History of Comic Books

In Understanding Comics, McCloud defines comics as, “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer” (McCloud, 1993, p. 9).

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics (formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group) is an American publisher of comic books and related media. Marvel, founded by Martin Goodman, started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvel 's modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others. Marvel is a very successful company and has survived for 75 years so far.

More than 70 years ago, the very first superheroes debuted in the dire times of the Great Depression and the early years of World War II. Their names became legend Superman and Batman or as he was then known, the Bat-Man), Wonder Woman, Captain America and they 're still with us today. A new exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles celebrates these icons from the Golden Age of Comic Books. Through a collection of rare original artwork and comics, the exhibit explores how a group of mostly Jewish artists created the costumed heroes who came to symbolize the hopes of a beleaguered nation."ln the 1930s, the American Dream had become a nightmare, and I think comic books and superheroes in particular provided an escapist form of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger­ than-life heroes," says Erin Clancy, a curator at the Skirball. Guest curator Jerry Robinson not only organized the exhibit, he 's a part of it. The comic book pioneer created Batman 's arch-enemy, The Joker, and named the caped crusader 's sidekick Robin.

There’s an age old battle amongst us “nerds” over who is better in the comic book world, DC Comics or Marvel Comics? Everyone has their own opinions on who has the better stories and characters, and which comes out with the better movies and shows, but when you break it down each one has different qualities that make it better. Marvel and DC are the most well-known comic creators in the world. These companies kick-started the superhero/supervillain franchise. Marvel comics was founded in October 1939 Timely Comics, by Martin Goodman. The first comic published by Marvel included the first appearance of the Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner (“Marvel Comics”). DC was founded six years earlier in May 1934, as National Allied

The time was even praised as “the Golden Age of Comics”. On the top, movies had their greatest peak when “Superman” was released in 1938. Superman sparked so many interests of people regardless of the country’s harsh situation. Moreover, so many spinoff were created after Superman including Batman, Wonder Woman, The Great Lantern, and the Flash, which together are known as “The Justice League”. The victory of those heroic figures against evil one planted American citizens a hope to survive in the Great Depression and these small hopes of American people gave birth to a huge popularity of heroes around the world.

“"In the 1930s, the American Dream had become a nightmare, and I think comic books and superheroes in particular provided an escapist form of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger-than-life heroes,"” (Hyde 1), this is saying that even during the worst of times, one still needs a way to calm down and relax. Superman was, in addition, quite easy to get a hold of since he could be found practically everywhere from almost every radio station, most book stores, and in most newspapers that people read every morning. When things are easily reachable more people are bound to become interested in it and buy it. Superman’s daily appearance on the radio, newspapers, and comics let the whole population of America just relax and enjoy something for a few moments before it was time for them to get back to work and the reality of what America was going through at this point in time or begin their day with hope from reading about him in the newspaper that morning.

All throughout my childhood, I had an extreme fascination with heroes, especially superheroes. Despite my complete distain of spiders, I wanted to shoot webs from my wrists and swing around the town all day long like Spider-Man. After the release of the Iron Man movie, I wanted nothing more than to be clever enough to build a full metal suit. Now that I am older, it is incredibly hard for me to decide which I would rather be. Both ended up in epic battles - like Spider-Man and the Sandman, and Iron Man (and the rest of the Avengers) against a whole fleet of an alien army. Although either of their lives are desirable, several of their attributes, such as their identities, their powers, how they acquired them, and their personalities

In the article, “ Modern Marvels” by John Loocrapper, it conveys the history of toilets and toilet paper along with how they are made. In the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro located in present day Pakistan, they had the most advanced plumbing system of the world. It was very important to drain the sewage out of the cities so the smell would not cover a vast part of their area and they did just so. These devices have changed from then but most of the concepts that were created are still in use today. This piece of literature supports the claim how a toilet is made, the history of toilet also known as the evolution, and the background of toilet paper.

World War One changed war itself, but not only did it change war, it changed the US. The era directly after the war, the 1920s, came to be known as the “roaring twenties”, due to economic growth and new cultural ideals.This, along with the collective idea that life should be fun and exciting, fueled cultural developments. The “roaring twenties” truly deserves to be titled so with regards to the large scale economic growth of the period in the stock market, the growing instability of the US market, and the development of new types of art and entertainment as seen in the Harlem renaissance.

Over the years, comic books have reflected what has been happening in the world around

Specific Purpose: I want to inform my audience more about the history of comic books and what they have become.

Another way in which Batman displays himself as a Byronic hero is his function as a subversive character which refuses to submit to demonic forces. He tries to appear to be a man who is morally upright. However, Batman is unable to separate himself from the pain of his parents ' untimely death, which gives him a new identity as a mysterious masked crime fighter. In most books and films, he tries to put this tragic incident behind him without much success. As Peter J. Tomasi indicates, “instead we see a presentation of Batman’s powers by exacting strange acts in the name of justice like teleporting hotheaded” (1).

1938 saw the first appearance of Batman. More of a mystery comic than a superhero comic book, Batman was inherently different from the pure and clean Superman. He was a gritty and depressing character that has been able to remain in print even to this day. Rather than using superpowers, Batman uses detective abilities that allowed him to solve cases and find perpetrators. (“The History of Comic Books.” TheComicBooks.com.) But not even Batman, Superman, or even Captain Marvel could brace themselves for the arrival of the Marvel comics.

It was soon after this that people began looking for someone else to admire, whether they were real or not. Someone who they can not overcome. Someone who will lead them and help them be who they were meant to be. Some look to politicians, others to mob leaders, but either way they are just looking for answers. This became harder for the youth to find. Sure they had their mothers and fathers, but they could only do so much for them. Then comic books and television came into play. Here they could see these seemingly ordinary people doing amazing things. They wanted to be just like them. It gave them structure and a feeling of guidance. They knew what they wanted to do and they began trying to do it. Now,

From an early age I loved to read. At just two years old I would beg my mother to enroll me into school. I watched as my older sister meticulously picked out her outfit each night in preparation for the next school day. At such a young age I somehow knew that this thing called “school” was the answer to something spectacular. My home was chaotic and reading became an escape and helped distract me from the unpleasant family dynamic.