The Social and Literary Relevance of Comic Books
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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Filip Hatala We Live in a Society: The Social and Literary Relevance of Comic Books Bachelor's Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Christopher Adam Rance, M.A. 2020 / declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. Filip Hatala I would hereby like to thank my supervisor Christopher Adam Ranee, M.A. for his patience, time and helpful input. I would also like to thank my family and friends who have supported me all throughout these 5 years of my bachelor's studies. Table of contents Introduction 6 1 History of Superhero Comics: The Golden Age and Superman 8 1.1 The Caped Crusader in the Night 9 1.2 World War II and the Super Soldier 11 1.3 Social Norms Change and a Wonder Arrives 13 1.4 World War II and the Great Depression Come to an End, but the Golden Age Continues 15 2 The Cold War Picks up Steam, as Gold Turns to Silver 17 2.1 Ok Boomer 18 2.2 New Marvels Appear 19 2.3 With Great Power 21 2.4 Science is the Sickness, Science is the Cure 23 2.5 When one Super-team is not Enough 26 2.6 Ending the Decade 27 3 The Dark Side of Superheroes has the Color Bronze 28 3.1 Drugs, Death and Demons 30 3.2 Miller Time 33 4 The Modern Age 35 4.1 New Major Players Join the Industry 37 4.2 Time for New Blood 38 4.3 A Failing Market 39 4.4 A New Decade of Fear 41 4.5 When the 2010s Came Knocking 43 4.6 Multi-media Marvel 44 5 Fiction in all of its Forms 47 5.1 Action and Adventure 47 5.2 Horror 48 5.3 Science Fiction and Fantasy 50 5.4 Crime Thriller 52 5.5 Romance 54 6 Adapting to the Sociopolitical Climate 55 7 Everyone is Included 59 Conclusion 64 Works Cited 67 Resume 76 Resume 77 Introduction Comic strips, comics, comic books and graphic novels have been a part of society for over a century now and have become one the most far reaching and inclusive media available. With stories ranging from galactic devastation, to personal stories about depression, coming to terms with oneself, or more political pieces about racism sexism and a multitude of other. While there are countless different types of stories, either an illustrated re-telling of someone's life and the events they had to go through, or a visually striking tale about the holocaust, where people are replaced mice and cats like in the graphic novel Maus, this thesis will focus on arguably the most popular type of comics, which are superhero comic books. At first glance these stories may seem more child-friendly and even childish at times, due to them harboring a, for the most part, colorful aesthetic and crating larger than life characters who more often than not are tied to a cautionary tale about justice, doing what is right, being helpful, basically teaching a younger audience good morals, like for example a more modern take on Aesop's Fables. In the time-span of over 80 years, ever since the man in the red cape, tights and a big "S" on his chest first inspired and leaped into the imagination of countless people, a lot of changes have happened in the way comics and comic book characters are written. Superhero comics have changed and evolved, adapted to the social climate and created a genre of great inclusivity and social commentary, that is why they should be regarded as a relevant literary source. The theoretical part of this thesis will concentrate on the progressing evolution of comics and graphic novels, from their relatively small and niche beginning, up to present day and their massive influence on multiple entertainment industries. It will be split into different chapters, each dedicated to different era of comic books, such as the bronze, silver and golden age of comics. Every age will discuss at least one or more comics symbolic 6 of that time. The practical part will examine the modern age of superhero comic books, with specific stories and characters, demonstrating how comics tackle social issues and present the reader with a library of different stories and characters that include people themes and struggles from all walks of life. 7 1 History of Superhero Comics: The Golden Age and Superman As mentioned before, in the introduction part of this thesis, comic or comic strips as a medium were well known and well established before the idea of first official superhero was put on paper. Characters with special abilities or skill sets from pulp magazines, radio shows, novels and comic strips predated the Man of Steel by quite some time. The golden age of comics however, has its start directly tied to the creation of the first actual superhero type of character, to Superman. What made Superman actually super, was that he was the first character who could be described as an amalgam of all these fictional heroes and vigilantes. He was incredibly strong and incredibly fast, sharing traits with characters like Tarzan or Popeye. He fought criminals under the guise of an alter ego, not unlike the Green Hornet or the Shadow. He even became entangled in off world adventures, similar to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, like his famous series revolving around the character John Carter, a regular man who becomes a legendary hero to the inhabitants of the planet Mars. Now while all of these character traits and story aspects may not have been very original when Superman was created, what was original was to have one character encapsulate them all (Johnson 11). The social and political situation the U.S. found itself in had also an impact on Superman's creation. He was born out of a necessity for a new type of heroic character. By 1938 the U.S. had been facing one disastrous event after another. The Great Depression had been ravaging the country and its people since 1929 when the stock market crash occurred. Millions of people were without jobs and most of America was witnessing the harsh and merciless fall of countless business and economic institutions. To add insult to injury, the U.S. as well as Canadian farmers were facing another major threat. The Dust Bowl, a series of long, drawn out and severely damaging dust storms was sweeping across both nations and was damaging to both the delicate ecosystem as well as agriculture. Countless people lost their livelihoods on top of the crippling economic crisis. All of these events led to the people, 8 the citizens of the U.S. losing trust in their own government. They were left feeling betrayed and powerless and most of all, hopeless. Out of these dire circumstances, a need for a hero, someone who would inspire hope in people, someone who would remind them that there is still good to be found in the world arose. This metaphorical calling for a hero led to the birth of Superman. Superman was created in 1938 and had his first appearance published in May in Action Comics #1. The publisher of Action Comics #1 was National Comics Publications, Inc. or as the company is known today D.C. comics. National Comics Publications, Inc. was founded in autumn of 1934 by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson as a comic book publishing company. The company launched several lines of comics with each revolving around one theme, and thus the series Action Comics came to life and with it a milestone in popular culture was established with the subsequent creation of Superman. He was created by two young men by the name of Jerry Siegel who was the writer, and Joe Shuster who was working as an artist on the issue. Aside from being inspired by pulp and other popular media characters, Superman shares some strong parallels with biblical figures like Jesus Christ and Moses. These parallels are not hard to perceive as the character has a tragic origin of losing his biological family and being raised as the savior of mankind. It was a perfect storm of horrible circumstances, great inspirations and a dash of originality that led to the creation of one the medium's most iconic characters. Superman appeared at the exact right time in the exact right place and ushered in a new age and a new type of character, and thus the first comic book superhero was born. 1.1 The Caped Crusader in the Night With the massive success of Action Comics #1 it would not take long before another iconic superhero would see his debut. One of National Comics Publications, Inc.-'s other 9 popular comic series, Detective comics would soon be the birth place for one of pop cultures most beloved vigilantes. On March the 30th, Detective comics #27 was published, and with it the world witnessed the first full appearance of the nowadays iconic comic book character Batman. Batman, like Superman before him, was a product of the times and circumstances. He was created by the writer and illustrator duo Bob Kane and Bill Finger. While Superman stood up for the common folk, fighting injustices on a smaller scale while he himself was a larger than life character, Batman became the opposite. A normal, albeit very wealthy and skilled man. He, more often than not had to stand up against insurmountable odds by using his wits and plethora of skills.