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Home , Crime comics, Fritz the Cat, Robert Crumb, Romance comics

YESTERDAY

Comic Books: The Return of the Golden Age

Comics, an underrated genre? Jeff Kramer introduces readers to the objects of his continuing obsession, whose influence on arts and media is increasing. HELTON S MY A

t’s the 21st century, and suddenly were read by millions every week. By con- them down” for kids. The books they pro- comic books aren’t just for kids any trast, if a comic sells 400,000 copies nowa- duced are some of the best-loved and most Imore. They’re respectable now. While days, it’s considered a huge success. Back sought-after collectibles. Writer Stephen Europe has a long tradition of adults read- then, a cost a mere dime and King and film director George Romero ing , in the States that has not always had 64 pages. Today, half as many pages (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead) been the case. But these days, there’s noth- will run you at least two dollars, and many joined forces in 1982 to pay homage to EC ing to be ashamed of any more. So what books sell for six bucks or more – although with the film Creepshow. brought this change about? to be fair, the quality of the printing and the While the quality of EC’s work was unde- The comic book as we know it really took paper has dramatically improved. niable, their timing was, unfortunately, shape with the introduction of Superman in Even back in 1938, and throughout the pretty bad. In the earnest, post-war1950’s, Action Comics #1, in 1938. Sure, there were next 25 years, there were adults who read parents didn’t want their children reading comics before that issue hit the stands, but the comics, but they probably weren’t stories in which corpses came back to life they were primarily collections of comic telling too many people about it, and to exact vengeance on murderers. They strips that had already run in the newspa- almost certainly they weren’t wearing weren’t ready for that dealt with pers. Superman, created by two Jewish guys T-shirts featuring the emblem of their war realistically, or that in New York City – Jerry Siegel and Joe favorite character! showed pimps and heroin users. A special Schuster, was originally intended to be a committee was formed by the US Senate to for the newspaper. Instead, it investigate whether comic books were a was cut and pasted and repackaged as a Comics Code cause of juvenile delinquency, and EC was comic book. The publisher thought that the an easy scapegoat. The Senators over- longer format suited the story better. In the 1950’s, a company called EC whelmingly agreed with noted psychologist The book was an instant smash upon its Comics (run by the son of the man who Dr. Frederick Wertham, and almost release, and launched what’s known as the published Superman) tried to publish overnight any comic that featured True Golden Age of comic books. Heroes like comics that could be enjoyed by both Crime, Zombies, or any hint of sex or gore , Captain Marvel adults and children. Instead of pumping was removed from stores. In their place, the (“Shazam!”), , The Human Torch, as out more super-hero stories, EC focused on Comics Code (a ratings system for comic well as , Archie Comics, Crime, War Stories, and Horror. They didn’t books) allowed for only “wholesome” sto- titles and True Crime stories try to sugarcoat their stories, or “dumb ries to be published.

19 NEW STANDPOINTS ■ MAY JUNE 2006 YESTERDAY

There is a silver lining to this dark cloud, get their heads out of the 1940s and into the would urge you to read the comics he has however. In order to sidestep the Comics present day. They had their heroes deal written. Code, EC took one of their humor comic with real-life issues – poverty, drug addic- The Dark Knight Returns was written and books and published it in a magazine for- tion, alcoholism – in an effort to keep up drawn by , now widely known mat. That title was Mad Magazine, and it is with ’ growing popularity. for the movie released last year. still being published today. Suddenly, it was okay to have adult themes Dark Knight is set in the future and features in comics, and with the more mature story- The Batman. It’s a great story and is bril- lines, comic books dramatically improved. liantly realized, but the most significant Misfits and As the stories matured, so did the audience. thing that Miller did with it was to re-imag- Outcasts ine the character of The Batman. Miller, more than any other creator, is most The more modern super-hero first Graphic Novels responsible for stripping away the campi- emerged in the 1960’s with Marvel Comics. ness of the Batman from the TV show of the Seeking to distinguish themselves from the Comics also took a big leap towards 1960’s, and giving us the darker, more psy- popular – but growing somewhat stale – respectability in the early 80’s, with the chotic, more “” Batman that we heroes of DC Comics (Superman, Batman, introduction of the “.” A know today (as in the recent Batman Begins ) Marvel’s heroes had a more graphic novel is basically a long-form feature film.) It was Miller who showed us realistic angle. Spiderman, for instance, comic book bound like a paperback book. that a guy who goes out every night dressed wasn’t a “man” at all, but a teenager who A standard comic book is flimsy, damages as a bat has probably got a few screws had to study for tests and was unsure of easily, and won’t hold up to being thrown in loose, even if he is on the side of justice. himself with girls – just like comic-book and out of a back-pack or purse too many The success of The Dark Knight Returns readers themselves! The X-Men were a times. But a graphic novel is sturdier, has a made Miller one of the most respected bunch of outcast teens and misfits – just longer shelf life, and looks like a book, so names in comics, and gave him free reign like the people who were buying the books! you can read it on the bus or the subway to do pretty much whatever he wanted. And even the Fantastic Four, although older without feeling embarrassed. Plus, graphic (Although long before Dark Knight, hard- than Spidey or the X-Men, was a family that novels usually contain complete storylines, core fans like myself were enthralled with argued with each other. If DC Comics were no more “continued next month”, which Miller’s work on Daredevil.) Although it “wholesome” and “All-American”, Marvel’s also enhances their appeal. More impor- would take him a few years, his next project titles were a little more cutting-edge. They tantly, graphic novels can be mass-market- was the hugely popular Sin City. An incred- didn’t seem old-fashioned or stale, but were ed and shipped to bookstores, not just ibly dark and gritty – yet visually stunning – “hip” instead – something the kids (and comic-book specialty shops, greatly comic book, Sin City was made into a suc- more and more adults) of the 60’s could increasing the potential audience. (There cessful film in 2005. Adding to the further relate to. Plus, it didn’t hurt that The Silver are many more people in the States buying respectability of comic books, the film’s Surfer – a guy coated in Silver from head to books in bookstores than comics in special- director, Robert Rodriguez, insisted that toe, flying through the universe on a cosmic ty shops.) Frank Miller be given a co-director credit. surfboard – was just plain cool. Aside perhaps from , the two (By the way, the two of them are already at The late 60’s and early 70’s were also the graphic novels that have had the greatest work on Sin City II.) dawn of the “underground comic” in impact were Watchmen and The Dark Knight Clearly, all this success in the film busi- America. These books published in San Returns. Both of these titles were originally ness is helping to make comic books more Francisco during the peak of the published as 32-page-long comics in multi- respectable and more accepted. It’s hard to movement were aimed specifically at ple issues. But it was when they were bound dismiss them as just “kid stuff” when adults, or at least college students. The sto- and sold as graphic novels that the medium Fantastic Four earns $40 million in its first rylines revolved mostly around sex and really took flight here in the US. Watchmen, week of release. This year, we will see a new drugs, but some extraordinary work was written by and illustrated by Superman movie, as well as the third install- produced, most notably by , is being developed into a ment of the X-Men movies, and production (, Mr. Natural), who now lives in feature film. Moore has already had several will begin on Spiderman III. But even in this the South of France; (The of his comics made into movies, with mixed dollar- and euro-ruled world of ours, big- Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers) and Spain results. He wrote the original comics for budget films and profitable video games Rodriguez (.) The books weren’t From Hell with Johnny Depp, The League of can’t explain it all. available at newsstands, and you had to be Extraordinary Gentlemen, with Sean at least 18 to buy them. This might have Connery, and V for Vendetta, which stars been the first instance of comics actively Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving (from Thirty-Somethings courting an adult audience. The Matrix). Moore is one of the best writers By the early 1970’s, even stalwart DC working in comics today, and whatever you Personally, I think a big part of the comic Comics began to realize that they needed to might think of how the movies turned out, I medium’s new-found respectability is that

20 NEW STANDPOINTS ■ MAY JUNE 2006 YESTERDAY the kids who grew up on the comics of the 70’s and early 80’s – when comics really began to hit their stride – are now today’s adults. They are in positions of power: they are the screenwriters and the directors, the novelists, gallery owners and museum curators. They work in ad agencies and they design clothes. The gatekeepers of today’s media are the same geeks who years ago were reading comics. In their minds, it only makes sense that comic-book creators should be honored with an exhibit that takes up not one but two museums in Los Angeles, as has happened with the Masters exhibit, which is currently touring the country. It’s only natural that Mark Ecko, who has a clothing line named after him, would pro- duce a series of shirts bearing the likeness- es of Spiderman, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine from The X-Men. Even novels are starting to feel the influ- ence of comic books. The 2001 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction was Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a story of two comic-book creators (based on actual people) in the early days of the comic-book business. Jonathan Lethem wrote a 2003 bestseller, Fortress of Solitude (the title itself is a reference to Superman’s secret hideaway) about two teenage boys who find a ring that gives them super-. And Neil Gaiman, the creator of the immensely popular Sandman comic in the 90s, now writes novels that routinely top bestseller list, such as Anansi Boys and American Gods. In short, the kids who were outcasts in the 70s and 80s have all grown up now. And while they still may not be able to throw a football properly, they do know how to tell a good story, whether in a graphic novel, a classic novel or on the silver screen. ■

Jeff Kramer works in film production in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He has over 3,000 comic books, all of them bagged and boarded and safely tucked away in boxes.

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