This topic is the last in a series (linked below) and likely my last post of the year. It has taken me a week to post the series, but I've been thinking about it for much longer than that. What was holding me back was the thought of posting my rational along with the results. I finally cleared the logjam by breaking up my rational into smaller, more manageable chunks. I invite those who disagree with my results to follow the links. Without further ado...
THE FORMATIVE STAGE [1897-1932]
Begins with The Yellow Kid and includes a multitude of formats, from tabloid to hardbound.
THE REPRINT STAGE [1933-1937]
Begins with Funnies on Parade and establishes a market for comic strip compilations.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS [1938-1954]
- Phase 1: Superheroes - (Action Comics #1, 1938)
- Phase 2: Crime - (Crime Does Not Pay #22, 1942)
- Phase 3: Horror - (Adventures into the Unknown, 1948)
Action Comics #1 ignites the "1st Heroic Age" and leads to a wave of horror, crime, romance and western titles. The Senate hearings and the Comics Code brought the Golden Age of Comics to an end.
THE RECOVERY STAGE [1955-1959]
Comic book publishing under the CCA is marked by a period of recovery, revival and reinvention during which a variety of "Code friendly" approaches were tried in an effort to discover a popular genre that would comply with the strictures of the Code.
THE SILVER AGE OF (SUPERHERO) COMICS [1960 through approximately 1970]
- Phase 1: The "Silver Sixties" - (The Brave & the Bold #28, 1960)
- Phase 2: The "Marvel Age" - (Fantastic Four #1, 1961)
The one/two punch of B&B #28 and FF #1 solidified the 1960s as comics' "2nd Heroic Age" and established superheroes as the predominant genre. The introduction of the Justice League of America established recast superheroes for a new audience, and the Fantastic Four infused superheroes with contemporary characterization and plots.
TRANSITION STAGE [1971-1974]
This stage is marked by a loosening of the Code to allow the depiction of drug abuse as well as vampires, ghouls and werewolves ("when used in the classic tradition").
THE BRONZE AGE OF (SUPERHERO) COMICS [1975 through the mid-'80s]
- Comics' "3rd Heroic Age" - (Giant-Size X-Men #1, 1975)
Following the trend that superheroes experience a surge in popularity every 20 years or so, Giant-Size X-Men #1 ushered in such titles as John Byrne's Fantastic Four, Wolfman & Perez's New Teen Titans, Frank Miller's Daredevil and Walt Simonson's Thor (among others) in the 1980s.
THE INDEPENDENT ERA [1977 to the present]
- Phase 1: Self-Publishing - (Cerebus #1, 1977)
- Phase 2: Creator's Rights - (Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, 1981)
Cerebus #1 pioneered alternative publishing, distribution and the comic-shop phenomenon, and eventually led to the b&w boom and bust in the'90s. New companies (such as Pacific Comics, Eclipse, First, Dark Horse and Image) began enticing top talent with the opportunity to own the characters they create.
THE MODERN ERA [1985 to the present]
- Phase 1: The "Digital Age" - (Shatter Special #1, 1985)
- Phase 2: The "Dark Age" - (The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, 1986)
- The CCA - Marvel dropped the Code in 2001; DC followed suit in 2011
The one/two punch of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen ushered in a new era of "grim 'n' gritty" comics (although the term itself was originally coined to describe John Ostrander and Timothy Truman's GrimJack). The "Digital Age" is characterized by computer-generated art, rendered color, machine lettering, special visual effects and electronic production techniques.
And there you have it: my "Grand Unified Theory of Comic Book Ages, Stages and Phases."
See you next year!
Replies
Well done! You obviously put a lot of thought and effort into this. I don't think that I could ever accept the notion that a given "Age" began or ended witha specific issue - I think they tended more to "flow" from one to the next - but you've presented your case very well.