A Brief History of Comics ~ Doujin Manga Society

Welcome everyone to another post in the section of "Anime/Manga Vs. Cartoon/Comic", for today's post we have a little look at the vast history of comics. But don't worry I will try to make it as interesting and entertaining as I can while being informative.

The first examples we can get on narrative a told through sequential pictures ( I love that definition for comics~) are from the Trajan's Columns, though rather simple they are the first examples of what later would become a comic.

Behold the ancestor of comics! (bet short people had troubles reading it though)

Then with the invention of the printing press satirize and caricature images began to spread and later speech bubbles were invented, with them people had a way to share their message or opinion through these images.But the birth of comics as we know it today began in the late 19th century, they were mainly used as tools to attract costumers for the Sunday edition of the local newspaper.

And the very first comic strip "The Yellow Kid" by Richard Outcault was the first to feature colored ink and made the comic strips a popular subject among newspapers. The concept became popular and several more newspapers tried to adapt the style and format to their own comic strips sections, making them a popular subject.

Later the comic strips would evolve, having continuing stories, humor and even characters that aged as time passed.

I need to watch Tin Tin again, to think comics
could be so popular as to became animated series

But it wasn't until 1937, were the first publication of "Detective Comics" is released (later we will known them as DC comics) that the comic book market began to bloom. Next year with the appearance of Action Comics, we can see the first action centered comic book featuring the very first Superhero ever Supeman (giving birth to the legacy of dudes wearing tight and underwear over their pants)

So far we have seen that comics evolved from ancient carved or painted drawings used to narrate different events and stories to books used to tell the stories of different characters; each gender going from action to mystery, western to romance.

Though is not till the late 1950's that due to a need of fresh material, new heroes and something capable of competing with DC comics that we see a revolution on the industry. Before this , the characters portrayed in comics where flawless idealistic characters with no real or lasting problems.

Publisher Martin Goodman in response to DC comics revival of the Super hero archetype assigned a man that at the time was dissatisfied with his career, being in the industry since his youth and even considering quitting.Stanley Martin Lieber (or better known as Stan Lee) currently Editor-in-Chief for the comic book division for Atlas Comics (which later will be known as Marvel Comics) was in charge of creating new super heroes, rivals for the new DC heroes and it's here where the revolution begins.

Advised by his wife and having nothing to loose Lee created characters that were flawed, that worried for things normal persons would, that got ill ,jealous or envious. This new characters and heroes were a success, appealing not only to kids but also teens and adult; comics books became a key part of several nations culture and have since been distinguished symbol for them.

To think it was worth 12 cents at the time

Thanks to a man the industry of comics evolved, from something associated with childish things to an industry that is associated with animated series, films and several more merchandise.

Humm..sounds kind of familiar though, a flourishing industry that thanks to a men vision an innovation evolved to become a worldwide phenomenon that is involved in TV series , films and more..oh well.

That ends this brief history of comics, I hope you have enjoyed it and remember we love to hear your thought an opinions so be sure to leave one in the comment section we appreciate it a lot~

Also don't forget to check our other post in this section: