Comic Book Ages: The Discussion Continues

Categories: The Spotlight|Published On: October 10, 2003|Views: 4|

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Action Comics #1 starts the Golden Age. Already
accepted.

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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