Comic Books

Comic books, like most media, grew and changed over time, combining old and new ideas until the comic book we recognize finally emerged in the 1920s. The first comic strip was Richard F. Outcault's "The Yellow Kid". The comic strip depicted a young boy from the tenements of New York and the adventures he pursued. It was first published in Joseph Pulitzer's New York Sunday World. The cartoon inspired the term "yellow press" which critics applied to the sensational newspapers of the day. In 1935, a comic book with original material appeared on the newssstands. It was sold for a dime, published by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, and called New Fun Comics.


                                        




                                                   Superman made his 
                                         original appearance 1938
                             and got his own comic book in 1939

 Batman made his original appearance
in 1939. He was the first superhero to follow
Superman

Captain Marvel (right) first appeared in 1940, followed shortly thereafter by Captain America (left) in 1941.

About 20 years later, Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk follow in the superhero chain in 1962.

In 1941 alone, three female superheros were introduced: Miss America (featured to the right), Miss Victory, and Pat Patriot. The introduction of female comic book characters led to the discovery that teenage girls could also be comic book fans. The female superheros, however, were nothing like the male superheros. The females were dimwitted, sexy, and were highly obsessed with romance. So, romance comics came along in the late 1940s and early '50s. By the end of 1949, romance comics outsold every other genre. Unfortunately, right around the same time, the Comics Code Authority was established to give its stamp of approval to comic books that cut out the crime, horror, sex, and gore.