Comic Book Ages – Part III
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the degree of thought some folks have put into it.
In the July 18
Scoop (and in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #33), we
started a discussion about comic book ages. Now we’re getting all sorts of great
input from collectors, dealers and other enthusiasts. We’ll be featuring the
feedback here and in Overstreet’s Comic Price Review.
If you’d
like to chime in with your thoughts, please do! Just e-mail feedback@gemstonepub.com
with “Comic Book Ages” in the subject line.
As it stands, here’s our
line-up:
1828-1882 Victorian Age
1883-1938 Platinum Age
1938-1945
Golden Age
1946-1956 Atom Age
1956-1971 Silver Age
1971-1985 Bronze
Age
1986-1992 Copper (DC’s Crisis kicks off new era)
1992-1999 Chrome
(Image debuts)
2000-Present Modern
There’s still plenty of room for
debate, so don’t be shy. Now, onto the show!
From: Peter Coogan,
pcoogan@fontbonne.edu
To: feedback@gemstonepub.com
Subject: Comic Book
Ages
Here’s a bit from my dissertation, “The Secret Origin of the
Superhero: The Emergence of the Superhero Genre in America from Daniel Boone to
Batman” (Michigan State University, American Studies, 1992). This is from the
introduction to chapter nine, “The Evolution of the Superhero: the Ages and
Stages of Superhero Comics.”
Ever since the revival of the Flash in 1956,
comic book fans have use the concept of “ages” to distinguish periods of comic
book history that share a nexus of concerns, storytelling techniques, marketing
strategies, styles of art and writing, and approaches to genre conventions. A
general consensus regarding the names and starting and ending points of the ages
has emerged in the fan community, but any specific starting or ending point for
a given age is argumentative and somewhat arbitrary. The following list is my
own but is based upon the existing consensus. Because the ages of superhero
comics fit neatly with the stages of genre evolution laid out by Thomas Schatz
in Hollywood Genres (p. 37-38), I have included the names for those stages with
brief descriptions drawn from Schatz’s analysis. The names of the first and
last ages of superheroes are my own, as is the name of the final stage of genre
evolution (please note: the names of the ages are specific to superhero comics,
but the names of the stages apply to genres generally).
Antediluvian
Age/Pre-genre stage: The genre’s conventions exist, but the genre has not
coalesced. The three main streams that led to the superhero are: the
science-fiction superman, Frankenstein, 1818; the dual-identity
avenger-vigilante, Nick of the Woods, 1837; and the pulp ubermensch,
Tarzan, 1912.
Golden Age/Experimental stage: The
conventions of the genre are isolated and established. Action Comics #1,
1938; the debut of Superman.
Silver Age/Classic stage: The
conventions reach “equilibrium” and are mutually understood by artists and
audience. Showcase #4, 1956; the first appearance of the new
Flash.
Bronze Age/Refinement stage: Certain formal and stylistic
details embellish the form. Teen Titans #32, 1971; the end of
relevance.
Iron Age/Baroque stage: The form and its embellishments
are accented to the point where they themselves become the “substance” or
“content” of the work. DC Comics Presents #26, 1980, the debut of the new
Teen Titans.
Renaissance Age/Reconstructive stage: The conventions
of the genre are reestablished and the cycle starts over. Justice League
#1, 1987; the post-Crisis Justice League. This start date is the
least definite because the Iron Age continued in many series through the
1990s.
And here’s a bit on Schatz’s theory:
Thomas Schatz in
Hollywood Genres offers a four stage evolutionary cycle that can be applied to
nearly any genre:
a form passes through an experimental stage, during
which its conventions are isolated and established, a classic stage, in which
the conventions reach their “equilibrium” and are mutually understood by artist
and audience, [a stage] of refinement, during which certain formal and stylistic
details embellish the form, and finally a baroque (or ‘mannerist’ or
‘self-reflexive’) stage, when the form and its embellishments are accented to
the point where they themselves become the “substance” or “content” of the work
(37-38).
These stages fit neatly with the ages of superhero comics:
Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. Genre, in this view, is a system of
interaction between the producers and audiences of a medium embodied in
privileged story forms in which basic social conflicts are narratively animated
and resolved. Genres evolve when the narrative resolution of social conflict no
longer holds true for the audience, which responds by not buying the product,
which in turn leads the producers to increase the level of complexity and
self-consciousness of the story formulas and conventions to satisfy the
audience. This “conversation” continues through the cycle of genre evolution
until it makes a complete round and a genre breaks down for both the producers
and the consumers. The conventions of the genre are then reconstructed and the
genre is made to work again (note-not every genre runs smoothly or evenly
through the cycle).
This evolution occurs due to “both internal (formal)
and external (cultural, thematic) factors” (Schatz 36). External factors
include large cultural movements that influence the way genre products are
received by their audiences, especially in terms of sophistication, themes
engaged, and character presentation. Internal factors reflect the degree of
formal transparency, that is the degree to which the genre products transmit and
reinforce the genre’s social message, i.e. its ideology. As a genre evolves, it
moves from formal transparency to opacity. In the beginning, “any stylistic
flourishes or formal self-consciousness will only impede the transmission of the
message,” but as the creators and audience become more familiar and comfortable
with the conventions of the genre, experimentation occurs and the conventions
are portrayed with increasing levels of complexity (Schatz 38).
We
begin the genre cycle by looking through the form as represented in the genre’s
conventions at the genre’s social message (transparency) and end by looking at
those conventions (opacity) “to examine and appreciate its structure and its
cultural appeal” (Schatz 38). In general, genres move from social to aesthetic
concerns, although both are present throughout the cycle.
Sincerely,
Dr. Peter Coogan
Writing Specialist
Kinkel
Center
Fontbonne University
From: Adams, Weldon
(Weldon.Adams@ppcnet.com)
To: feedback@gemstonepub.com
Subject: Comic
Book Ages
*MY* 2Cents.
1828-1899 Victorian Age
1900-1938
Platinum Age
1938-1945 Golden Age
1946-1956 Atomic Age
1956-1971
Silver Age
1971-1985 Bronze Age (catalyst: Amazing Spider-Man #96,
Drug issue.)
1986-1992 Copper Age (DC’s Crisis kicks off new
era)
1992-1999 Chrome Age (Image debuts) [Although I see the appropriateness
of “Chrome”, the ‘TIN Age’ or the ‘Nickel-Plated Age’ may be more
appropriate…]2000-Now: Modern Age
I suggest that ASM #96 is
a landmark issue in that it opened the door for the ‘Real World’ to come
back into the ‘Comic Book World.’ Finally, comics were allowed to be ‘relevant’
again, a term that DC would soon take to heart as well. The Green
Lantern/Green Arrow run as DC would not have happened if not for this
issue. By affecting change in the major 2 publishers, this book changed the
industry.
An alternative book to mark the beginning of the Bronze Age
could be Jimmy Olsen #133 in October of 1970. The Fourth World series was
a major departure from the comics of the time. And the change in
appearance and style could not be more evident than by comparing Jimmy Olsen
#132 to Jimmy Olsen #133. As the saying goes, “This was not your father’s Jimmy
Olsen.” The impact of the Kirby Era at DC is arguable among comic fans, but I
doubt any could argue the importance of Amazing Spider-Man
#96.
From: Wungai@aol.com
To:
feedback@gemstonepub.com
Subject: comic book ages
Hi,
I’m
still trying to make up my mind about the parameters of the various comic book
ages, having had my previously held positions affected by the recent TV special
on A&E, and discussions with my fellow members of Capa-Alpha and with Craig
Shutt, and by his recent series of articles in CBG, as well as the
articles in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.
I have come to
some conclusions, although I’m still open to being convinced by some differing
points of view.
What makes a new “Age” of comics begin or end? As for
the beginning, it should be something that happens to change a direction,
something that has enough influence to give momentum to something that creates
(or revives) an interest, something that is successful enough to be copied or
imitated. The ending, however, is not always as dramatic, sometimes just fading
or tailing off, sometimes just giving way to whatever replaces it, only
occasionally being marked by an important event or issue that demonstrates a
finality to something that preceded it.
Because of that, I believe that
Ages overlap, so that a new one may start before the old one is completely gone,
and also that preliminary signs, precursors, if you will, appear during the
final stages of the old Age, but before the new one has begun (and therefore are
definitely not the “first issues” of the new Age because they weren’t important
enough in themselves to begin it), and can retroactively be seen to fit more
appropriately with the new one.
So, although I approve of the name
Platinum Age, since the name suggests, as the recording industry already
acknowledges, something rarer and more valuable than gold, and I believe the
Victorian Age, as a name for pre-1900 material, is appropriate (and one I’m
interested in reading more about and studying further), I find the name Atomic
Age unnecessary. It seems just a transitional time in which the Golden Age
eventually fades and makes way for the Silver, rather than any actual “Age”
begun by any particular issue or event or characterized by any particular type
of comic. An event in the “real” world, like the first atomic explosion, isn’t
necessarily a sign of any new “Age” in comics.
I also believe there are
other “Ages” that overlap and have nothing to do directly with the ones we’re
most interested in. Our view is too limited in that it only describes
super-hero comic Ages. If you’re a humor, or western, or horror comic fan, your
Golden and Silver Ages, etc., legitimately begin and end with completely
different dates and issues than the ones we’re discussing. However, since it’s
super-hero comics that brought the hobby to its heights and even allowed it to
survive this long, that terminology will no doubt continue to dominate. But
perhaps as a courtesy to fans of other genres, dates and issues important in
their major eras should be listed within, or alongside the “traditional” ones.
Like most fans, I have no problem agreeing on the beginnings of the
Golden and Silver Ages, Action Comics #1 and Showcase #4,
respectively. But the Bronze and later Ages seem less well-defined. I have no
idea at all why the Gwen Stacy death issue, as outstanding as it may be in some
ways, should have any claim to being the basis for any new “Age.” On the other
hand, the renewed excitement that began with the renovation of Prof. X’s mutants
in Giant-Size X-Men #1 in summer 1975 seems a likely candidate for such a
landmark, as championed by Craig Shutt, an idea I first agreed with. But looking
more closely at the earlier Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-ups, I see
that as worthy of serious consideration, as possibly the beginning of stories
turning more toward real-world issues and not-quite-so-goodie-goodie heroes,
later further developed by Wolverine, Punisher, the grimmer Dark Knight Batman
and others. Conan is also claimed by some as a Bronze beginning, but the
barbarian and s&s genres seem less widespread in their influence.
Other possibilities, from a different viewpoint, are the first
creator-owned features, such as Star-Reach and Cerebus, which
culminate in the launching of Image and others some decades later, though they
may be just the “precursors” of that later era.
I see DC’s Crisis
as a definite landmark, but as the end of the previous era, with a new one
beginning with all the reboots that followed, at DC, and eventually elsewhere.
I don’t particularly like copper, or chrome (or iron, or any other
metal) as a title for recent Ages. I’m waiting to hear something better. As
for “Modern”, no Age should ever be named that permanently, since eventually it
won’t be modern anymore. How about “current”, with a small “c”, instead, until
it acquires a name, which usually happens in hindsight.
I’m sure I’ll
have more to add when I’ve had a chance to read everyone else’s ideas and sort
them out.
Thanks,
Gerry
Sorek
wungai@aol.com
: tab Adams, Weldon (Weldon.Adams@ppcnet.com)
par To: tab feedback@gemstonepub.com
par Subject: tab Comic Book Ages
par
par *MY* 2Cents.
par
par 1828-1899 Victorian Age
par 1900-1938 Platinum Age
par 1938-1945 Golden Age
par 1946-1956 Atomic Age
par 1956-1971 Silver Age
par 1971-1985 Bronze Age (catalyst: i Amazing Spider-Man #96i0 , Drug issue.)
par 1986-1992 Copper Age (DC’s Crisis kicks off new era)
par 1992-1999 Chrome Age (Image debuts) [Although I see the appropriateness of ”Chrome”, the ’TIN Age’ or the ’Nickel-Plated Age’ may be more appropriate...]
par 2000-Now: Modern Age
par
par I suggest that i ASM #96i0 is a i landmarki0 issue in that it opened the door for the ’Real World’ to come back into the ’Comic Book World.’ Finally, comics were allowed to be ’relevant’ again, a term that DC would soon take to heart as well. The i Green Lantern/Green Arrow i0 run as DC would i noti0 have happened if not for this issue. By affecting change in the major 2 publishers, this book changed the industry.
par
par An alternative book to mark the beginning of the Bronze Age could be i Jimmy Olsen #133i0 in October of 1970. The Fourth World series was a i majori0 departure from the comics of the time. And the change in appearance and style could not be more evident than by comparing Jimmy Olsen #132 to Jimmy Olsen #133. As the saying goes, ”This was not your father’s Jimmy Olsen.” The impact of the Kirby Era at DC is arguable among comic fans, but I doubt any could argue the importance i of Amazing Spider-Man #96i0 .
par
par
par
par From: tab Wungai@aol.com
par To: tab feedback@gemstonepub.com
par Subject: tab comic book ages
par
par Hi,
par
par I’m still trying to make up my mind about the parameters of the various comic book ages, having had my previously held positions affected by the recent TV special on A&E, and discussions with my fellow members of Capa-Alpha and with Craig Shutt, and by his recent series of articles in i CBGi0 , as well as the articles in i The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guidei0 .
par
par I have come to some conclusions, although I’m still open to being convinced by some differing points of view.
par
par What makes a new ”Age” of comics begin or end? As for the beginning, it should be something that happens to change a direction, something that has enough influence to give momentum to something that creates (or revives) an interest, something that is successful enough to be copied or imitated. The ending, however, is not always as dramatic, sometimes just fading or tailing off, sometimes just giving way to whatever replaces it, only occasionally being marked by an important event or issue that demonstrates a finality to something that preceded it.
par
par Because of that, I believe that Ages overlap, so that a new one may start before the old one is completely gone, and also that preliminary signs, precursors, if you will, appear during the final stages of the old Age, but before the new one has begun (and therefore are definitely not the ”first issues” of the new Age because they weren’t important enough in themselves to begin it), and can retroactively be seen to fit more appropriately with the new one.
par
par So, although I approve of the name Platinum Age, since the name suggests, as the recording industry already acknowledges, something rarer and more valuable than gold, and I believe the Victorian Age, as a name for pre-1900 material, is appropriate (and one I’m interested in reading more about and studying further), I find the name Atomic Age unnecessary. It seems just a transitional time in which the Golden Age eventually fades and makes way for the Silver, rather than any actual ”Age” begun by any particular issue or event or characterized by any particular type of comic. An event in the ”real” world, like the first atomic explosion, isn’t necessarily a sign of any new ”Age” in comics.
par
par I also believe there are other ”Ages” that overlap and have nothing to do directly with the ones we’re most interested in. Our view is too limited in that it only describes super-hero comic Ages. If you’re a humor, or western, or horror comic fan, your Golden and Silver Ages, etc., legitimately begin and end with completely different dates and issues than the ones we’re discussing. However, since it’s super-hero comics that brought the hobby to its heights and even allowed it to survive this long, that terminology will no doubt continue to dominate. But perhaps as a courtesy to fans of other genres, dates and issues important in their major eras should be listed within, or alongside the ”traditional” ones.
par
par Like most fans, I have no problem agreeing on the beginnings of the Golden and Silver Ages, i Action Comics #1i0 and i Showcase #4i0 , respectively. But the Bronze and later Ages seem less well-defined. I have no idea at all why the Gwen Stacy death issue, as outstanding as it may be in some ways, should have any claim to being the basis for any new ”Age.” On the other hand, the renewed excitement that began with the renovation of Prof. X’s mutants in i Giant-Size X-Men #1i0 in summer 1975 seems a likely candidate for such a landmark, as championed by Craig Shutt, an idea I first agreed with. But looking more closely at the earlier i Green Lantern/Green Arrowi0 team-ups, I see that as worthy of serious consideration, as possibly the beginning of stories turning more toward real-world issues and not-quite-so-goodie-goodie heroes, later further developed by Wolverine, Punisher, the grimmer Dark Knight Batman and others. Conan is also claimed by some as a Bronze beginning, but the barbarian and s&s genres seem less widespread in their influence.
par
par Other possibilities, from a different viewpoint, are the first creator-owned features, such as i Star-Reachi0 and i Cerebusi0 , which culminate in the launching of Image and others some decades later, though they may be just the ”precursors” of that later era.
par
par I see DC’s i Crisisi0 as a definite landmark, but as the end of the previous era, with a new one beginning with all the reboots that followed, at DC, and eventually elsewhere.
par
par I don’t particularly like copper, or chrome (or iron, or any other metal) as a title for recent Ages. I’m waiting to hear something better. As for ”Modern”, no Age should ever be named that permanently, since eventually it won’t be modern anymore. How about ”current”, with a small ”c”, instead, until it acquires a name, which usually happens in hindsight.
par
par I’m sure I’ll have more to add when I’ve had a chance to read everyone else’s ideas and sort them out.
par
par Thanks,
par Gerry Sorek
par wungai@aol.com
par
par
par
par
par
par f1fs20
par }
ar }
f1fs20
par }
ing his prime with the groundbreaking i Nick Furyi0 .
par
par 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.
par
par Post Heroic Age;
par Important comics: i Watchmen #1i0 , i Batman