The origins of the comic book are somewhat controversial
and perhaps the jury is still out on comic book history. So
lets go back to the cartoonish broadsheets of the Middle
Ages, which were parchment products, created by anonymous
woodcutters. These could have been the very beginnings of
the comic book.
As mass circulation of these broadsheets became possible,
they soon developed a market, particularly at public
executions, popular events for centuries (ugh), which drew
thousands of happy spectators. Many of these spectators
would invest in an artist's rendering of a hanging or
burning, and thus making a very lucky day for the
broadsheet seller.
The broadsheet evolved into higher-level content as humor
was introduced. Eventually, all types of broadsheets
emerged, which were eventually bound in collections, the
prototype of the modern magazine and thus the comic book.
Magazines formatted like the popular Punch, an elegant
British creation, became the primary focus of documentary
accounts of news and events, fiction and humor.
One can see in Punch, the sophisticated evolution of a
comic book style, particularly in respect of the evolution
of comics in Great Britain. Still and all, from an
historical standpoint, the comic strip, and later the comic
book, stood in the alley, waiting to be born. And then some
say Great Britain's Ally Sloper's "Half Alley" was the
first comic book. This was a black and white tabloid that
had panels of cartoons mixed with a sliver of news; circa
1884.
Now while all this was going on in Great Britain, this
inching towards the comic book, the United States had its
own brand of evolution. Instead of magazines, US newspapers
took the lead in creating the comic book industry.
Newspapers, with their first steps, took their single image
gags and evolved them into multi-paneled comic strips. It
was during this period that William Randolph Hearst scored
a knockout with the Yellow Kid, which was actually printed
in yellow ink.
So where did the actual comic book begin? Some say it was
with reprints of Carl Schultz' Foxy Grandpa, from 1901 to
1905. Although others say it was Great Britain's Ally
Sloper's Half Alley. In 1902, Hearst published the
Katzenjammer Kids and Happy Hooligan in books with
cardboard covers.
For a time, the Yellow Kid himself was a top contender. But
it depends how rigid you are in your description of a comic
book. These examples, for sure, were predecessors to the
modern comic book, which exploded in the 1930's.
The Whitman Publishing Company, in 1934, became one of the
pre-launchers for the modern comic book. They published
forty issues of Famous Comics, which was a black and white
hardcover reprint. The first regularly published comic book
in the more recognizable modern format though, was Famous
Funnies. It featured such memorable characters as Joe
Palooka, Buck Rogers and Mutt and Jeff.
Superheroes as we know them today took a strong foothold in
the 1930's. In 1938, Max C. Gaines, who was one of the
comic industry giants, brought "Superman" to Dell Comics
publisher, Harry Donenfield.
Donenfield scored the comic coup of the century when he
published a story written by two teenagers, Jerry Siegel
and Joe Shuster- and so "Superman of Metropolis" (the title
of their short story they wrote in their own fanzine) was
born. Superman was to set a standard for comic book heroes
that persist to this day.
Dave Gieber is the owner and editor of a website built
around one of his childhood passions. Learn the basic
essentials to comic book collecting success with this
free 5-day course: Comic Book Collecting
Adding Art to Business Spaces Larger companies have learned that collecting art adds something special to its overall corporate image. An art collection may include art on display in waiting...
Jewelry Christmas Gifts That Sparkle and Shine The joyous season of Christmas is steeped in tradition, and gift giving is one ritual that is inseparable from this holiday. Who hasn't had difficulty at one ti...
Spend Time Not Money With The Kids This Winter Spending quality time with your children doesn't need to cost a lot of money. What's most important, is that you take the opportunity to bond with them. The tim...
Overcome ED with Zenegra Anxiety caused by ED can kick off other complexity with solemn effect on yours health. Zenegra may help you to prevail over such stress...
Questions to Ask When Designing a Website for Clients Questions to ask when designing a Web Site for your client (s). "Excerpt from the book: Graphic Artists Guild, Handbook Pricing & Ethical guidelines Written by:...
Our Home Thomas Knutson is a Minnesota poet who is gaining international attention.
I Found Love On a Online Dating Site Finding love has always been hard for me. I think I had found that special woman that I will wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but then the bubble wou...
7 Seconds to Sales Success Here's how to generate interest in you and your product or sevice in 7 seconds or less.
Organized Brides: Why They are Going Online The latest trend the online wedding scene has experienced is the surge in popularity of personal wedding websites. Personal wedding websites conveniently harnes...
IRS Reacts to High Gas Prices As most small businesses are aware, a tax deduction can be taken for mileage incurred in normal business travel. In light of high gas prices, the IRS has upped ...
Humankinds Greatest Inventions There are a number of amazing inventions that have been created during the course of human history. Some of the great ones that come to mind are...
How To Build Your Sales You may have heard of joint venture marketing, It's used frequently by savvy entrepreneurs to increase profits and add loads of prospects to their customer list...
All You Need is Flowers! Flowers can represent so many different emotions and it will make your special someone so very happy. It says I love you without having to say it.
Print this page