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Comic Book Ages: The Discussion Continues
Showcase #4 starts the Silver Age. Mostly accepted. Amazing Spider-Man #121 starts the Bronze Age. Not so much. As we asked in the July 18 Scoop (and in The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #33), how are comic book ages defined? Using the example of Showcase #4, here is a comic that is widely acknowledged as the start of the Silver Age. But isn't it really only the start of Silver Age for DC? Didn't Marvel lag until Fantastic Four #1? Doesn't that make the beginning of the Silver Age stretch over months instead of tying it to one particular issue? Or does it? Ever since we invited feedback on this issue, the e-mail around the Gemstone offices has been filled with the detailed, well thought out, passionate writings of enthusiastic fans. It's made for some terrific, thought-provoking reading. (And if you'd like to join in, please drop us a line at feedback@gemstonepub.com with the "Comic Book Ages" in the subject line.) We believe that all of the key books that we use to define comic book ages are a result of editorial and publishing decisions. By that, we're suggesting that that is not merely some randomly wonderful content, but that some change has occurred behind the scenes to precipitate the change we see in the four-colored end product. Here's the quick pitch of the idea: ● Savvy publishers decided they could make money by reprinting the highly popular newspaper strips. ● Vin Sullivan and the other folks at the company that became DC took a chance on Superman. ● Julie Schwartz and others knew somehow that there was life left in the Flash. ● Stan Lee gave his less-than-perfect characters human foibles. ● Creators took a stand for their rights and started to own their work. All of these were pivotal moments in comic book history, and their aftermaths gave us the comics we now use as road signs on our collecting journey. As we mentioned previously, it only seems prudent to acknowledge the reality that history accumulates behind us and keeps on doing so. It behooves us to look back and continue to define the various ages that have only recently passed us by. For years, the definition of comic book ages has stalled at the Bronze Age, for which there is still no definitive starting and ending date. The all-purpose "Modern Age" is applied to any post-Bronze Age comic. But with two decades between us and the end of the Bronze Age, surely there have been other turning points - other distinct ages that might now bear definition? Why do we suggest that the Bronze Age started in 1973? It may appear to be a subtle distinction, but killing off a major character (Gwen Stacy) and leaving that character dead was a pretty big change in the world of comics back then. That this happened soon after the non-Code drug issues (Amazing Spider-Man #96-98) and just eight issues prior to the first appearance of the Punisher (Amazing Spider-Man #129) suggests that the transition from Silver Age to Bronze Age is even more drawn out than the Showcase #4 to Fantastic Four #1 period. What is perhaps most telling concerning the importance of the Gwen Stacy story to the history of comics (and certainly to Marvel) is that unlike many other story choices made over the years, nearly everyone in the Marvel office was apparently involved in the decision to kill Gwen. Again, we see that this is a publishing and editorial decision, not just the writer or artist deciding something capriciously. Stan Lee, Gerry Conway, John Romita, and many others not directly involved in the crafting of that tragic tale have all gone on record as having cast a vote one way or another (and it's particularly ironic that given the enormous effort that went into deciding the fate of a single fictional character, not a one of these creators will take the responsibility for making the final determination). At the end of the Bronze Age, a lot of contributors seem to have taken the Copper Age to heart already, but maybe it's too soon to name the era from 1992 (the birth of Image Comics) to the present anything other than the Modern Age. It's definitely something to consider, though. So, as it stands now, here's another look at our proposal for these ages: 1828-1882 Victorian Age 1883-1938 Platinum Age 1938-1945 Golden Age 1946-1956 Atom Age 1956-1973 Silver Age 1973-1985 Bronze Age 1986-1992 Copper Age 1992- ??? Ken Quattro starts things off this time with his highly detailed look at the ages. We think he makes some great points. As noted above, many of the e-mails we've received have been very thought-provoking. This is definitely one of them. From: Kquattr@aol.com Subject: Comic Book Ages Mr. Vaughn & Mr. Blumberg, I was heartened to read in the latest Overstreet that you were opening up the discussion regarding the various comic book ages. This is a subject that I've thought needed reconsideration for some time and, in fact, I've been researching for an article of my own. Please allow me to offer my thoughts. I believe the entire premise and terminology of comic ages needs to be amended. Certain terms, particularly Golden Age and Silver Age, have themselves developed historical validity having been in use for many years. Indeed, "Golden Age of comics" was first used in the premiere issue of Comic Art #1, the early fanzine, in 1960. Silver Age came into common use sometime later around 1965-66. To relabel these periods now would cause unnecessary confusion. However, subsequent terms, such as Atom Age, Bronze Age, etc., not only should be changed, but make little sense. The temptation to continue the "metal motif" is the obvious raison d'etre for most of these labels. The problem is that they do little to either describe the eras or explain them. My proposal attempts to remedy this. The second continuing problem with defining comic ages is that the milestones are often arbitrary. To ascribe the end of the Golden Age to the end of World War II is one such example. To end the Silver Age with either the end of the 12 cent cover price or just the final year of the 1960s is another. Again, my proposals hope to better define the time periods. That said, here is my comic ages proposal: Pre-Modern (1933 and earlier) Nascent Age (1933-1938) Golden Age (1938-1949) First Heroic Era (1938-1955) Genre Age (1950-1958) Code Era (1955-1958) Silver Age (1958-1968) Second Heroic Era (1956-1986) Neo-Silver Age (1968-1986) Post-Heroic Age (1986-Present) Third Heroic Era (1986-Present) You will notice that I've subdivided several Ages into Eras. I did this in order to hone in more closely to trends and influences that affected comic books. These Eras don't necessarily correspond exactly with the Ages. Trends sometimes precede an Age, as a harbinger of what would eventually become the prevailing direction of the comic medium. Other times, they span several Ages. Here is how I arrived at these Ages and Eras: Pre-Modern and Nascent Ages: Important comic: Funnies on Parade (1933) As Robert Beerbohm and Dr. Richard Olson have written, while Funnies on Parade wasn't the first comic book, nor was it the first to contain original material, it was the first to be published in the format associated with the modern comic book. Mr. Beerbohm, Dr. Olson, et al. have conducted extensive research and continue to expand the knowledge of these Ages. However, I believe lumping everything prior to 1938 into a Platinum Age dilutes the watershed importance of this book and its subsequent imitators. The modern comic continued to develop during this time period (1933-1938) and the proposed Nascent Age recognizes that fact. Golden Age: Important comic: Action #1 (1938) The most easily agreed upon Age and starting point. Where I differ with the current definition is in the duration. Although the height of the Age and the predominant super-hero genre may have occurred during the years of W.W.II, and many titles may have ended soon after, the franchise comics of most stable publishers continued for some time. And the super-hero genre lasted far longer. I set the ending of the Age in 1949 due to the ending of so many established comics and characters in that year. A partial list includes: Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Marvel Mystery, The Flash, Green Lantern, All-American, Smash, Crack and the Green Hornet. All contained super-hero strips and it's significant that so many ended in such a short time period. The super-hero genre, however, continues into the 1950s and truly doesn't reach its nadir until 1955. Genre Age: Important comics: EC "New Trend" titles, among them Crypt of Terror #17, Weird Science #12 (#1) and Weird Fantasy #13 (#1) (all 1950) The transition from the Golden Age into the Genre Age took place over a period of several years, but with the ending of so many established comics the preceding year and the advent of the very influential EC "New Trend" titles in 1950, this seems to be a likely line of demarcation. Placing the line much sooner is a bit premature and using the revamped EC line as a starting point a logical choice. It should be mentioned that the First Heroic Era lingers into this Age, but suffers casualties along the way. By 1955, the list includes: the Blue Beetle, the Black Cat, the entire Fawcett Marvel clan and the Timely triumvirate of Captain America, Human Torch and Sub-Mariner who, after a brief encore, finally disappeared (in the first incarnations) by the end of 1955. Only Plastic Man, alone among the non-DC super-heroes, made it into 1956. The Code Era is a very important influence not only on the Genre Age, but even upon the subsequent Silver Age. To ignore this fact by not crediting it with its own historical period is a major oversight of the current system. Silver Age: Important comics: Showcase #13 & 14, Lois Lane #1, Challengers of the Unknown #1, Adventure Comics #247 (all 1958) Here lies my greatest disagreement with the current historical ages. Showcase #4, which featured the origin of the revamped The Flash, is most assuredly an important comic book. However, its currently accepted place as the starting point of the Silver Age is incorrect. As mentioned earlier, the prevailing influence on comic books at this time was the adoption of the Comics Code Authority in 1955. The companies that survived its impact were desperately trying to find ways to continue publishing under its strict guidelines. Showcase was DCs forum for trying out potential comic book formulas and The Flash was but one of the trial balloons. No less an authority than Dr. Jerry Bails has said that The Flash didn't really catch on until his third Showcase appearance, in issue #13. That same year, Lois Lane became the first Showcase graduate to get her own title, followed quickly by the Challengers of the Unknown. Amazingly, in approximately the same month (April 1958), the first appearance of the popular Legion of Super-Heroes occurred in Adventure #247. By late 1958, the first issue of The Flash's new comic, #105, appeared on the newsstands (thought dated early 1959) along with the first offerings from Atlas, Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense, following their disastrous "implosion" in 1957. Placing the beginning of the historic age in 1956 denies the prevailing tenuous nature of the industry at that time. Calling Showcase #4 the first comic book of the Second Heroic Era is accurate. But it occurred in the Genre Age, not the Silver. Neo-Silver Age: Important comics: Showcase #73, 74, 75, 76 & 77, Iron Man #1, Captain America #1, Silver Surfer #1, Nick Fury Agent of Shield #1, etc., (all 1968) Perhaps the most misunderstood ending of one Age and beginning of another. The problem arises from the fact that most of the predominant characters and comics continued publication, unlike previous Ages, which were signaled by the ending of established comics and characters. In 1968, DC began a vigorous attempt to add life to its line with a series of original concepts in its long-running Showcase title. The first of these was Steve Ditko's DC premiere with The Creeper. Subsequent issues of Showcase featured Howie Post's Anthro, Ditko's Hawk and the Dove, Aragones'/Cardy's Bat Lash and the Bob Oksner humor strip, Angel and the Ape. The also began their 'mystery' line of comics with the revamped House of Mystery #174. Meanwhile, Marvel was experimenting themselves with the dissolution of its established anthology titles Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense into single character books. Silver Surfer premiered in his own comic this year and Marvel made its first foray into the magazine format with the two issues of Spectacular Spider-Man. Significant too, was the emergence of "star" artists. Neal Adams was in his first full year at DC and Jim Steranko was hitting his prime with the groundbreaking Nick Fury. The reason why I have designated this Age as the Neo-Silver is that so many of the predominant comics and characters, as well as most of the comics creators, continued into this period that it was virtually a sequel to the previous Age. Post Heroic Age; Important comics: Watchmen #1, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 (all 1986) The dissolution of the Silver Age universe began with DCs Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. In 1986, however, not only did that important series finish, but two highly influential series started. Alan Moore's Watchmen and Frank Miller's Batman: Dark Knight Returns comics completely changed the way super-heroes would be portrayed. Their "dark" and edgy characterizations impacted the comic industry and redefined the heroic genre. For that reason, I've called this the Post-Heroic Age that apparently continues to this day. Eventually, with the clarity that comes with some distance over time, this Age may be further fragmented into more Ages. I hope my offerings are seriously considered. I have spent years and had many conversations with other collectors and fans to come to these conclusions. Obviously, there is still much more research and refinement to be done and I am sure these proposals will evolve. Thank you for your time and patience with this long email. Ken Quattro www.comicartville.com Manuel Roth, whose letter below seems to indicate that he thinks The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is about to be broken into many more sub-genres (it isn't), also doesn't like the advertising in the book. What that has to do with the ages, we don't know. Nonetheless, we asked and he answered... and in keeping with the "thought-provoking theme" here we go... From: Manuel Roth (manuel.roth@comcast.net) Subject: Comic Book Ages If we are to set specific periods to comic books it should be based on a single criteria. It should also be indicative of the medium, not the genre or even the country of origin. If we look at how modern art divides itself into Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Dada etc...we see a similar confusion their arbitrary designation of 'ism's. Things overlap, lines blur. Unlike painting eras, Comics as a medium have been divided into arbitrary groups based on collecting periods, genre, age and content. Should an era be defined by a single genre within the medium? Should we divide our medium into overlapping genre ages? I.E. the superhero age (parts 1, 2 and 3), the sci-fi or jungle age, the romance age, the horror age, etc? Gerber's graph on publishing trends is really interesting in this respect. If this were expanded into a chart showing monthly changes, try marking on it where exactly the Gold, Atom and Silver ages fall. It comes across as a very irrelevant mark. If we are to gauge comics as a medium and ascribe 'ages' it will be necessary to use a consistent criteria. In my mind, Showcase #4 is an important landmark in the superhero genre, a valuable book and a well crafted story, but it is no way responsible for sparking anything other than the Silver age DC superhero genre. Amazing Fantasy #15 is equally important in a sort of Coke versus Pepsi comparison. Using individual books as anything but landmarks within their respective genre's leads to generalized discussion. Is a comic book era defined by its published landmarks via content inside the books or simply by its cover art? Could a 10-cent issue be part of a different era if it sold along side similar sized books of the same era priced at 15 cents? Is sequential art or cartooning subject to any artistic movements? Where should we start when ascribing ages to the comic universe? Perhaps comic-collecting trends should provide the moniker for the ages. Given the dearth of want-lists and the perennial disgusting display of advertising printed in every guide, I hardly think it's a wild concept in looking at what's really going on. Consider this: Newsstand Age (1930's street corner) Flea Market Age (the birth of collectors) Fandom Age (Squa tront!) Mail order Age Overstreet Age Direct Sales Age Ebay Age... Am I the only one who doesn't consider Overstreet to be an accurate or even useful organized guide anymore? It will certainly become useful to the active collector to divide up the content in Overstreet into a 'golden age' section, 'silver age' section, and perhaps 'contemporary age'. But I see little reason to divide content further in Atom, Bronze, Copper, etc... Also it's not truly representative of what people will pay for certain issues, and that's always been a problem. I could care less about 'updates' I'm focused on the books I like, and I keep a tally of what I'd pay in my head. Until we can tie real life inventories and collectors together, the guide will fail as anything other than arbitrary collection of speculations. I am more interested in watching collecting sites grow, web addresses like Ebay, Comic Link, Vault, Heritage, Comic Pal etc. More importantly I am interested in digitally reproduced comics. ComicsOnCDRom isn't organized for access or scholarship now, but consider how the market would change if 10 and 15 year olds could read the content of any books they wanted. Maybe we wouldn't see so many degenerate comics preoccupied with death and mass violence. Maybe we would enter a pay per publishing type age? As an industry we're certainly printing books that deserve to be recycled versus stored in poly bags in foul smelling comic shops. I think eventually a mix of technology and consideration of publishing trends will change our designation of ages, whether we want it to or not. If we look at the quote 'most valuable' comics, or 'most rare' or 'first appearance' comics to set dates for the beginning and ends of ages, we are really only viewing highlights and individual landmarks in the super-hero collecting topography. If we look at the quote 'most valuable' comics, the Olympic parade of eras makes only partial sense. Instead of arguing about who would win in a fight, Superman or Spider-man, I suggest that as an industry we do the 'adult' thing and concentrate on reaching a higher level of discussion and 'art' with regard to discussing, valuing and creating books. Comics in this country are also intrinsically tied to the path of America and it's democracy. Maybe assigning ages without looking at history is premature. I know I associate some books this way. For example my Grandfather's era encompassed everything from Superman to pulps like Amazing Stories, he collected everything from Tarzan to Asimov), other content I associate exclusively with my father's era (Student strikes and go-go boots to Vietnam, From Spidey straight on Green Arrow), and I am sure my Dad associates everything he personally does not connect to as part of my generation (yet I feel no connection with Spawn and other chrome age books, having grown up in the 80's, not the 90's). Dividing comics into ages based on cultural events 1930s (Depression/New Deal era) 1940s (World War II era) 1950s (Atomic bomb and Sputnik era) 1960s (McCarthyism and Race issues) In assigning 'ages' this way, what is in reality happing is our own place in history is preventing us from seeing the whole picture. It seems like part of what many elements of Pop culture lack is access for thorough scholarship by researchers. I wonder if we would have such arbitrary and confusing 'eras' if we had better scholarship. I for one see a paucity of material that doesn't diverge into tangent directions (away from worldly scholarship). I personally have read Werthem, Fleischer, Cochran, Benton, Daniels, Gerber and many others all the way down to McCloud. Most of the time these self elected historians and critics end up focusing on their own personal obsessions. Few really discuss the importance of some of the truly rare and great comics printed in other languages. I think a comprehensive guide to publishing trends would be one of the most interesting reads of all. With regard to the modern age, can anyone tell me where Anime began? Herge is world famous for certain type of clear line illustration; can anyone name the specific printings responsible for that (and in what language)? Our vision as collectors is so preoccupied with specifically American books, and with both value and scarcity, that we miss the mark when it comes to truly seeing our passion. In a scientific sense, I believe the Gerber and Overstreet books succeed in a cataloging sense, but I have to look toward other authors to truly understand the medium. Richardson/Duin's recent book offers snapshots of small spheres within the medium, and sort of realizes no one book can spell it all out. Others like Werthem I look to for opinion, morality, and historical significance. Despite Fredric Werthem's intolerance toward racy or violent subject matter, he did manage to elevate the level of discussion on the thought put into the content of books. As better and more thorough researched books come out, new trends in collecting will be defined. The paucity of reprint material is problematic for even a cursory glance at some genres right now. I know I can't find the material that most intrigues me. Can anyone name a hardcover reprint book featuring the Kirby of romance, Matt Baker? I mean this guy is to the romance genre, like Barry White was to music...I'm referring to his titles like Teen Age and War Time Romances, Diary Secrets and the like. They tell the story of their age; the titles large put out by St. John Publishing led the romance trend. Other companies like EC led Science Fiction and Horror trends, and still others led Western, Funny Animal and other content trends. The preoccupation with DC and Marvel superhero books is not healthy for the subject. Today we are in a 'digital era', one where access and content will eventually determine where we place our own 'isms'. As far as the content of comics themselves go, I kind of think that until the books of our past can be subjected to an MP3 like scenario, where they are traded based on content, I don't think the important books will really stand out. Collector/Artist: Manuel Edan Roth July 21, 2003 Kirk Mills chimes in as the first person to mention Secret Wars, and in doing so forced us consider it as Showcase #4 to Crisis on Infinite Earth's Fantastic Four #1 (we missed that one, Kirk, so thanks!). From: cdoverkill@earthlink.net Subject: Comic Book Ages Hello, I'd like to throw in my 2¢ regarding when comic book ages start and end, specifically Silver to Bronze to Copper. My vote for the start of the Bronze age is 1970. Your article suggests the death of Gwen Stacy as influencing the kind of stories that could be told in comics. I suggest that happened with Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 (4/70), the same month that the X-Men suspended publication. Six months later, and I think this is more important, we had the cancellation of the last significant silver age title, Silver Surfer #18 (9/70), and the premiere of the first significant bronze age title, Conan the Barbarian #1 (10/70). If that weren't enough, Jack Kirby left Marvel and its flagship title, Fantastic Four #102 (9/70) and headed to DC and created his Fourth World in Jimmy Olsen #133 (10/70). So if you ask me, the Bronze age started sometime in '70. The Copper Age was when comics grew up. DC relaunched most of its main heroes, stories became quite sophisticated, and super-writers transformed the industry. Crisis could be a good starting point, but would there have been a Crisis if Marvel hadn't introduced the mega-crossover with Secret Wars? Personally I think it goes back even farther. DC's first hugely successful relaunch came 4 1/2 years before the Crisis (and by the same creative team) with the New Teen Titans. A few months later, Marvel gave us the "Days of Future Past" storyline in X-Men which opened the Pandora's box of alternate X-futures and the title started becoming the complex world we know and love. That same month, Frank Miller took over the writing of a title he'd been drawing for a year or two and started the classic Daredevil/Elektra/Kingpin/Bullseye saga that opened the door to gritty drama in super-heroes. Those three titles created the popularity of teenagers, mutants, and ninjas that would later inspire a terrapin parody. Six months later John Byrne began his run on Fantastic Four. So my vote for the start of the Copper Age is 1981. Kirk Mills That's it for this time, but we'll be continuing to cover this subject in Scoop and in Overstreet's Comic Price Review. Want to join in? Write feedback@gemstonepub.com with "Comic Book Ages" in the subject line...and thanks!
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