New Seniors

The Golden Age of comic books is thought of as the period from the late 1930s and ending in the late 1940s or a little beyond. These 10 cent escapes from reality were welcomed entertainment for most pre-boomers, even though moms generally discouraged them in favor of real books. The world of comic books got a boost recently when it was announced that one of the few remaining original copies of the first issue of Superman from 1938 sold for a cool one million bucks.

Image via Wikipedia

At first, comic books were simply reprints of the cartoon strips that appeared in newspapers. With the advent of original stories and the size change to the now familiar format, modern comics were born. Superheroes were the popular genre of the time. However, the subject matter varied widely depending on the demographic group to which it was directed.

Comic book content ranged from Casper the Ghost to Little Lulu, Archie to Nancy, Captain Marvel to Wonder Woman and the rest of the superheroes family, including that strange and long-popular character Plastic Man. Themes also extended to westerns, animal stories, carton characters (such as Donald Duck and others from Disney and other motion picture studios), romance, jungle adventures and more. Science fiction also was a big hit with older boys and some men. Remember your favorites?

World War II had an affect on comic book content, particularly the Superheroes. Now, instead of mythical villains, the good guys were fighting were fighting and triumphing over cartoon versions of real-life bad guys. As Wikipedia writes, “American comic book companies showcased their heroes battling the Axis Powers; covers featuring superheroes punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler or fighting buck-toothed caricatures of Japanese soldiers have become relics of the age.”

Dropping the atom bomb to end WWII had an affect on many comic book story lines. There were superheroes such as the Atomic Thunderbolt and Atoman and animal characters such as Atomic Mouse and Atomic Rabbit. And, of course, there were the Classic Comics, which many of us tried to use as a source for a book report or test instead of reading the assigned literature. Most teachers saw through this scheme. Did it work for you?

Kids today have too many high-tech alternatives for comic books to be an entertainment option for them, but they sure had a place with those born between 1930 and 1945. Wouldn’t it be fun to find a box full of old comics in your parent’s attic and spend a rainy Saturday afternoon reading them? And when you finished with them, you might make a few bucks selling them to the local comic book dealer. Which doesn’t prove people read comics; it just proves some people collect them.

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