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Home , Blade (character), Blade (franchise), Blade (soundtrack), Brilliant (comics), Erik Larsen, History of comics

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`'. (See glossary ofterms on p 22.) The wonderful Sequential artis picturesin a sequence thattella story,basicallyimparting a mes- sageingraphic andliterary form, orin other world of words, tellyou about a manthatdressesin a bat suitfighting crime. That'sthe message thatthe medium An introduction conveys. However, comics are not limited to telling stories about the adventures of RUDI WICOMB unlike most, was told before in another spandex-clad heroes, but have runthe gamutofliterarygenres. The lesson here is Librarian, Southfield Library medium. It startedin a brightly-coloured book with poor qualitypaper and told the never to mistake the message for the love comics. Since I was a kid I've har- simple storyofayoungman bitten bya medium (McCloud1994:6). boured a passion for comics. I remem- radioactive spider who is subsequently Graphic novels are much easier to I ber being mesmerised by the coloured define. Think ofa as a book bestowed with great power and even pages, describing brilliant adventures of greaterresponsibilities. Itemblazoneditself toldin form; it has a beginning, brightly-clad heroes fighting for truth, jus- intheheartsandmindsofAmericansfor middle and an end. tice and the Americanway. over 50 years. In contrast, comic book Reading comics made me believe in Now it is our turn to trade are a collec- miracles butthen I grew up and Irealised hear the stories. tion ofstory arcs ofserialised that people didn't share my love for comics. Soonthere willbe comic booksinto a graphic Theycouldn'tor didn'tbelieve in miracles. others. , novel format. Comic trades are They even said comics were bad for you. ,X-Men and acreationofourmodernage Comics were only for people who couldn't , are a few of the and mass consumerism. read properly - that'swhylibraries didn't more popular ones, but have them - because books were for clever Abriefhistory do you know ofHellboy, Theidea ofsequential artis very and comics for stupid people. TheIncredibleHulk, The sadtruthis ateacher toldmethis. I'm old. The Bayeux Tapestryis a Daredevil, or 230-footlong tapestry that sure she meant well but her advice came the League ofExtraor- from a misplaced sense of duty and a lackof details the Norman conquests dinary Gentleman? You ofEngland in1066. knowledge. might not, butthe public My aim is to provide an insight into comic Read fromleftto right, it knows. They might not depicts the events ofthe con- bookliterature andlegitimisethetreatment haveknownpriorto16May2002(thepre- ofcomics as a literary and artistic medium questin a chronological order. mier ofthe Spider-Man), butthey do now. In the late1700s with George worthy ofa modicum ofequalityinthe And aslibrariansitis ourjob to know too. world ofpopular literature. Washington as president ofthe fledgling Wehave to know because thatis the best ofAmerica, single panel Comics have gone mainstream. By main- way to serve our communityneeds. streamwe meanthatcomics have trans- drawings,partpoliticalsatire,partenter- cended the boundaries ofmarginalised tainment andpart socialcommentary were A definition published in newspapers. literary and artistic obscurity and have Like allother mediums (film, books and attainedimmortality byjoining the world Jumping ahead a few decades to1890 in paintings arejust a fewexamples of different NewYork City,two newspaper moguls, pop culture. Andyoucan kinds ofmediums) it hasits blameit allonthemovies. Joseph Pulitzer and William own set ofrules and Randolph Hearstcompeted for the hearts, I'm sure you've heard conventions. These govern ofit and you might have minds and readers on the streets ofNew the creation ofworks within York. Both realised thatthe best way for seenit; Spider-Manbroke the medium ofcomics. boxoffice records across them to achieve this was to make their But what are comics? newspaper appealto the rapidly-growing the world, as movies go it `Juxtaposed pictorial and has reached the status of working class, the papers sold more when other images in deliberate the readers could relate to the contents. pop classic (and will sequence, intended to undoubtedly be bought Joseph Pulitzer fired the opening salvo, convey information and/or by publishing a drawn by RF by the Western Cape to produce an aesthetic Provincial Library Ser- Outcault. The modest drawings depicted response in the viewer' scenes ofcitylifewith a strong satirical edge vice [WCPLS] ifby some (McCloud1994:9). And as chance you missed it at andinthemiddleofitallwasachild, the creator ofthis definition `androgynous, bald and with a look both the cinemas). suggests, it'squite a But besides the quizzical and wise in the midst ofthe slap- mouthful. The most impor- social commentary' (McCue1993:9). impressive box office tant in this definition is records, this movie, The child was dubbed TheYellow Kid

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andis credited to be the first recurring Inhis book, televisionserieswasahitandcomics comic strip character. With sales skyrock- Seduction of the stampedits first markonthe popular cul- eting Pulitzer and Hearst solicited more innocent and sub- ture of the time. artists who created comic strips. These sequent public Butthe Silver Age ended as silently as it strips are the forefathers of modern day hearings,Wertham began and comicslostits populous voice. comics. Comics ultimately owe their exis- demonised comics The squeakyclean stories had no relevance tence to an American newspaper war. and allthose inthe tumultuous times ofthe late sixties This was merely the tip of the iceberg... involved in the and early to mid seventies and eventually Tocashin onthe economic feasibilityof industry. lost its social appeal. comics,publishers reprinted comic strips in The end of1954 There was,however,a company thathad a magazine format. Most of the comics signalled the its birthinthe sixties and found a smallbut published up to1922 were reprints. In that knellfor the Golden Age of Comics. loyal following during this period. The Silver year,acomic called The Funnieswas the Wertham'switch huntdrove many fledg- Age saw the birth ofthe and first to print original stories. This trend ling publishersinto bankruptcy.The young . caughton and soon publishers were hard at comic bookindustryrealised thatit had to work recruiting writers and artists to regulate itself before state controls were The companies create fantastic stories. put in place. As a result of this,the Comics There are three major comic book compa- Perhaps the most significant event of the Magazine Association of America (CMAA) niesinthe States that have shaped the time (1930-1940) was thelaunch oftwo was created to regulate the contents of course and . These com- comics called and . The CMAA created the Comics panies have very distinct visions for their comics,which launched Batman and Code,a list of criteria that has governed works thatis obviousin alltheir publica- Supermanrespectively,into the hearts and content in comics since1954. Although the tions. minds of an emerging first worldnation. code has been re-written and amended to Althoughthere are other smaller and allow for societal changes,itis stillin effect. larger companies that have revolutionised A brief history of the ages (In September 2001,however,Marvel the face ofthe comic book medium,Iwill Whatfollowed,historians and scholars of comics withdrew from the CMAA,drop- limit myself to a few. comics have called the Ages of Comics - a ping the code from all their creative output.) DC Comics period when certainvalues and/or styles (Cotton 2001:16.) Or simplycalled DC,is the oldest and lar- were the measurement for what was con- gestcomic bookcompanyinthe US. DC's temporary (similar to the Renaissance or The Silver Age outputcan only be described as`user Baroque periodsin arthistory,the Ages are In the interregnum that followed the end of friendly',- comics that are contrived to to comics). the Golden Age,characters became two- appealto a majority.But by no meansis this There are three Ages of comics: the dimensional,preachy and stale. The subject aslighttoDC'screativeoutput,thiscom- Golden Age,the Silver Age and the pre- matter espoused wholesome family values, pany has created some ofthe mosticonic sent,as yet unnamed but what writers and that at times didn'tgel with the style of the charactersin comic book history and have artistshave begunto callthe Modern Age. comic. Fans at the time were disappointed at lacklustre comics. been atthe forefrontof creating comics. The Golden Age Thankfully a Anditdoeshelpifyouowntwoofthe The Golden Age was a period of breath- revolution was most recognised comic bookcharacters taking characterised by the brilliance brewing. A silent ever created. And just who are they? of writers and artists who literally created revolution that Superman and Batman,of course. comics from the ground up. The subject startedwith a re- Marvel Comics matter was diverse and unique. Super- creation of an old Marvel was the heroes shared the same pages as spine- hero,, brainchild of the chilling horror stories,space adventures sent ripples prolific . and fantasyjourneys. through the An iconic What wasindeed a Golden Age came to industry and figureinhisown an abrupt and sudden end when major fans. Comic proponents from social and political creators realised spheres (out of,what one hopes was mis- that they could guided attempt atcivic duty) violently create something denounced comics as a scourge on the new within the restrictions minds of the youth. placed uponthem,bygiving The manto single-handedly dealthe the old characters a new look comic book medium a terrifying,almost and a nicer,friendlier image. fatal blow thatcan stillbe felttoday,was Comics were cool again. right,Lee has created or co- renowned psychiatrist,Frederic Wertham, Superman and Batman had created some of the best a contemporary of Senator never been more popular bankable superheroes ever: JMcCarthy,who atthe time wasleading a with Batmantaking the lead. Spider-Man and X-Men. witch hunton so-called communist activ- AdamWest'scampy Batman Whereas DC preferred ities of creative minds of the time. quantity with quality a close

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second,Marvel builtthe house with quality. tive energies that have paved a new way, a When became the regular Marvel Comics established a connection new Zeitgeist for comics in the new millen- writer of the Flash comic book, little did he with fans throughitsinnovative styles and nium. know that he would start the renaissance. relevant storyideas that stillexists today. The1980shad alotto answer for,like Waid'sperspective onthe bubble pants, big hair and Ronald Reagan. was simple. He told solid, character-driven Wein South Africa had bigger fishto fry, so stories focussing onthe man behind the The most influential event in recent comic you're off the hook for not knowing what mask but always reminding readers they historywas the creation of Image comics. wasgoingin comics back then. were dealing with a hero. Itscreationin1992 heralded a changeinthe Comicsinthe1980s were dominated by The fan reaction was awesome. status quo of comic book publishing. Byno two pivotal figures. Theycreated what Flashbecame a hit and propelled means the youngestcomic bookcompany, mostfans and writers consider the only Waid into the upper echelons of comic book Image was formed byseven artists from originalworks for thatentire decade. These writers. The creative shift was a necessary hottestcomics. Fed up with among two gentlemen are none other than Frank one in order to move awayfrom the legacy other things, low payand creative control, Miller and . of the 80s. Jim Lee,Todd McFarlane,Mark Silvestri,Jim Iftheir names sound familiarit'spossibly Valentino,, and Formation of Image comics because the LibraryService managed to founded Image. (19 92) buytheir epoch defining works for libraries DC and Marvelpredicted an earlydeath TheformationofImageprovedtothe`Big inthe late 80s early90s. Both DC publica- for the companybut bythe end of1992 Two' (Marvel and DC) thatindependent tions, viz Batman: Imagewasthenumberonesellingcomic comic bookcompanies could give them a and . bookcompanyinthe world. Image was the run for their money. Image revolutionised Miller and Moore took their respective firstto use digital coloringintheircomics, the industryin the 90s and helped push antagonistsinto the deepest, darkest theypioneered the idea of creator-owned independent comics into the comic book recesses ofthe human psyche, exposing work (prior to this allcharacters created mainstream. their weaknesses, pathologies, fears and were owned bythe comic book company), violenttendencies. Their works echoed the DC creates an adult line (1993) created cheaper productiontechniques social and political feeling ofthe time and DC Vertigo specialisesin comics written and raised page rates for creators. painted a bleak picture of the future. The specificallyfor an adult readership. DC Wizard Magazine fanslovedit. employed hot new British writers, gave Not a comic book com- In an introduction to them creative freedom andleftthem comic panyoramagazinefor America: code free. The result was and stillis some of itinerant spell casters, Midsummer's nightmare, the best award-winning comicsin history. Wizard magazineis a comic book writer Grant Movie (2000) newspaper for comics. It Morrison summed up the This is the comic that started it all. The X- was started tenyears ago 80s withthese words: `It Men is the number one selling comic in the byGareb Shamus, an wasgoodwhileitlasted States, month after month. It outsells even unrepentant comic book (the 80s) and yielded two Superman and Batman. If not for its success, fan and reports on alland authentic masterpieces in Spider-Man would probablyhave never anynews in the comic Miller's Dark Knight been made. bookindustry. returns and Moore and Wizard magazine Gibbon's Watchmen,but 's (Japanese comics) eventuallyled to Wizard what began as an era of influence Entertainment, a pub- bold experimentation and The success of the X-Men comic can be put lishing companythat not adultthemes soon grew to three things. Firstly, an extremely onlyowns Wizard but a tired and repetitive, ...the large fan base; secondly, intriguing relevant slew of magazines, and smaller publishing decade...became characterised bya stories written bythe best writing talent in concerns. Not bad for a companythat relentless tide of unsmiling, uptight mental the industry; and thirdly and most impor- startedin someone'sbasement. casesintrenchcoats. The new``heroes'' tantly,'ssuccessful fusion of Wizardhas a firm hold on of the were deranged psychos, mother-fixated Japanese Manga and American style comic comic book industry, and has the dubious perverts and cold-eyed killers, barely dis- art. The resulting fusion created a new pleasure of being one of the tinguished fromthe villains theyso callously commercial art style that had until then only resources for this article. It is available in dispatched with a dazzling arrayof brutal been seen in the East. Madureira's style South Africafor themodestprice of R75.00 weaponry. There was a growing feeling swelled the fan base to even larger propor- and a verygood buyfor those interestedin among readers and creators alike that tion which undoubtedlycontributed to the the comic bookindustry. something had been lost...' (Morrison success ofthe X-Men movie. 1996:7). The British invasion (1992 to Current trends Readers'disillusionment reflectedinlow The wordis Renaissance. Itjust about sales andless output bycomic companies. current date) encapsulates what has occurredinthe Bythe beginning of the1990s, the comic British comic writers have consistently comic bookindustryinthe last12 years. It industrywas ripe for a renaissance. And it showed up their American counterparts. describes the redefining of ideas and crea- allstarted with The Flash, again. Whereas British comics (such as 2000AD

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and ) are not just limited to television series,JMichael important reasons that hasled to the cur- superhero's, American comics tended to be Straczynski found a home at Image comics, rent trend in WCPLS'acquisitions of trades, more about superhero'suntil a group of where he created a brilliantcomic series or lack of acquisition. Don'tget me wrong, brilliant British writers proved thatdifferent called Rising stars. As a result of his excellent I'mnot saying thatno comic bookmaterialis literarygenres could be exploredwithinthe work on Rising stars,Straczynskiwas being bought for libraries byWCPLS. We've medium of comics. The British writers offered Spider-Man, which all seen the Asterix,and brought a literarysensibilityto American had allbutlostits fan base, a Tintin comics and the comics that has become anintegralpartof death sentence in comics. Disneycomic adaptions. As current comic book culture. Straczynski'sideas struck a well as a small number of The British writers, among them Neil chord with fans and the Judge Dredd comics. What I Gaiman, Alan Moore,,Grant groundswell began in am sayingis that, notthe Morrison, and , earnest. right type of comic book have created new visions for comics. Josh Whedon, creator materialis being bought. New editor-in-chief of Marvel and writer of the television The righttype inthis case is series Buffy the Marvel comics have always beenlight years slayer and Angel,broughthis ahead of DC as far as theircontent was visionto Dark Horse concerned. Although this allowed writers comics, where he writes a and artists creative independence, itcould comic dark vampire/horror never consistentlyensure economic comic called Fray. viability. Historically Marvel comics could , aftercompleting hisrun on never reconcile the two. So the company Daredevil, resurrected DCcharacter always relied on its golden titles, like X-Men from comic limbo and pro- and Spider-Manto keep the companyinthe pelled the comic to number one. Kevin black. But some unfortunate creative Smith willbe returning to Marvel and will choices made bythe editors and hand over Green Arrow managers, left Marvel in a verypre- to New YorkTimes best- carious position. Bankruptcy selling novelist Brad loomed on more than one occasion. Meltzer. (WCPLS has In September of1998,Marvel copies of his bookin comic book material that is written for a hired two freelancers, stock, if anyone is inter- general audience like Superman,Batman (editor-in-chief ) and JimmyPal- ested.) and Spider-Man. In going through past miotti, bought and renamed their The implications are recordsfromthe 90sonwards andspeaking comic imprintto and quite plainto see; comics to books reviewers and`partiesinthe gavethetwo freelancers free crea- are moving into the know'about policyrelating to comic books tivereign. By2000,theMarvel mainstreamandcreators material,I've managed to spotthe following: Knightsline was aspopular as the and artists from different WCPLS initiallybought comic trade mainstream Marvelline, reconciling mediums feel thatthey paperbacks on anintermittent basis, for the the economics and creative aspects can successfullycross most part Batman and the aforementioned of a comic publishing company. mediums, withoutfear of being creatively Watchmen aswellas some other DCtitles Cross medium pollination stifled or stigmatised. (,Greatest Batman Stories (19 9 9 to current) There finallyis something for everybody. EverTold). The quantities bought were When Joe Quesada neededhelp revamping It is a veryexciting time for the comic book quite moderate (mostlyfor the Metropole) some ofthe old Marvel characters, he rea- medium, the boundaries are being chal- buttheywere popular mainstreamtitles. lised he needed a person with a different lenged everyday with each new comic pub- Thenlarger amounts of non mainstream perspective, and called good friend,Kevin lished and the end resultis a comic or comic works were bought. These large quantities Smith. Kevin Smith, writer and director of trade you canthoroughly enjoy. coupled with an uninformed choice of titles films , , and (bytoday'sstandard, those non mainstream Dogma, started a verysuccessfultwelve The WCPLS view titles can be considered alternative andthus issue run as writer for the comic Daredevil. There is as far as Iknow, no reason whyyou have verylittle mass appeal) led to copies Smith brought the different perspective shouldn'thave a comic trade paperbackin being returned to general stacks as redun- so sorelyneeded. Itdidn'thurtthatthe fans yourlibrary. Somelibraries (like Fish Hoek) dant stock and a veryvocalpublic who loved the idea of anindependentfilm have even createditem class numbers for complained aboutthe content, language, et director writing comic books. Subse- them and specific ways of maintaining these cetera. quently, Marvel comics have never had a trade paperbacks. Luckilythere seems to This resulted in a halt to the purchasing of more productive year, both creatively and be no problem with libraries buying their allgraphic novels and trades. It waslater economically. own, it's the readership choice so their reconsidered and resultedin a standing But Smith wasn'tthe onlyone to bring a decisionto buywhattheywantis ratified by order that allgraphic novelswere to be `fresh perspective'. the public demand. broughtto management meetings, to be Writer, director and creator of the Public demand is possiblyone of the most checked for content and then approved for

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book selection. This took place in the mid to book trades and graphic novels. There is a The comic book medium is here to stay. late1990s. world of information that most librarians The possibilities forits uses are endless for a Some graphic novels and trades had are not aware of and in fairness, must be societythat needs to promote a culture of made their wayinto WCPLS, but were taken into account when evaluating comics' reading andliteracy. kicked outduring preliminaryselection. validityas a medium for being on our When we speak aboutcomics, comic trade shelves. paperbacks and graphic novels, we are We approached management for their talking about a different mediumto books. Conclusion comment and publish Deputy Director Comics as a medium, hasgaineda badimage A comic trade or graphic novel might look Liesel deVilliers'response: like a book but it is not. It is a different among readersin South Africa based upon preconceivedideas of whatcomics suppo- All titles purchased are selected by medium and should betreated as such. CDs means ofa democratic process at book and videos have covers, trades do too. Fish sedlyare. These ideas are spread bya small selection meetings and a category exists Hoek Libraryhas devised a wayto collect minoritythat view comics asless than lit- and maintain their collection of comic trade erarywith no aesthetic or creative for the purchase ofcomic trade paper paperbacks in such a wayas to maximise its substance. This blatantelitist attitude backs. shelf life. toward this medium is unfair and unwar- Due to limited funds and the cost ofthe And the entire policyshiftcame about ranted and ultimatelyborn outof ignor- comic trade paperbacks these titles are because of public reactionto what was a ance. usuallynot selected. Another problem poor choice of comic book material and Aslibrarians I fear we tend to forgetthat that we are faced withis the binding and misunderstanding aboutthe nature of we have a responsibilityto our public, forit durability ofthese books in a publiclibrary is our public thatcreates our popular cul- comics. environment. This suggests to me a need for selectors ture, andif we (librarians, reviewers and to bere-educated asregards comics, comic critics) ignore the vox populi, well then whom are we serving?

A glossary of terms

Comics published serialised comic books collected comic book industryin the US. If a comic, When I talk about comics Irefertothe in a single volume. like Batman was considered to be free of comic book medium. The medium of So comic bookcompanies would take anybad content, it was then published comics encapsulates allpossible examples. issues15,16,17,18and19ofa specificcomic with a comic code. Forinstance, inyour CapeTimes Madam book series, like Superman, collectthem and Eve is a comic strip, an example ofthe and reprint and publishthemin a single Manga and volume. comic medium. The Superman comic you Manga is the Japanese word for comic. The trickypartis that we can refer to a see in CNA, is an example of this comic Japanese comics have a particular artistic hardcover version of atrade as medium. and thematic style thatisimmensely pop- a . A comic means far more thanjust ular and utterlyunique. Madam and Eve or Little Lotta or Casper Anime is the Japanese word for anima- the friendlyghost, itdescribes a specific Graphic novel tion, which also has a unique artistic style medium where allthese works exist Graphic novels are novels told in a comic which is fairlyevidentto see in television within. form, with a beginning, middle and end. showslikePokemon,Digimon,Dragonball ZandRobotech. Trade paperback Sequential art The appealis the dynamic, kinetic style that Japanese artists have given their Ithas a specific size andtendtobe alittle Is animage or setof images that are linked works. This style is very pleasing to the less expensive than a hardcover book. bya common idea and/or story. There is a profound understanding to eye and utterly eye-catching. the word trade paperback whenitis used to describe anything related to a comic. Comics Magazine Association Acomicbooktradepaperback of America and comics code describes a collection of previously The CCMA is a non-governmental orga- nisationthat`regulated'contentinthe

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