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Comic Books - The Golden Age

The Golden Age of comics was generally accepted as being from the 1930s right up to the mid 1950s. The American book realm prospered during that time and a lot of super stars that we see today were born in that era. Some we know as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, Hawkman and Robin belonged to the company called Detective Comics or DC. But before Marvel comics made an appearance there was a company called Timely comics and they launched their version of the super heroes in the shape of the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and Captain America. But it came as a surprise to know that Fawcett Comics super hero Captain Marvel outdid Superman and his contemporaries.

World War II brought about a change in the comic book market. It proved that comics were an easy way to relax and this was reflected in the stories where Superman and the allies together managed to over power Hitler and the Axis powers that were warring. These helped the young fighters fight stress since they too were there to defeat Hitler.

War bonds were being advertised by Batman and Robin and Superman so along with Uncle Sam, the super heroes of the comic world too did their bit for the war. The influencing factor of a sad looking Uncle Sam versus Supermen, both who wanted you to fight showed that the heroes had a better pull on the young impressionable mind.

So on one hand you had the war that did so much for the development of the heroes, on the other you had other comic book characters who were beginning to make their presence felt. After WWII the change was becoming evident when westerns began to make an appearance and super heroes started taking a backseat. The readership now turned towards other genres like romance, science fiction, satire and horror. There was an opinion that the superheroes were losing out to McCarthyism and the thought that superhero comic books were sending out wrong signals to the younger generation was making itself felt.

Funny comics also started making an appearance during the Golden Age. Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny put in an appearance and the importance of laughter in the war ridden atmosphere was not to be ignored. These funnies brought a little laughter where there was some needed most and the daily routine became easier to deal with. The Golden Age of comic books played a big part in shaping the future of the comic book market.

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Comics Weekly

Pete Kilmer has been in the comics retail industry for ten years as a member of Downtown Comics in Indianapolis. Downtown Comics is one of the Midwest's largest comic retailers with over four locations in Indianapolis. All opinions are his own, and they cannot be bought with free swag.

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