
quickly, and he is made an honorary member of Gotham City's police department. During
this time, butler Alfred Pennyworth arrives at Wayne Manor, and after deducing the
Dynamic Duo's secret identities joins their service.
Batman
Batman made his debut
in Detective Comics
#27 (May 1939) –
cover art by Bob Kane
• Extraordinary powers and abilities, relevant skills and/or advanced equipment.
• A strong moral code, including a willingness to risk one's own safety in the service of good
without expectation of reward. Such a code often includes a refusal or strong reluctance to kill
or wield lethal weapons.
• A motivation, such as a sense of responsibility, a formal calling, a personal vendetta against
criminals, or a strong belief in justice and humanitarian service.
• A secret identity
• A distinctive costume
• An underlying motif or theme that affects the hero's name, costume, personal effects, and other
aspects of his or her character.
• A supporting cast of recurring characters, including the hero's friends, co-workers and/or love
interests, who may or may not know of the superhero's secret identity. Often the hero's
personal relationships are complicated by this dual life.
• A number of enemies that he/she fights repeatedly.
• Independent wealth
• A headquarters or base of operations, usually kept hidden from the general public
• A backstory that explains the circumstances by which the character acquired his or her abilities
as well as his or her motivation for becoming a superhero. Many origin stories involve tragic
elements and/or freak accidents that result in the development of the hero's abilities.
The Superhero Archetype
(Model)
The Golden Age
Aquaman
communicating with
sea life by an
ancient Atlantean
temple he uses as
his lair, from More
Fun Comics #83 (Nov.
1942). Art by Louis
Cazeneuve.
• Publishing of comic books became a major industry. The
period also saw the emergence of the comic book as a
mainstream art form, and the defining of the medium's
artistic vocabulary and creative conventions by its first
generation of writers, artists, and editors.
History
Marvel
Mystery Comics
#9 (July
1940): Fire
vs. water in
comics' first
major
crossover.
Cover art by
Bill Everett.
Action Comics is an American comic book
series that introduced Superman, the first major
superhero character as the term is popularly
defined. The publisher was originally known as
Detective Comics, Inc., and later as National
Comics and as National Periodical
Publications, before taking on its current name
of DC Comics.
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely
Publications, was the earliest comic book arm
of American publisher Martin Goodman, and
the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to
become Marvel Comics.
• Golden Age
• In her debut in All Star Comics #8, Diana was a part of a tribe of female women named the Amazons, native
to Paradise Island- a secluded island set in the middle of a vast ocean. Captain Steve Trevor's plane crashes
on the island and he is found alive by Diana and a fellow Amazon. Diana has him nursed back to help and
falls in love with him. Her mother, the Queen of the Amazons Hippolyte holds a competition among all the
Amazons to decide who is the most worthy of all the women. The winner would then be given the chance of
delivering Captain Steve Trevor back to man's world and fight for freedom and liberty. Diana enters the
competition wearing a mask to conceal her identity, as her mother forbids her to enter the competition. She
wins the competition and then reveals her identity. The winner nevertheless, she is chosen to take Steve
Trevor back and is awarded a special dress made by her mother for her new role as Wonder Woman.
• When she came to America for the first time, Wonder Woman came upon a weeping army nurse named
Diana Prince. The nurse wanted to leave for South America with her fiancé but was unable to due shortage
of money. As both of them looked identical and Wonder Woman needed a job and identity to monitor on
Steve, who was admitted in the same army hospital, she gave her the money she had earned earlier to help
her go to her fiancé in exchange of her credentials. Thus, Diana's secret identity of Diana Prince was created
and she started to work as an army nurse.
• Wonder Woman then took part in a variety of adventures, mostly side by side with Trevor. Her most
common foes during that period would be Nazi forces, and sometimes villains like Baroness Paula Von
Gunther, The Cheetah, Doctor Psycho and Duke of Deception.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman's
first cover,
Sensation Comic
s
#1 (January
1942)
• One event cited for the beginning of the Golden Age was the
1938 debut of Superman in Action Comics #1, published by a
predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. Superman's creation
made comic books into a major industry.
• Between early 1939 and late 1941, DC and sister company
All-American Publications introduced such popular
superheroes as Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, The
Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, Hawkman, and Aquaman,
while Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel
Comics, had million-selling titles that featured the Human
Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America.
History
Charles Clarence Beck (June 8,
1910 – November 22, 1989) was
an American cartoonist and
comic book artist, best known
for his work on Captain Marvel
at Fawcett Comics and
DC Comics.
Whiz Comics #2 (February
1940), the first appearance of
Captain Marvel. Cover art by
C. C. Beck.
Whiz Comics #22 (Oct. 1941), featuring
Captain Marvel and his young alter-ego, Billy
Batson.
Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917
– February 6, 1994),[2] born
Jacob Kurtzberg, was an
American comic book artist,
writer and editor regarded by
historians and fans as one of
the major innovators and most
influential creators in the
comic book medium.
• Although DC and Timely characters are more famous
today, circulation figures suggest that the best-selling
superhero title of the era may have been Fawcett Comics'
Captain Marvel, whose approximately 1.4 million copies
per issue made it "the most widely circulated comic book
in America." Captain Marvel's sales soundly trounced
Superman's self-titled series and Action Comics alike, and
the comic at one point was issued biweekly to capitalize
upon that popular interest.
History
Superman making his debut in Action Comics
No.1 (June 1938); Cover art by Joe Shuster
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
had initially created a bald
telepathic villain bent on
dominating the world, in the
short story "
The Reign of the Super-Man
" in Science Fiction #3, a
fanzine Siegel published in
1933.[
Superman #14 (February 1942).
Cover art by Fred Ray
Powerhouse Pepper #2
(May 1948). Cover art
by Basil Wolverton.
• Other popular and long-running characters included
Quality Comics' Plastic Man, and cartoonist Will Eisner's
non-superpowered masked detective the Spirit, originally
published as a syndicated Sunday-newspaper insert in a
quasi-comic book format.
History
All Star Comics is a 1940s comic book series
from All-American Publications, one of the
early companies that merged with
National Periodical Publications to form the
modern-day DC Comics. With the exception of
the first two issues, All Star Comics primarily
told stories about the adventures of the
Justice Society of America. The series is
notable for its introduction of the Justice
Society of America, the first team of
superheroes, and the introduction of
Wonder Woman.
Marvel Comics #1
(Oct. 1939), the
first comic book
from Marvel
predecessor Timely
Comics. Cover art by
Frank R. Paul.
• Although the superhero was the Golden Age's most
significant contribution to pop culture, many genres appeared
on the newsstands, including humor, Western, romance, and
jungle stories.
• The licensed Walt Disney animated character comics actually
outsold all the supermen of the day.
• Dell Comics, featuring such licensed movie and literary
properties as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Roy Rogers, and
Tarzan, boasted circulations of over two million copies a
month, and Donald Duck writer-artist Carl Barks is
considered one of the era's major talents.
History
Donald Duck “Lost in the Andes” 1949
Donald Duck “Lost in the Andes” 1949
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25,
2000) was an American cartoonist. He worked
for the Disney Studio and created Duckburg
and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge
McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the
Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks
(1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot
(1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D.
Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell
(1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings
earned him the nicknames The Duck Man and
The Good Duck Artist. Writer-artist
Will Eisner called him "the
Hans Christian Andersen of comic books."[1]
War and Comics
• World War II and the subsequent era in history following the dropping
of the atomic bomb in 1945, impacted the content and subject matter
of comic books in the Golden Age. One example is the educational
comic book Dagwood Splits the Atom, using characters from the
comic strip Blondie. Superheroes with nuclear-derived powers began
to emerge, such as the Atomic Thunderbolt and Atoman. In the movie
serial Atom Man vs. Superman, the hero fought a villain named Atom
Man, while Superman's weakness to kryptonite recalled the dangers
of atomic radiation. In contrast to the serious, atomic funny animal
characters such as Atomic Mouse and Atomic Rabbit were developed
as well to possibly help ease young readers' fears over the prospect of
nuclear war. During this time the heroes began to fight communists,
and some got involved in the Korean War as well.
War Affects Comics
• Comic books, particularly superhero comics, gained
immense popularity during the war as cheap, portable,
easily read tales of good triumphing over evil. American
comic book companies showcased their heroes battling
the Axis Powers: covers featuring superheroes punching
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, such as Captain America #1 by
Timely comics in 1941, or fighting buck-toothed
caricatures of Japanese soldiers.
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• http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7x2kx_1950-atom-
man-vs-superman-chp1_shortfilms
• During their adventures, Franklin D. Roosevelt presents Captain America with a new shield,
forged from an alloy of steel and vibranium, fused by an unknown catalyst, so effective that it
replaces his own firearm. Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fight the
Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team the Invaders (as seen
in the 1970s comic of the same name). Captain America also battles a number of criminal
menaces on American soil, including a wide variety of costumed villains: the Wax Man, the
Hangman, the Fang, the Black Talon, and the White Death, among others.
• In late April 1945, during the closing days of World War II, Captain America and Bucky try
to stop the villainous Baron Zemo from destroying an experimental drone plane. Zemo
launches the plane with an armed explosive on it, Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. The pair
reach the plane just before take off. When Bucky tries to defuse the bomb, it explodes in mid-
air. The young man is believed killed. Rogers is hurled into the freezing waters of the North
Atlantic. Neither is found, and both are presumed dead. It is later revealed that neither
character actually died.
• Captain America continued to appear in comics for the next few years changing from World
War II-era hero fighting against the Nazis to trying to defeat the United States' newest enemy,
Communism.
Captain America
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vzKvQ
Green Lantern's
debut in All-
American
Comics#16 (July
1940).
Art by Sheldon
Moldoff.
End of the Era
• 1940s comics were called Golden Age by 1963, as on the
cover of Strange Tales #114 (November 1963).
• As World War II ended the popularity of the superhero
comics diminished, and in an effort to retain readers
comic publishers began diversifying more than ever into
war, Western, science fiction, romance, crime and horror
comics. As a result, many superheroes titles were
canceled.
All-Star Western was the name of three
American comic book series published by
DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus
featuring both continuing characters and
anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to
1961, the second from 1970 to 1972 and the
third is part of The New 52 released in
September 2011.
