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Debut of an American Icon
Superman's debut established the predominate superhero genre of comic books. That's not to say there weren't comic books before Superman's--there were plenty, such as Dick Tracy, Tarzan, and Flash Gordon--but Superman sparked a fire for the industry. -
Birth of Captain America
With the arrival of World War II came the birth of Captain America by Timely Comics (later Marvel Comics), who was fighting in the war before the U.S.'s government was. He can bee seen on the cover of the very first issue of Captain America Comics punching Adolf Hiter in the jaw. -
Communism
Comic books began to reflect the perceived threat of communism and nuclear warfare. This comic is one of the best known examples. Published by the Catechetical Guild Education Society and titled "Is This Tomorrow: America Under Communism," this post-war "what-if" dramatization details the Russians conquering and enslaving America. It warns that communists are "working day and night to overthrow YOUR GOVERNMENT!" -
Biblioclasm
Time Magazine report on the book burningMany people, among them Dr. Frederic Wertham, who has already begun his crusade, believe that comic books are terrible influences--Batman and Robin promote homosexuality, Wonder Woman gives girls the "wrong idea" about their place in society, kids wouldn't be able to understand the laws of physics because Superman could fly--and a Parochial school in Binghampton, NY, canvassed the houses in their neighborhood for 2,000 comic books and burned them in the school yard. -
Comics Code Authority
Because of the growing concern over the content that was deemed inappropriate in comic books, the Comics Code Authority was set up by publishers to self-ceonsor their titles that same year. It has many restrictions, such as "in every instance good shall triumph over evil." Even though the CCA didn't have any legal authority, publishers often refused to carry comics if they didn't have the CCA's stamp of approval, and the comic book industry began to decline rapidly due to the controversy. -
A Challenger Appears
Despite the popularity of comic books, many thought that they were more a menace to society than anything. Amont them is the most famous--and perhaps most loathed--Dr. Frederic Wertham, who puclished a book, titled Seduction of the Innocent: The Influence of Comic Books on Today's Youth. Although many of his claims were met with derision from the comic book industry, parents who had become alarmed began a campaign for censorship. At the same time a U.S. Congressional Inquiry was launched. -
More Biblioclasm
Another instance of comic book burnings in the wake of Wertham's book. 8,000comic books were collected by The Jaycee Youth Leadership and burned. Vancouver Noir wrote that there was "no significant improvement in juvenile behaviour" after the burning. -
First Superhero Team
Comic book publishers began to integrate more humanity into their heroes, tackling many of the same problems regular people dealt with on a daily basis. Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, of the Fantastic Four, is perhaps the best example of this. He was an exception of the perfect superheroes of the past, as his power came with a terrible side-effect. He would often become depressed due to his looks and fight with his team-mates. It made comic books seem more real. -
Teenaged Superhero
Another superhero who debuted--and consequently broke grounds--was the Amazing Spider-Man. Unlike previously, when teenage heroes were relegated to the role of sidekick like Robin and Bucky, the main character was a teenage superhero. He had no mentor to guide him, and had to learn that "with great power comes great responsibility" by himself. Teenagers could more easily relate to him because he was also a shy high school student with problems of his own -
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Pioneer of Diversity
From the 70's to the 90's, comic books have called attention social issues that America society generally ignored. Marvel Comics became a pioneer of diversity in this aspect--with characters like the blind Daredevil; The X-Men, who were based on the premise that mutants were a metaphor for real-world minorities; and the revelation of Northstar being gay. Later on, DC Comics introduced the homosexual Pied Piper and AIDS related themes in the Flash series. -
Spider-Man Breaks Out
The first mainstream comic book to be published without the CCA's stamp of approval was The Amazing Spider-Man #96 because it dealt with the drug addiction of Peter's best friend Harry. Following the period of commercial success and artistic development in the 60's, comics started featuring issues more grounded in the real world, such as drug addiction, the AIDS epidemic, homelessness, and many others. This was considered a landmark in bringing the issues of society into the comic book world. -
Maus
Maus: A Survvivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman was the first comic book to win the Pulitzer Prize for it's depiction of the author's father's struggle to survive the Holocaust as a Polish Jew. Since, Maus has been the subject of many essays and studied in schools, usually in courses dedicated to English literature and Jewish culture. In this way, and many others, comic books have been used to educate people. -
9/11
Comic book artists turned to their medium to express their grief and support after the 9/11 tragedy. Marvel published three comics, the profits of which went to 9/11 based charities. Mainstream companies and artists coordinated on a set which showed the effect of 9/11 on various groups of people. The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, detailed the events and aftermath of the attack; though it reads like a comic, it's not a dramatization, and all facts are told from a neutral standpoint. -
Civil War
The fictional events in the Marvel crossover comic Civil War was said by writer Mark Miller to contain a "certain amount of political allegory," as the American people "swapped freedom for security" by forcing superheroes to reveal their true identities and register with the government. Underneath it all was a story about personal rights, civil liberties, and unjust profiling, which are things people still struggle for and against today. -
Presidential Comic Books
Comic books still reflect our ever-changing society. Comic book biographies about Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Hillary Clinton came out during the 2008 presidential campaign.
