Comic Books Now and Then

Today comic books, and the characters that live inside them find themselves at new heights. Many of these icons have found their way onto the big screen in hit motion pictures. A list of different comic heroes can be credited with their own movie in the last year alone.

Many more have shown up since the turn of the millennium. "Blade" the sword wielding vampire hunter has returned to the big screen several times, as have the mutant X-Men. Ghost Rider, The Hulk, Superman, and Batman have all had their respective runs in the theater. Who could forget the overly advertised Spiderman movies?

Comics have come a long way. But where exactly did they come from?

Super powered do-gooders didn't always dominate the comic book industry. Putting the line of American comics in perspective can take us back so far as the late 1890's. This platinum age of comics began with the first exclusively US comic book. In fact "The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats" would go on to coin the phrase "comic book". A couple decades later, during the Great Depression of the 1930's, comics would sell big on the newsstands. Back before characters hit the big screen with super powers, comics could be sold for ten cents an issue.

The country was in the throws of a financial death, World War II was only a few years away, and the "Famous Funnies" were making a $30,000 profit. It could have been the catchy title, or that comics were easy to read, but I believe there was more to these monumental numbers. Of course because of inflation a family can hardly live off of $30,000 a year in this day and age. Back in the Great Depression, that was a comfortable fortune. I believe people needed something to laugh at, so many turned to comics.

Over two hundred issues of the "Famous Funnies" saw the printed page in the 1930's. But Comics were headed somewhere greater. In June of 1938, Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shooster's Superman debuted in "Action Comics" #1

I've had the pleasure to read this issue, and I can say that Superman was not really the man we all know him to be today. The resemblance to today's man of steel is unquestionable, but so are the differences. Let me explain. Most young people pay little attention when someone says Superman is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Maybe only the grandparents would truly understand those words.

Back in 1938 Superman could not fly. Instead he would jump from location to location, stopping kidnappers, and even preventing a man from beating his wife. Superman was a no nonsense hero, but Clark Kent was still just a mild mannered reporter in the eyes of a star-crossed Lois Lane.

This golden age of comics ushered in a plethora of costumed superheroes on into the 1940's. The industry was booming while World War II raged beyond the Atlantic. This was the beginning for many of the heroes mentioned earlier whom we now pay to see in live action movies. It has taken nearly seventy years for this genre, and these characters to grow beyond the comic book industry.

In my opinion most of these movies have been monumental failures, weighed down by special effects, and a lack of storytelling. There have been a few bright spots, but I don't think comics are quite ready to step so far out of the genre. The movies grossed millions, but Hollywood's inability to follow canonical story elements disappointed many comic fans.

Most motion pictures in general seem to have difficulty finding the right balance in utilizing special effects. If Hollywood continues to produce comic movies, perhaps one day more die-hard fans will be drawn to them. Regardless, comics have always grown in their own direction, and I suppose they will continue to do so. Comics have weathered a rocky road in the past. They continue to address questionable issues, so perhaps these superheroes have yet to face their greatest challenges.