During World War II, comics accounted for a quarter of all magazines shipped to American soldiers overseas, according to Bradford W. These comics were cheap and, like news strips before them, thought to appeal only to children and lower-class (often immigrant) adults who couldn’t understand “real” literature.Įven at this early date, however, it was clear that comics had a broader appeal. They didn’t grow into their own until the invention of superheroes, starting with Superman’s 1938 introduction in Action Comics #1. I strongly recommend it if you want a more thorough examination of the topics discussed here.)Ĭomics as we know them began as collections of newspaper strips. (This section and the next owe a great debt to David Hajdu’s book The Ten-Cent Plague.

Kids’ books are just as valid and valuable as any other type of literature and should be respected as such. Even if all comics ever made were “just” for kids, they wouldn’t deserve the ire and dismissiveness so often directed at them. Note: Although I’m arguing that comics are not exclusively children’s books, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with children’s books. Hopefully, this article will provide a more complete perspective on who comics are intended for, who actually reads them, and why the fun police can take a hike.

It is true, however, that the perception of comic books being exclusively for children has gotten the industry in a lot of trouble and continues to determine how people view the medium. These assumptions are based on a number of factual errors, the most serious of which is that comic books are exclusively for children. (Thanks for nothing, The Big Bang Theory.) While the success of various superhero movie franchises has dispelled a bit of the stigma, it’s certainly still around. Any adult who admits to liking comics must therefore be a virginal loser who still lives with his mother, which is obviously a bad thing. Ask the average person what a comic book is, and they may describe a bit of fluffy nonsense in which a leotard-wearing man punches another leotard-wearing man.

Bradford wright comic book nation