But even there, its fortunes have gone up and down, and this has influenced the perception of superheroes in general. Throughout the history of comic books, publishers have made comics is different sizes. May 26, 2017 how do people decide when the different ages in comics start and end. Though the comic book industry remains scarred by the bubble burst, certain changes have resulted in a healthier industry. Started in 1933 when jerry siegel and joe shuster created superman and sold the character to dc comics. A standard modern comic book is 10 and 18 inches by 6 and 58 inches 25. The direct market, as it came to be known, allowed comic book publishers to send their products to retailers who marketed directly and, usually, only to comic book consumers. Age at which readers start reading comic books 20 statista. The golden age in comic books is the era where comics became widespread and popular when many of the icons made their debut, from the 1930s1950s. This week, our artists paired sonic the hedgehog and sonicrelated characters with other comic book characters. Armed with this knowledge and a good understanding of the market, you should be able to make an informed decision about restoration. The grand comics database gcd is a nonprofit, internetbased organization of international volunteers dedicated to building an open database covering all printed comics throughout the world. Partly due to the influence of japanese anime and manga and a certain subculture of diehard comic book fans, comic books and graphic novels are now recognized for their unique approach to storytelling and their literary significance. Cbcs comics comic book certification service cbcs was started by professional comic book hobbyists with the intent of protecting our fellow hobbyists when buying and selling comic books.
Mar 29, 2019 how to size your comic books for proper storage. Oct 29, 2016 curious about the various different ages eras of comics. The only comic character i know of is the vertigo vertion of john constantine. Variant cover a variant cover is an alternative cover of a single issue. The super hero genre is bestknown in the medium of american comic books. It follows the silver age of comic books, and is followed by the modern age of comic books. The most popular comics in this format are all ages comics and manga. The first pic is normal, followed by two color variations ive found. And if youre interested in selling your comic books, knowing what age they fall in is vitally important for valuing your comic books. The 8 ages of comic books by alex grand comic book historians. While this was the only hard data presented at the panel, the other panelists fleshed it out with anecdotal evidence of their own. If youre looking for a hard to find back issue, we probably have it. During a survey, 60 percent of respondents stated they started reading comic books. Remember, these are generalizations since there are a lot of comics made during these ages that have nothing to do with superheroes or movies, etc, but once we define the golden and silver ages by flavor of specific superheroes, then that starts to define the other ages.
Scott runs you through a brief history of comic books to dive into what makes the golden age, silver age, bronze age, and modern age so important to how comics and the industry are today. Brett schenker did some fancy facebook fooling and compiled a few statistics about the people who selfidentify as comic book readers. Most people begin this in 1938 with supermans debut, but would the actual debut of comic books with original content in, what, 1935. The ages of comic books explained people do mention the golden age, the silver age, the bronze age, and the modern age. Like antiques, comic books fall into periods known as ages. Notice the yellow areas at the very top of the cover.
Unlike the comic books you have grown up with, which are flexible, almost flimsy, glossy paper covers. One of the bad things about it is that humor books except archie and westerns and so forth became as unwelcome as continuity was in the beginning. And thats exactly why the comics of this age caught like wildfire. Each age has had its own good and bad qualities, its. Comics historians divide the history of american comic books into ages. The justice society of america went missing during a conflict with the injustice society years ago, so stargirl will have to inspire a new generation of heroes to take up their cause. Fans use these ages to categorize the different eras of comic books based on times in history that share concerns, storytellings, techniques, marketing strategies, styles of writing and art, and approach genre conventions. We offer modern, bronze age, silver age, and golden age comics. The premier online comics price guide free comic book values. It follows the silver age of comic books, and is followed by the modern age of comic books the bronze age retained many of the conventions of the silver age, with traditional superhero titles remaining the mainstay of the industry. Here are a few of the unusual words that are exclusive to this storyline. The ages are related to comic book grades in that they help determine the relative price based on the period that they represent as well as the age of the book.
The younger a comic, the less likely the book will increase in value significantly from restoration. Different comic ages explained comic sense 101 youtube. Mar 02, 2016 comic books are commonly categorized into four major ages based on when they were published. Welcome to cbh, today were talking about the 8 ages of comic books including the.
The golden age, the silver age, the bronze age, etc. The modern age of comic books is a period in the history of american superhero comic books which is generally considered to have begun in the mid1980s and continues through the present day. If you are unsure what the title is, look at the indicia small block of text inside front or rear cover. Golden age circa 1938 to 1955 regularsilver age circa 1956 to 1969. The silver age of comic books is the time when superheros were produced again, and it began in the 1950s and ended around 1970. What size of bags and boards do i need to protect my comic. Here are the four major ages for comic books in chronological order. The modern age of comic books useful notes tv tropes. Unlike baseball cards, which are doublesided and can be viewed from the confines of a sleeve, comic books contain multiple pages and are meant to be read. Like a victorian era chair, the age that a book was printed in tells you a lot about the industry and environment of the time. New comic book sales were down as much as seventy percent. Comic book, bound collection of comic strips, usually in chronological sequence.
Locate the book in the list of books you might need to change the drop list to go to another page. By the turn of the 21st century, japanese comic books manga, with their great variation in content. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. Nothing can be more important for parents than to be sure that their children are reading age appropriate material.
Viewers expected for each season of the series to encapsulate one year of the lives of the six main characters. It was a massive week for television trailers and promos, with all of the biggest assembled right here. Platinum age 18971937, golden age 19381947, atomic age 19481955. The 8 ages of comic books by alex grand comic book. Jul 22, 2014 more than,000 comic book fans are expected to make the trek to san diego later this week for comic con a massive convention celebrating all things related to comics books. But the silver age was about to begin and change the comic book forever. Throughout the history of comic books, publishers have made comics is different sizes learn more. Is the average age of comic book readers increasing. Golden age and silver age single issue comic books industry standards. If we dont, add it to your want list and well notify you when its in stock. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the distribution of comic books went through a major fluctuation, as newsstands and spinner racks gave way to individual storefronts. Heres the first video in our series explaining the different ages in comic books, this time we explain the golden age of comics. Following the golden age of comic books and an interregnum in the early to mid1950s, the silver age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to circa. Because the time period encompassing the modern age is not well defined, and in some cases disputed by both fans and.
In comics, starfire is an alien from the planet tamaran and while shes had multiple costumes over the years, its almost always been some variation of a. For the purpose of bag and board sizes, bcw has simplified the sizes into three groups, or ages. This timeline presents milestones, trends, and pivotal events that defined the comics medium during each of these eras. Over the years, comic fans have come up with different ages of comics to reflect how the style and content of comics has changed over the years. Series of the modern age which may or may not be notable in the future. Oct 06, 2016 this ends my introduction to the comic book ages. The first true comic books were marketed in 1933 as giveaway advertising premiums.
Comic book men tv star kevin smith will stage two shows at. Comic book styles have evolved to match the stories of the heroes. People do mention the golden age, the silver age, the bronze age, and the modern age. While these titles can sometimes be suitable for younger children, its up to parents. Read over 75,000 comics and over 700 free comics available from publishers such as marvel, dc, image, boom, idw, top shelf, and oni press on your iphone, ipad. The trend in collecting silver age books tends to focus on key issues or runs.
The golden age of comic books describes an era of american comic books from 1938 to 1956. Editions in a comic book series that feature the introduction of a new character, or a significant event in comic book history, are particularly sought after by collectors. I was around six, my mother thought me how to read, and my father thought me the four basic mathematical operationsyeah, i was around 6 years old and i already knew math. No one would say to a kid reading the secret of the unicorn or cardboard that shes wasting her time. In ionia, a land steeped in tradition and still reeling from war, the once honorable warrior named zed leads a band of assassins. Rachel green, ross geller, monica geller, chandler bing, phoebe buffay, and joey tribbiani, but this often proved to. As with many comic book universes, the characters in the age of x use their own form of slang. Jan 31, 2014 the death of superman was one of the rare comic book events that actually become a pop culture phenomenon. Comics price guide was the first online price guide for comic books back in 1995. We have values for any marvel, dc, image, idw, darkhorse, or dell comic book that is in your collection. Ages of comic books there are 5 different ages of comic books. Apr 01, 2015 flip open any comic book and youll find a story of overcoming the odds. As good a starting point for the modern age as any other, set into motion many of trends such as reconstruction, lighter and softer, and genre throwback to earlier ages, and comics that you need to purchase entire companion books in.
Cbcs team members all share in the love of our hobby and the medium. For each sale discovered, we match it to the specific comic in our massive database which also includes variant. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to the largest, most complete comic book price guide with well over 1,000,000 comics in our database. Explanations for the science or lore of comic book characters. Legendary comics creator nicola cuti, creator of eman and moonchild the starbabe, has passed away at the age of 75. The ages discussed in this node refer directly to north american comic book publishers, as different worldwide comic book publishing industries experienced different defining eras. The evolution of comic books in the digital age cbs news. The superhero archetype was created and many wellknown characters were introduced, including superman, batman, captain marvel, captain america, and wonder woman.
Comic books have been a popular storytelling medium since the mid1930s. Strange, the hulk and the avengers ushered in the silver age of comics. Tell us by submitting a ticket on the comic were missing. In comic book terms, what is the difference between the. Starting with supermans first appearance in 1938, super hero comics have been going for almost threequarters of a century.
Design now varies drastically, depending on the nature of the comic and the choices of the creator rather. At what age do most people start reading comic books. Design golden and silver age comics print comics printninja. Although a platinum age of comic books is recognized, it was comprised of reprints of newspaper comic strips, not original material. The graph presents data on the age at which comic book readers started reading comic books as of june 20. This applies mainly to silver age comics, as noted earlier. During approximately the first 15 years of this period, many comic book characters were redesigned, creators gained prominence in the industry, independent comics flourished, and larger publishing houses. Whether its a webslinger seeking to make his way in the world, a caped crusader intent on making his city a better place. It did pave the way for original comic form stories, by developing a productionsystem for such compilations and establishing a market for that publication format. Comic books have been part of popular culture for nearly 100 years now, but few know the complexity and detailed history surrounding them. All ages comics and graphic novels if the book is a part of a series please only vote for volume one. After zed murdered their master, his childhood friend shen has taken a different path, inheriting his fathers former mantle as the eye of twilight and maintaining magical balance in ionia. Well, im up for the challenge to explain 79 years of comics.
The following is a list of the top comic books geared for kids. Jan 29, 2003 the ages discussed in this node refer directly to north american comic book publishers, as different worldwide comic book publishing industries experienced different defining eras. The five ages of comics introduction pointless ephemera. The bronze age retained many of the conventions of the silver age, with traditional superhero titles. By 1935 reprints of newspaper strips and books with original stories. This time period also brought the mass introduction of variant covers. While the comic book industry has more or less recovered from the speculator boom, sales have never reached the consistent pre93 heights. In the example above carnage part one is not part of the title. Youll often hear periods of comic book history referred to as ages. Im selling two copies on ebay where i speculate about why i think these are erroneously called blue g variants. Once the comic book has been graded by cgc, it is placed in a tamperevident sleeve, meaning that if the comic book is removed, the cgc valuation of the comic book is no longer valid. What is the standard size of a comic book from marvel and dc. May 21, 2019 the chronological order of dc rebirth up to justice league vs suicide squad.
Stargirls justice society of america, explained cbr. At you will not only be able to check on comic book prices using our free comic book. Stargirl will send its viewers to a fully realized world when courtney whitmore discovers the cosmic staff and fights against the injustice society as stargirl alongside her stepfather pat dugan, a. Sell my comic books presents the 100 most valuable variant covers. This size accommodates golden age comics from 1943 up to silver age comics published in 1960. Wonder woman in action in a classic pose, in a golden age homage by the. You can be sure that there is something they will love to dig into.
Apr 03, 2011 starting with supermans first appearance in 1938, super hero comics have been going for almost threequarters of a century. In this age comic character were more psychologically complex and were darker. Give our search a try, take a look at the menu to the left to see how you can help us improve the site, or use my. Although the hobby of collecting comic books is not quite as old, it has spawned an industry of providing collectors. How do people decide when the different ages in comics start and end. Comic book, bound collection of comic strips, usually in chronological sequence, typically telling a single story or a series of different stories. Our current age is often called the dark age of comics though its also been referred to as the iron age and the modern age, and it began with the release of frank millers the dark knight returns in 1986. The five ages of comics the golden age pointless ephemera. These eras include the golden age 19381950, the silver age 19561970, the bronze age 19701985, and the modern age 1985present.
The story begins at the height of cybertronian society as ages have gone by without wars or even murder taking place, but there. Why dont comic book characters age in real time nine panel. Golden age 1938 1956 the golden age of comic books is recognized as being kicked off. Have you heard of eras that other people wont acknowledge and want to learn about them. Comic books are a great way for kids to get interested and excited about reading and helps to develop their imaginations. The amazing stylistic history of comic books 99designs. Volume refers to the larger text, so for instance, when dc rolled out the new 52, that effectively ended all volumes even cutting some stories off abruptly and then starting over with a new volume and beginning at one. The silver age of comic books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream american comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Nov 16, 2014 the ages skewed younger than the overall customer base, with more than 60% between the ages of 21 and 35. This size accommodates some late golden age comics published in 1951 as well as silver age comics published as late as 1965, including annuals and 80page giants published during that period. Whether you are an avid comic collector, a repeat offender one who once collected but fell by the wayside, are new to the industry, or someone who came across some old comics, welcome to the world of comics.
Does reading comic books and graphic novels count as real. Platinum age 18971937, golden age 19381947, atomic age 19481955, silver age 19561969, bronze age 19701984, dark or copper age 19851991, extreme age 19921998, movie age 1998 2016. The ages of the characters on friends stirred up a lot of confusion during the shows decadelong run, including numerous changes to the ages of the core characters. Comic con exclusives that are released during the five days are sometimes an alternate color variation to a previously released toy.
Unsurprisingly, i dont have own any comics from the 1940s. The ages of comic books explained playbuzz quizzes. The super hero comic had survived, but it was not in good health. The following paragraph comes from the fawcett companion, twomorrows 2001, p16, which cites an article entitled comics is a funny business by fawcett comics executive editor will lieberson published in the writers digest, vol. So lets break down the generally accepted ages of comics before moving on to speculation. The bronze age of comic books is an informal name for a period in the history of american superhero comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1984.
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