All forms of popular entertainment draw on their past for
inspiration. Looking backward and manipulating ideas for a then current
audience can be found in music, film, and any fine art medium. Comics are
certainly no different in this regard; as we transition from the Golden Age to
the Silver Age many characters lying dormant were reawakened and given new
life.
The end of the Golden
Age saw a decline in the number of super hero titles being published. Romance,
horror, westerns, crime stories and other non-super hero titles came to the
fore and were the staple of the industry during this post-WW2 period. The
decline and change in emphasis was a response to reader interest, as sales decreased
the industry sought new ways to remain viable. This was a dark time for comic
publishers, the ushering in of the nuclear age, two major wars nearly back to
back, the increasing popularity of television, and other factors impinged on
sales. Attempts to diversify subject matter within the medium was seen as a way
to keep comics alive, idealism and nationalism gave way to grittier stories in
the hopes of keeping an ever dwindling audience interested.
The Silver Age of comics (1956-1969) is a period of
revitalization through manipulation. DC’s editor Julius Schwartz made the decision to have his in house artists and
writers take characters already established within DC’s universe and give them
another round; one with all new origins and costumes. The general consensus has the Silver Age
starting with DC Comics Showcase #4
(October 1956), appearing in this issue were “Turtle Man” and the return of the
World’s Fastest Man: The Flash. The Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) first appears
in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940) and
was a DC staple appearing as a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA), in a solo title All Flash and in All Star Comics. Showcase #4 introduced Barry Allen as the new Flash. With no ties to Jay Garrick (who is
mentioned as a comic character and not really having existed) Barry Allen’s
Flash as envisaged by comic legend Carmine
Infantino had a new origin, new look and was ready to (pardon the pun) run
sales through the roof.
Showcase would become a center piece for re-introductions of
several characters (as with the Flash in new incarnations) including a new
Green Lantern. Another convention revisited early in the Silver Age was hero
teams. Non powered teams included the Sea Devils and Jack Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown (both premiered in
Showcase). Another team (this one with super powers) of note first introduced
in another title (Brave and the Bold #28,
March 1960) was a serious hit for DC; The
Justice League of America.[1]
Drawing its inspiration directly from the Golden Age Justice Society, the
Justice League (brainchild of Gardner Fox)
quickly took off and became a title in its own right.
The success of the JLA spurred another legend none other
than Stan Lee to devise a super hero
team of his own for Marvel Comics. Thus was born The Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four #1, November 1961.) Penned by
Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby the Fantastic Four was a watershed moment. Instead
of the tried and true formulas of the past, where heroes simply defeated evil
and then moved on to the next adventure, Fantastic Four gave us characters
(Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/The Human
Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing) with relatable human problems.
The team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were responsible for much (but certainly not all, DC fans) of the
Silver Age resurgence of the comic medium, devising some of the most popular
comic characters to date. Besides the Fantastic Four, Lee and Kirby also
co-created The Amazing Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty
Thor, The Invincible Iron Man and the Silver Surfer. While Lee was strictly a
Marvel Comics man, his partner Jack Kirby was a pivot working for both Marvel
and DC. As previously noted Kirby did the writing and artwork for DC’s The
Challengers of the Unknown (first appearing in Showcase #6, February 1957), a
title in which non-powered humans sought to right wrongs, and defeat the forces
of…you know where this goes![2] The team led by jet pilot Ace Morgan and
featuring mountain climber Red Ryan, Olympic wrestling champion Rocky Davis and
master diver Prof Haley, offered an alternative to the near invincible super
hero archetype.[3]
One conventional comic style that survived the golden-silver
transition was the war comic. Golden Age examples include G.I. Combat and Star Spangled
Comics, which were mostly compilations or one off stories. The Silver Age
war comics attempted to forge recognizable and continuing character sets that
were easily identifiable. Examples from this timeframe include Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes (#1, May 1963) and
Sgt. Rock and Easy Co. The latter
penned by Robert Kanigher beginning
with issue #81 of Our Army at War,
would eventually have the title changed to Sgt. Rock (with issue # 302.)
Kanigher’s writing was bolstered with art work by the incomparable Joe Kubert and (later by) Russ Heath.
All of the editors, writers and artists mentioned herein were working
in the industry during the Golden Age and continued to do so for many years
after the Silver Age began. By allowing the medium and characters to evolve and
adapt to an audience that was looking for something new (yet…still old), they
helped to ensure that comics had a future. We may see the “new” super hero
movie of the moment as a natural choice to bring to the big screen, but in fact
if not for pioneers who were willing to rework the past, we might be stuck with
one hell of a lot more chick flicks. Dude, keep that in mind when next gazing
upon your lovely little comic collection. So next time I will be bringing you a
public service/informational piece as I break down levels of Geekdom, til then
kids, keep ‘em bagged and boarded!
[1]
The team as it first appears in Brave and the Bold #28 members shown include
Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Flash. While
neither Superman nor Batman appears in the issue it is indicated that they are
already members of the team.
[2] Please
note that the ever restless Kirby only worked on the first eight issues.
[3] On
occasion female adventurer “June Robbins” was included in the cast.
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