In the third entry on the history of comics, we now enter The Silver Age of Comics.
At the closing of the Golden Age of Comics, soldiers returned from the war, superhero comics began to decline, and other genres such as war, westerns, crime, horror, science fiction, and romance began to hit the stands. DC heroes (then National Comics) like Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Flash (Jay Garrick), and other members of the Justice Society of America were pulled, while Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman continued to print, albeit modestly. Horror and crime comics took things to new levels, and Fredric Wertham, psychiatrist and author of Seduction of the Innocent, coupled with the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, led the charge against comic books. And from the book burnings, the pressure from the government, and the avoidance of a government-sanctioned body overseeing comic book publications, comic book publishers formed the Comics Code Authority to monitor published content.
The short lived journey of crime and horror comics at the top was coming to an end, and it was time for superhero comics to strike again - and strike they did, with a bolt of lightning!
DC Comics
DC Comics sought to bring lighter-hearted, fun, adventurous comics back to the forefront. While Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman had continued to sell, editor Julius Schwartz decided to revamp the other heroes of the 30's and 40's. Himself a fan of science fiction, Schwartz looked to reimagine DC's heroes with a scientific twist. Thus, the following changes were made:
And later, following the popularity of team-ups, DC had sidekicks join forces to create the Teen Titans:
DC Comics, now a publishing giant in the 50s and 60s, paved the road for the new superhero era. It was during this time that DC decided they would do something radical - bring back the original heroes.
Flash (Barry Allen) was able to vibrate his molecules so fast, he was able to escape our plane of existence - and land himself on Earth-Two, the home of the original Flash, Jay Garrick (confused? Wait till we get into the multiverse).
The short lived journey of crime and horror comics at the top was coming to an end, and it was time for superhero comics to strike again - and strike they did, with a bolt of lightning!
DC Comics
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| Barry Allen's first appearance as the Flash, hastily ushering in the Silver Age |
DC Comics sought to bring lighter-hearted, fun, adventurous comics back to the forefront. While Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman had continued to sell, editor Julius Schwartz decided to revamp the other heroes of the 30's and 40's. Himself a fan of science fiction, Schwartz looked to reimagine DC's heroes with a scientific twist. Thus, the following changes were made:
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| Hal Jordan's 1st Appearance |
- 1940's Flash, Jay Garrick, was replaced by police officer Barry Allen, who, while working in a crime lab, was struck by lightning and made a super speedster. After reading a comic book about The Golden Age Flash, Barry decided to take the name for himself. The new Flash's appearance in 1956's Showcase #4 (shown above) is generally regarded by historians as the first issue of The Silver Age.
- 1940's Green Lantern, Alan Scott, whose ring was operated by a magic lantern, was replaced by test pilot Hal Jordan, who was given a ring and lantern after being inducted into an intergalactic police corps, the Green Lanterns, by an alien group known as the Guardians of the Universe.
- DC updated other heroes, including The Atom (professor Ray Palmer, physicist) and Hawkman (Katar Hol, an alien from the planet Thanagar).
- Aquaman was retconned and given a new origin and history.
- DC introduced new characters, like J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter.
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| J'onn J'onnz, manhunter from Mars |
The new changes by DC were a hit, and once again, superheroes began to flourish and thrive. Crossovers began, with heroes appearing in each other's titles, until DC introduced their flagship mega-team, the Justice League of America.
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| Justice League's 1st Appearance: Brave and the Bold #28 |
And later, following the popularity of team-ups, DC had sidekicks join forces to create the Teen Titans:
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| Brave and the Bold #54 |
DC Comics, now a publishing giant in the 50s and 60s, paved the road for the new superhero era. It was during this time that DC decided they would do something radical - bring back the original heroes.
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| The Flash #123 - a landmark issue. It also recently sold for $83,000 |
Over time, Barry visited Jay and vice versa, and through creative ways eventually the whole Justice Society of America met with the Justice League of America, saving each other's bacon now and again.
DC was truly breaking new ground for the superhero genre - something comic writer Stan Lee took notice of.
Enter the Marvel Era
While mega stars like the current Flash and Green Lantern were created, and the Justice League became a sought after comic book for readers everywhere, the Silver Age of Comics cannot be spoken about without delving into the massive gains made by Marvel Comics and, notably, Stan Lee.
I shouldn't have to reiterate the awesomeness that is Stan Lee, because you've already gone ahead and read my introduction to Stan Lee in my blog Comic Names You Should Know: Stan Lee! Besides, you already knew who he was prior to that anyhow, right? Right?
But to showcase the work Lee accomplished during the Silver Age, let's again recall that Stan Lee co-created:
And for no reason except that I like it, here's the song sung by Michael Buble.
As for the show, which debuted in 1967, the key highlights are:
DC was truly breaking new ground for the superhero genre - something comic writer Stan Lee took notice of.
Enter the Marvel Era
While mega stars like the current Flash and Green Lantern were created, and the Justice League became a sought after comic book for readers everywhere, the Silver Age of Comics cannot be spoken about without delving into the massive gains made by Marvel Comics and, notably, Stan Lee.
I shouldn't have to reiterate the awesomeness that is Stan Lee, because you've already gone ahead and read my introduction to Stan Lee in my blog Comic Names You Should Know: Stan Lee! Besides, you already knew who he was prior to that anyhow, right? Right?
But to showcase the work Lee accomplished during the Silver Age, let's again recall that Stan Lee co-created:
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| Spider-Man's first appearance, Amazing Fantasy #15. Recently sold for $1.1 Million. I want one... make it two. |
- Spider-Man
- Iron Man
- Hulk
- Thor
- Hawkeye
- Nick Fury
- The Avengers
- The Fantastic Four
- The Silver Surfer
- The X-Men
- Daredevil
- Doctor Strange
Stan Lee looked at comics in the 40s and 50s, and saw what worked, and what didn't work. Together, with Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Sr., and many other incredible artists and writers, Stan began the Marvel Comics explosion. Lee, like DC's Julius Schwartz, was a big fan of science fiction, and based most of his superhero's powers on scientific reasoning (Iron Man's suit ran on Stark-powered transistors, Peter Parker's radioactive spider, Bruce Banner's gamma bomb radiation, cosmic radiation in the Fantastic Four, and so on).
And, playing off the popularity of super teams, Lee saw to the creation of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and a comic book that took singular heroes and paired them together, The Avengers.
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| The Avengers Versus Loki? Hmm... they should make a movie about that..... |
Stan Lee, as editor of Marvel Comics, also introduced a new aspect to superhero comics - the reluctant, self-loathing superhero. Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, would battle a villain, but as a result frequently miss a high school test, lose his job, or end up not getting the girl. Bruce Banner constantly avoided becoming the Hulk, as he was powerless when the rage took over. The Fantastic Four acted as a super team, but while Reed Richards could control his stretching, Susan Storm wasn't always invisible, and Johnny Storm could toggle his Human Torch guise, Ben Grimm was permanently disfigured and viewed as a monster when he was cosmically altered into the Thing.
At a time when DC Comics's heroes were becoming over-the-top (Superman's powers escalated to the point that he could now move planets with his hands), Marvel Comics's humanizing traits, historians argue, are what drew in teenage crowds and jetted Marvel Comics into the spotlight.
Another key point for Marvel was that Stan Lee like to place his heroes in familiar settings - like New York City (Peter Parker grew up in Queens, the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the Baxter Building, was located in Manhattan, etc), as opposed to DC's imaginary locations of Gotham City, Metropolis, and Smallville. In fact, Lee placed almost all of his characters in New York City, giving more justification as to why the heroes would cross paths regularly. Placing the heroes in locations that Lee was familiar with helped with the writing process, as well as made fans more easily identify with the characters.
With all these comics in the market, it was only a matter of time until superheroes took over other mediums - notably television.
Comics-to-Television
The 60s & 70s saw a lot of superheroes on TV, some incarnations good, some mediocre (but never bad - I mean, hey, they're comics!). Perhaps I'll do a more thorough review of this later, but for now, he's some of the major ones to recall, and likely the ones you're most familiar with.
Batman
In 1966, Batman made his TV debut, starring Adam West as the titular hero. I don't believe there's a lot of explanation required here - the theme song alone should refresh your memory. If you don't remember the show at all, here's a quick explanation:
What was it about those hip people in the '60s? They sure knew how to write a catchy jingle back then. To get the neurons firing in an effort to recollect this show, here's the Spider-Man theme song.
Another key point for Marvel was that Stan Lee like to place his heroes in familiar settings - like New York City (Peter Parker grew up in Queens, the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the Baxter Building, was located in Manhattan, etc), as opposed to DC's imaginary locations of Gotham City, Metropolis, and Smallville. In fact, Lee placed almost all of his characters in New York City, giving more justification as to why the heroes would cross paths regularly. Placing the heroes in locations that Lee was familiar with helped with the writing process, as well as made fans more easily identify with the characters.
With all these comics in the market, it was only a matter of time until superheroes took over other mediums - notably television.
Comics-to-Television
The 60s & 70s saw a lot of superheroes on TV, some incarnations good, some mediocre (but never bad - I mean, hey, they're comics!). Perhaps I'll do a more thorough review of this later, but for now, he's some of the major ones to recall, and likely the ones you're most familiar with.
Batman
In 1966, Batman made his TV debut, starring Adam West as the titular hero. I don't believe there's a lot of explanation required here - the theme song alone should refresh your memory. If you don't remember the show at all, here's a quick explanation:
- Burt Ward, as Robin, consistently said, "Holy ___, Batman!" ( ___ not meant to represent a curse word). See here for examples.
- Mickey from the Rocky movies (Burgess Meredith) was the Penguin - though chronologically that means the Penguin was Rocky's coach.
- The Joker, played by Caesar Romero, had a moustache whited-out with makeup because the actor wouldn't shave it for the role.
- There were three actresses to portray Catwoman: Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriweather, and Julie Newmar.
- Frank Gorshin expertly portrayed The Riddler.
Because the Comics Code Authority had neutered comics, this campy representation of Batman made it to the air. Respectfully, it did extremely well at first, which even prompted the 1966 Batman movie. By the third season, the TV show pressured DC Comics to introduce (Batwoman and Batgirl had already come and been dismissed) reintroduce a female character so one can be featured in the show, and so Barbara Gordon made her debut as Batgirl. The character was then portrayed on the small screen by Yvonne Craig.
What was it about those hip people in the '60s? They sure knew how to write a catchy jingle back then. To get the neurons firing in an effort to recollect this show, here's the Spider-Man theme song.
And for no reason except that I like it, here's the song sung by Michael Buble.
As for the show, which debuted in 1967, the key highlights are:
- Decent acting talent
- A lot of shots of Spider-Man web-swinging and sticking to walls (to save money, shots were reused over and over again, like the background scenes of any episode of The Flintsones)
- A decline in using villains from the comic book after season one
- Footage from the show Rocket Robin Hood was reused in this show (no joke, check it out yourself)
Nevertheless, Spider-Man proved to be a big hit, and helped forever popularize the character.
All that Glitters isn't-- Silver?
Once again, superheroes took the lead in comic books, and made further mainstream leaps into television, radio, and film. They had survived being the scapegoat of allegations by a mad doctor, and the onslaught that then ensued from the United States government.
The publishers themselves, however, may have become their own worst enemies, as the creation (however necessary) of the Comics Code Authority implemented stringent rules dictating the do's and don'ts of publishing a comic book. The revitalization of superheroes sprang from this initial change, but ultimately altered the course of many heroes, forcing superhero comic books to become campy, silly versions of their prior incarnations. Previously seen characters like Batman no longer tackled crooks and crime but now fought intergalactic beings, and carried shark repellent bat spray. "And how come Batman doesn't dance anymore? Remember the Batusi?" Other heroes, like Superman, now had Krypto the Superdog, Streaky the Supercat, Comet the Super-Horse, and Beppo the Supermonkey. Together, they formed the [*sigh*] Legion of Super-Pets.
While superheroes embarked on lighter antics than in the past, what was it that took the polish off the Silver, and ushered in the Bronze Age of Comics? Like all other periods throughout history, no one person dictated the timeline of each era, so opinions vary depending on historians.
One historian and comics scholar, however, argues that the Bronze Age of Comics didn't get ushered in with a boom of lightning like the Silver Age, but instead appeared by a subtle, quiet "snap"...
[Stay tuned for my entry on The Bronze Age of Comics!]
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