Comics Trivia | 100 trivia & facts about Comic books [Part 3]

The Silver Age of comic books was one of the ages that many superheroes gained popularity and the comics starting trickling into other media.

We already talked of the comic books as a medium and the early years. So, now its time to dive into the Silver Age of the American comic books and its lasting impact.

The Golden Age of comic books covered the late 1930s to the late 1940s
In subsequent years comics were blamed for a rise in juvenile crime statistics, although this rise was shown to be in direct proportion to population growth
When juvenile offenders admitted to reading comics, it was seized on as a common denominator
One notable critic was Fredric Wertham, author of the book Seduction of the Innocent (1954)
He attempted to shift the blame for juvenile delinquency from the parents of the children to the comic books they read
The result was a decline in the comics industry
To address public concerns, in 1954 the Comics Code Authority was created to regulate and curb violence in comics, marking the start of a new era
The Silver Age began with the publication of DC Comics’ Showcase #4 (October 1956)
The comic introduced the modern version of the Flash
At the time, only three superheroes were still published under their own titles
These were Superman (and his younger incarnation as Superboy), Batman (with his sidekick Robin) and Wonder Woman
According to DC comics writer Will Jacobs, Superman was available in “great quantity, but little quality”
Batman and Robin were doing better, but Batman’s comics were “lackluster” in comparison to his earlier “atmospheric adventures” of the 1940s
Wonder Woman, having lost her original writer and artist, was no longer “idiosyncratic” or “interesting”
Aquaman and Green Arrow (with his sidekick, Speedy) were also still appearing as back-up features in Adventure Comics
These were the only other two superheroes known to have remained continuously in print from the Golden Age as the Silver Age began
Jacobs describes the arrival of Showcase #4 on the newsstands as “begging to be bought”, the cover featured an undulating film strip depicting the Flash running so fast that he had escaped from the frame
Editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox, and artist Carmine Infantino were some of the people behind the Flash’s revitalization
Robert Kanigher wrote the first stories of the revived Flash, and John Broome was the writer of many of the earliest stories
With the success of Showcase #4, several other 1940s superheroes were reworked during Schwartz’ tenure
These superheroes includes Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Atom, and Hawkman and the Justice Society of America was reimagined as the Justice League of America
The DC artists responsible included Murphy Anderson, Gil Kane, Ramona Fradon, Mike Sekowsky, and Joe Kubert
Only the characters’ names remained the same, while their costumes, locales, and identities were altered, and imaginative scientific explanations for their superpowers generally took the place of magic as a modus operandi in their stories
Schwartz, a lifelong science-fiction fan, was the inspiration for the re-imagined Green Lantern
The Golden Age character, railroad engineer Alan Scott, possessed a ring powered by a magical lantern, but his Silver Age replacement, test pilot Hal Jordan, had a ring powered by an alien battery and created by an intergalactic police force
In the mid-1960s, DC established that characters appearing in comics published prior to the Silver Age lived on a parallel Earth the company dubbed Earth-Two
Characters introduced in the Silver Age and onward lived on Earth-One
The two realities were separated by a vibrational field that could be crossed, should a storyline involve superheroes from different worlds teaming up
The Flash is generally regarded as the first superhero of the Silver Age
Though, the introduction of the Martian Manhunter in Detective Comics #225 predates Showcase #4 by almost a year
However, comics historian Craig Shutt, author of the Comics Buyer’s Guide column “Ask Mister Silver Age”, disagrees, noting that the Martian Manhunter debuted as a detective who used his alien abilities to solve crimes, in the “quirky detective” vein of contemporaneous DC characters who were “TV detectives, Indian detectives, supernatural detectives, [and] animal detectives”
Schutt feels the Martian Manhunter only became a superhero in Detective Comics #273 (November 1959)
Then he received a secret identity and other superhero accoutrements
Unsuccessful attempts to revive the superhero archetype’s popularity include Captain Comet, who debuted in Strange Adventures #9 (June 1951), St. John Publishing Company’s 1953 revival of Rocket Man under the title Zip-Jet, Fighting American, created in 1954 by the Captain America team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Sterling Comics’ Captain Flash and its backup feature Tomboy that same year. Ajax/Farrell Publishing’s 1954–55 revival of the Phantom Lady; Strong Man, published by Magazine Enterprises in 1955, Charlton Comics’ Nature Boy, introduced in March 1956, and its revival of the Blue Beetle the previous year and Atlas Comics’ short-lived revivals of Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner, beginning in Young Men Comics #24 (December 1953)
In the United Kingdom, the Marvelman series was published during the interregnum between the Golden and Silver Ages
Thus substituting for the British reprints of the Captain Marvel stories after Fawcett stopped publishing the character’s adventures
The funny-animal superheroes Supermouse and Mighty Mouse were published continuously in their own titles from the end of the Golden Age through the beginning of the Silver Age
Atomic Mouse was given his own title in 1953, lasting ten years
Atomic Rabbit, later named Atomic Bunny, was published from 1955 to 1959
DC Comics sparked the superhero revival with its publications from 1955 to 1960
Marvel Comics then capitalized on the revived interest in superhero storytelling with sophisticated stories and characterization
In contrast to previous eras, Marvel characters were “flawed and self-doubting”
Martin Goodman, a publishing trend-follower with his 1950s Atlas Comics line by this time called Marvel Comics
Goodman directed Lee to likewise produce a superhero team book, resulting in The Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961)
Under the guidance of writer-editor Stan Lee and artists/co-plotters such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Marvel began its own rise to prominence
With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, The Fantastic Four #1 initiated a naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons, who squabbled and worried about the likes of rent-money
In contrast to the straitlaced archetypes of superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution
With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and others complementing Lee’s colorful, catchy prose
The new style became popular among college students who could identify with the angst and the irreverent nature of the characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Hulk during a time period of social upheaval and the rise of a youth counterculture
Comic books of the Silver Age explained superhero phenomena and origins through science, inspired by contemporary science fiction
This was opposed to the Golden Age, which commonly relied on magic or mysticism
Comics historian Peter Sanderson compares the 1960s DC to a large Hollywood studio, and argues that after having reinvented the superhero archetype, DC by the latter part of the decade was suffering from a creative drought
The audience for comics was no longer just children, and Sanderson sees the 1960s Marvel as the comic equivalent of the French New Wave
Developing new methods of storytelling that drew in and retained readers who were in their teens and older
Thus influencing the comics writers and artists of the future
One of the few most selling American comics publishers in 1956, Harvey Comics, discontinued its horror comics when the Comics Code was implemented and sought a new target audience
Harvey’s focus shifted to children from 6 to 12 years of age, especially girls, with characters such as Richie Rich, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Little Dot
Many of the company’s comics featured young girls who “defied stereotypes and sent a message of acceptance of those who are different”
Although its characters have inspired a number of nostalgic movies and ranges of merchandise, Harvey comics of the period are not nearly as sought after in the collectors’ market in contrast to DC and Marvel titles
The publishers Gilberton, Dell Comics, and Gold Key Comics used their reputations as publishers of wholesome comic books to avoid becoming signatories to the Comics Code and found various ways to continue publishing horror-themed comics in addition to other types
Gilberton’s extensive Classics Illustrated line adapted literary classics, with the likes of Frankenstein alongside Don Quixote and Oliver Twist
Classics Illustrated Junior reprinted comic book versions of children’s classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Rapunzel, and Pinocchio
During the late 1950s and the 1960s, Dell, which had published comics in 1936, offered licensed TV series comic books from Twilight Zone to Top Cat, as well as numerous Walt Disney titles
Its successor, Gold Key continued with such licensed TV series and movie adaptations, as well as comics starring such Warner Bros
It was founded in 1962 after Western Publishing started its own label rather than packaging content for business partner Dell
Cartoons characters as Bugs Bunny and such comic strip properties as Beetle Bailey
With the popularity of the Batman television show in 1966, publishers that had specialized in other forms began adding campy superhero titles to their lines
As well, new publishers sprang up, often using creative talent from the Golden Age
Harvey Comics’ Harvey Thriller imprint released Double-Dare Adventures, starring new characters such as Bee-Man and Magicmaster
Dell published superhero versions of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Werewolf
Gold Key did licensed versions of live-action and animated superhero television shows such as Captain Nice, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles
Gold Key continued the adventures of Walt Disney Pictures’ Goofy character in Supergoof
American Comics Group gave its established character Herbie a secret superhero identity as the Fat Fury
It, also, introduced the characters of Nemesis and Magic-Man
Even the iconic Archie Comics teens acquired super powers and superhero identities in comedic titles such as Archie as Capt. Pureheart and Jughead as Captain Hero
Archie Comics also launched its Archie Adventure line which included the Fly, the Jaguar, and a revamp of the Golden Age hero the Shield
In addition to their individual titles, they teamed in their group series The Mighty Crusaders, joined by the Comet and Flygirl
Their stories blended typical superhero fare with the 1960s’ camp
Among straightforward Silver Age superheroes from publishers other than Marvel or DC, Charlton Comics offered a short-lived superhero line with characters that included Captain Atom, Judomaster, the Question, and Thunderbolt
Tower Comics had Dynamo, Mercury Man, NoMan and other members of the superhero espionage group T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
Even Gold Key had Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom
According to John Strausbaugh of The New York Times, “traditional” comic book historians feel that although the Silver Age deserves study, the only noteworthy aspect of the Silver Age was the advent of underground comics
Most often published in black-and-white with glossy color cover and distributed through counterculture bookstores and head shops
Underground comics targeted adults and reflected the counterculture movement of the time
Comics scholar Arnold T. Blumberg places the end of the Silver Age in June 1973, when Gwen Stacy, girlfriend of Peter Parker (Spider-Man), was killed in a story arc later dubbed “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”
According to historian Peter Sanderson, the “neo-silver movement” that began in 1986 with Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? by Alan Moore and Curt Swan
This is a considered backlash against the Bronze Age with a return to Silver Age principles
In Sanderson’s opinion, each comics generation rebels against the previous, and the movement was a response to Crisis on Infinite Earths, which itself was an attack on the Silver Age
Neo-silver comics creators made comics that recognized and assimilated the more sophisticated aspects of the Silver Age
Arlen Schumer, author of The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, singles out Carmine Infantino’s Flash as the embodiment of the design of the era
Other notable pencilers of the era include Curt Swan, Gene Colan, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Don Heck, George Tuska, Dick Ayers, and John Romita Sr
Two artists that changed the comics industry dramatically in the late 1960s were Neal Adams, considered one of his country’s greatest draftsmen, and Jim Steranko
Both artists expressed a cinematic approach at times that occasionally altered the more conventional panel-based format that had been commonplace for decades
Adams’ breakthrough was based on layout and rendering
He is best known for returning Batman to his somber roots after the campy success of the Batman television show
His naturalistic depictions of anatomy, faces, and gestures changed comics’ style in a way that Strausbaugh sees reflected in modern graphic novels
One of the few writer-artists at the time, Steranko made use of a cinematic style of storytelling
Strausbaugh credits him as one of Marvel’s strongest creative forces during the late 1960s, his art owing a large debt to Salvador Dalí
Steranko started by inking and penciling the details of Kirby’s artwork on Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. beginning in Strange Tales #151, but by Strange Tales #155 Stan Lee had put him in charge of both writing and drawing Fury’s adventures
He exaggerated the James Bond-style spy stories, introducing the vortex beam (which lifts objects), the aphonic bomb (which explodes silently), a miniature electronic absorber (which protected Fury from electricity), and the Q-ray machine (a molecular disintegrator)—all in his first 11-page story