World of comics
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Comic books are where many of your favourite characters and superheroes came from. n2k fills you in on their history.
Back in the day
In comics, images carry the story forward whilst text, usually placed in captions and speech bubbles, help readers understand the story better.
Comics first came about in the late 19th century. At first they were used to tackle political and social beliefs and frequently featured caricatures of well known figures.
Enter the 20th century
As times changed, the comic became less serious and more orientated towards a younger audience.
This younger side came with the production of The Dandy published in 1937. It’s now the world’s longest running comic and was re-named Dandy Xtreme in 2007. The dialogue was kept simple but it was the characters' actions that really stood out. Often they would get into crazy situations that boys and girls at the time could relate to.
By 1938, The Beano was released in alternating weeks from The Dandy. You may recognise its main character – Dennis the Menace. In their fictional worlds, the two comics are linked and the settings are sworn enemies.
Superheroes
Superheroes have dominated the market ever since the arrival of the Superman comic in 1938. Also known as Clark Kent, he first appeared in Action Comics #1, known as the most expensive comic in the world, selling for $195,000 in 2006!
Superman defined what it meant to be a superhero – someone with a secret identity, superhuman powers, a costume and a symbol that everybody knows them by – and these traits still influence today’s superheroes. Most importantly, he was someone who fought against evil – something which was very important during the days of World War II.
Spiderman
The story revolves around Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter ego. He made his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 and was created by Marvel legend Stan Lee. Aside from fighting crime, Spiderman was created so that teenagers could have someone to relate to – Peter was a teen character who was bullied by the popular kids and survived.
X-Men
These mutants were introduced in Uncanny X-Men #1 where super psychic Professor Xavier taught Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey and Ice Man how to control their mutant powers.
X-Men was different from other comics because the characters were from multicultural backgrounds but of course, they usually saved the day.
In the 90s the X-Men comics were re-launched with the return of some familiar faces. To this day, the first issue in the new series remains the highest selling comic book in history, selling close to 8 million copies worldwide.
In films and games
The popularity of comics is always growing. Many characters have made their way on to television and the big screen - Spiderman 3 (2007) made well over $300 million in the US, making it the highest grossing film of 2007, and this year, The Dark Knight has dominated the box office.
The success of comic book characters like Spiderman inevitably means that they will appear on other products. Superman first hit the PS2 in 2006 whilst Marvel frequently releases games to coincide with the release of its films.
Controversy
There’s bound to be controversy in anything that tackles and reflects the society it was made in. Last year, DC comics caused a commotion when it released Batman: The Killing Joke, which saw the Joker in a fight against Batgirl, followed by him taking pictures of her still body.
Though it received mixed reviews amongst comic book readers, The Killing Joke was what influenced the producers of the film ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’.
Make your own comic
If you’re obsessed with comics then you’re in luck, as the Comic Brush website is letting you create your very own! You can make up a storyline and accompany it with their illustrations, your own pictures or even your own drawings. Then think of some really cool captions and you’ll have a comic book that rivals the professionals.
