On the Dividing Line Between the Silver Age and Modern Comics

This came up tangentially in the most recent quiz. What is the Silver Age and what is the Modern Age?

I tend to go with the 1955-1970 timeline for the Silver Age, although there are numerous reasons why this doesn't always work. The key factor in my mind about Silver Age Comics is the influence of the Comics Code Authority, for the simple reason that it ceased to be a major factor after about 1970.

As evidence, consider the famed "drug" issues of Amazing Spiderman #96-98 (May-July 1971). They were the first comics by a major publisher to ship without the CCA seal of approval:



The series was almost ludicrously anti-drug, with the young man shown on the cover above falling off a roof because he was high on something (we are not told what). Harry Osborn becomes addicted (heh) to LSD by a guy who gives him his first batch for free. Stan clearly had about as much understanding of drug effects and distribution as Lawrence Welk did.

Contrary to expectations, the world did not end. Distributors still distributed the books, newstands (remember those?) still sold them, and the CCA was exposed as a paper tiger. And only a year later, DC would publish its famed Speedy on Smack series, with a much more nuanced plotline that managed to garner the CCA's approval.

So we can see that within a very short period of time, what the CCA was willing to endorse changed significantly.

Another indication comes in the kinds of comics issued towards the end of the Silver Age. For example here are the new comics that DC published in 1968 and the genres they fit into:

Secret Six (Adventure)
Beware the Creeper (Superhero)
Anthro (Adventure)
Hawk and the Dove (Superhero)
Brother Power the Geek (Superhero)
DC Special (Variety Reprints)
Bat Lash (Western)
Captain Action (Superhero)
Angel & the Ape (Humor)
Binkie's Buddies (Humor/Teen)
Date With Debbi (Humor/Teen)
Witching Hour (Horror)

(Note: Publication date used to determine whether the comic was published in 1968, not the cover date)

As you can see, a variety of titles were launched, but the focus still was on superheroes. Now let's look at the titles DC initiated in 1971:

Mister Miracle (Superhero)
Ghosts (Horror)
Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love (Horror/Gothic Romance)
Spirit World (Horror)
Weird War Tales (Horror/War)
In the Days of the Mob (Crime/Detective)
Sinister House of Secret Love (Horror/Gothic Romance)

Quite a difference there; only one new superhero book launched, and that was part of Kirby's Fourth World series. By contrast, the horror genre, which had been virtually eliminated during the CCA's heyday, returned with a vengeance. And even that doesn't tell the whole story; several DC mags also reverted from superhero to horror or other genres, including House of Mystery, House of Secrets and Strange Adventures.

To give a better idea, consider this: In 1968, DC published 365 comics, of which 206 or 56% were superhero. In 1971, DC published 352 comics, of which 169, or 48% were superhero.

Similar things were happening at Marvel, although I don't have as good a database of Marvel Comics to do the numerical comparisons. However, once again, here are the comics that Marvel initiated in 1968:

Captain Savage (War)
Captain America (Superhero)
Doctor Strange (Superhero)
Groovy (Humor)
Incredible Hulk (Superhero)
Iron Man (Superhero)
Mighty Marvel Western (Western Reprints)
Nick Fury, Agent of Shield (Adventure)
Pussycat (Humor)
Silver Surfer (Superhero)
Spectacular Spiderman Magazine (Superhero)
Sub-Mariner (Superhero)

And 1971:

Creatures on the Loose (Monster Reprints)
Kull the Conqueror (Adventure)
Marvel Feature (Variety)
Marvel Spotlight (Variety)
Monsters on the Prowl (Monster Reprints)
Savage Tales (Adventure)
Special Marvel Edition (Superhero Reprints)
Western Kid V2 (Westerns)

Again, a very decided move away from superheroes. Indeed, all of Marvel's long-running superhero mags had been introduced by 1968, and all of their major long-running features (the solo series heroes/teams as well as Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Dr. Strange, Hulk) had been introduced before that. The only new series Marvel launched in 1970 that had any staying power was Conan the Barbarian, which I'd classify as an "Adventure" comic with horror themes.

Now it's true that all these things happen in a continuum; it's not like people woke up one day and the comics had changed from Silver Age to Modern. But if you have to draw a dividing line, I'd be much more inclined to point to Amazing Spiderman #96 as marking the true beginning of Modern comics than ASM #121, which others have argued for. The death of Gwen, while shocking was not all that new--see Ferro Lad, Alfred the butler (temporarily), Lightning Lad (temporarily), Proty I, Frederick Foswell, Captain Stacy... the list goes on.

More about →

Trivia Quiz #15 Answers

1. In Detective #336, Batman was bewitched. Who was the witch, and who was the real mastermind behind her?

As I discussed previously, Zatanna was the witch, and the man behind the scenes was the Outsider.

2. Although vampires were prohibited, the CCA allowed two stories featuring a villain who stole the life force from people, battling (and battering) Superman. What was the name of this villain?



The Parasite.

3. Who was the original Green Goblin?

Peter Parker discovered in ASM #40 that the Green Goblin was actually Norman Osborn, the father of his (later) college roommate.

4. What was the name of Marvel/Atlas' late 1950s ripoff of Casper, the Friendly Ghost?

Marvel tried amusing the kids with Homer, the Happy Ghost.

5. Although werewolves were banned as noted above, one key DC character turned into a wolf in a mid-1960s comic. Name him.

Superboy turned into a wolf in Superboy #116:



Well, a Wolf-Boy, anyway. As usual with these really amazing situations, it's all a plot to fool some aliens:



Michael Rebain got all but #4 although he was thinking of a later Superboy story than #116. Dan M scored 100%, and gets extra credit for pointing out that Jimmy Olsen turned into a Wolfman in April 1961. On #2, George C notes Starbreaker, a villain who appeared in JLA #92, but the story was published in 1972, when the CCA had very much relaxed its standards regarding horror themes--for example, Spiderman battled a vampire-like creature named Morbius in ASM #101-102, which came out in October/November 1971. Mike P came up with all but #4.

More about →

Number 407


Out of my brain on the 5:15



This is one of those fun little Whodunnits by Fred Guardineer. It appeared in Lev Gleason's Crime and Punishment #31 from 1950. Besides the title reminding me of a song, "5:15" by the Who, Guardineer's precise artwork reminds me of my old art school studies of perspective. Guardineer looks like he used his knowledge well in this story. It'd be hard to fake perspective when so many panels depend on it.

I flipped the final panels so you can read them without standing on your head.

I've also enclosed a couple of filler pages, both by C. H. Moore; one a sort of antique CSI and the other the ancestor of America's Dumbest Criminals. How about America's dumbest victims, too? The woman who undressed in front of the window peeper while waiting for the police: it's called exhibitionism.

More about →

New 1950s Batman Blog Debuts

I heartily recommend checking out I Believe in Bat-Mite, a new blog dedicated to discussing Batman stories of the 1950s. As many of you know, Batman is my favorite comic book character of all time and so reading these posts was a real treat for me and I'm sure you will enjoy them as well.

More about →

Number 406


Feud on Rimfire Ridge!


Mosey on in and set a spell, podnuh. Got yet another Western--well, West as in West Virginia, anyhow--story to tell ya. This comes from Pappy's box of tear sheets. Someone years ago cut out stories they liked from comic books and threw them in a box. I put them back together. I have four Vigilante stories; this is the oldest, and first to be offered up.

The Vigilante was a long-running feature in Action Comics. I think he was one of the more popular characters who never got his own book. Vigilante was Greg Sanders, a radio singing cowboy who ran with a Chinatown kid named Stuff. When he slipped his kerchief over his face he became the Vigilante.

Mort Meskin, using the name Mort Jr., drew this action-packed 12-pager from Action Comics #57 in 1943, and Charles Paris inked it. The hillbilly kid in the splash panel, who says he's gonna shoot Tom Hatton "daid," learned to pronounce dead by the time this scene shows up on page 9.

More about →

Single Issue Review: Thor #159

In Thor #158, Marvel reprinted the origin of Thor story from Journey into Mystery #83. While on vacation in Norway Don Blake had heard strange stories of an alien invasion. Investigating, the lame doctor found himself being pursued by the aliens. He managed to find his way into a cave, where he found a cane. He discovered that by tapping the cane, he was suddenly transformed into the mighty Thor, with extraordinary powers and abilities. He repelled the alien invasion and began fighting crime while maintaining his secret identity.

While it is certainly a very unusual origin, it presented some problems, especially since early on Stan introduced the concept of Asgard, where Thor was a god with his father Odin and numerous friends and enemies. It wasn't long before the fans noticed the problem with this. If Thor had existed all along, who was Don Blake? What had happened to the mighty Thor that his magic hammer/cane was sitting in that cavern?

This was the subject of an almost endless series of letters to the editor speculating on possibilities, and in Thor #159, Stan decided to finally settle the matter. Thor had been exiled to Earth by Odin as a punishment for his lack of humility. We learned that Don Blake had only actually existed for a few years, having been created by Odin with a lame leg in order to humble the Thunder God.

Of course, the idea that he had learned some real humility is rather silly; if ever there was a character who was full of himself, it was Thor. This is part of his character as a god, so maybe Odin was grading on the curve.

The story is solid, with new details about the origin of a major character in the Marvel Universe. At last we understand why Don Blake himself has no life aside from his doctor's office. Indeed, Blake had no friends or continuing characters from his earthly life, with the exception of Jane Foster, who of course was gone by then.

On the art side, I am not a huge fan of Jack Kirby's Silver Age work, but I must acknowledge that this issue was terrific. Check out this full-pager:



What's not to like there? Simply beautiful, as is the rest of the book.

More about →

3 Frew: #1111, 1274, 1416

(Frew) Phantom 1111-1995-The Secret Agent

(Frew) Phantom 1274-1999-The Phantom Goes to War - Lee Falk

(Frew) Phantom 1416-2005-Korzan - King of the Jungle(wolf 4)

More about →