THE NINTH ART – PART 2 OF 3

THE AMERICAN STORY

Just like the European Movement we discussed in Part 1, the American story of the Ninth Art also starts with comic strips from newspaper dailies. It too gradually developed into comic books. Famous Funnies (1933) is considered America’s first comic book though technically it was an anthology of syndicated comic strips. The pioneer of the comic book as we know it was Action Comics #1 back in 1938 (Superman’s first appearance). This appeared eight years after Tintin in the Land of the Soviets which pioneered the European revolution.

THE GOLDEN AGE (1938 – 1956)

Action Comics #1 published by National Allied Publications, a corporate predecessor of Detective Comics (now DC Comics) sparked off what is called in the States, the Golden Age of Comics. This was around World War II when everyone was feeling helpless and angry. It was quite natural at this time for superheroes to become the rave: heroes who could and would beat up the Nazi bad guys and ‘commies’. Heroes that would protect and rescue the helpless. Readers lived vicariously through these characters. Yes, there were other genres like crime, westerns, and horror. There was also humour like Archie Comics and syndicated comic strips like Peanuts but superhero comics were most dominant in America then. Heroes like Blue Beetle (Fox Comics) and Captain Marvel (Fawcett Comics) appeared on the scene during the late ’30s.

With the War over, the love for superhero comics began to wane and other genres flourished. This however gave parents, Dr. Wertham, and the US government some concern leading to Senate hearings on the negative influence of comics on youth. As stated in Part 1, comics in the US at the time were considered the staple of children, illiterates, and immature adults. ‘Concerned American citizens’ viewed the rise of comics as bad for their youth and morals. So for comics to survive, self-censorship was necessary. Publishers introduced the comics code and a Comics Code Authority.

It was officially the end of crime, horror, romance, and other genres in U.S. comics for a long while. Many considered this the stage that stunted the growth of the Ninth Art in America and left it with predominantly one comic genre while Europe and Asian comics diversified. America’s global influence has also made the superhero genre the most recognized. It is the only genre that comes to mind for most contemporary ninth-art enthusiasts.

The Comics Code also brought about underground movements for alternative comics in America like Underground Comix. MAD Comics, which later became MAD Magazine under William Gaines and Harvey Kurtzman (refer to Part 1), unwittingly escaped the Code with this new nomenclature and continued producing adult-oriented themes, political satires and zany jokes.

THE SILVER AGE (1956 – 1970)

The Comics Code introduced a new generation of superheroes – squeaky clean, flawless good guys with teachable moments in their stories for the kids. Perfect heroes who would impart good values to their young readers. Starting with Showcase #4 (1956) which introduced an all-new version of Flash, the Silver Age of Comics was born and superheroes thrived once more. These were predominantly DC characters and those of now-defunct comics like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. The Silver Age lasted for about fourteen years. During this time, cartoonists Stanley Lieber (aka Stan Lee) and Jack Kirby were hard at work at Timely Comics…

TWILIGHT OF THE SILVER AGE

There was a growing disenchantment with comics- especially the dominant superhero theme. It was difficult for readers to connect with the two-dimensional, perfect characters they saw in comics. They simply weren’t relatable. Some have opined that this 2D trait is one of the reasons why many Golden or Silver Age DC characters (save for one or two) have failed to translate successfully to live-action.

Marvel Comics (formerly Atlas Comics, formerly Timely Comics) appeared in the 1960s under publisher Martin Goodman and revolutionized the game. Young Stan Lee had the vision to create superhero comics whose characters shared the flaws and humanity of their readers- with family issues, bad habits, financial problems, etc. Superheroes whose lives outside the costume were just as entertaining. Comics where characters could be grey- not always black and white. This gave rise to The Fantastic Four (1961) with family squabbles and young Spider-Man (1962) with adolescent issues. Both were well-received by readers. In 1966, Stan Lee pushed the envelope further by introducing the first black (African) superhero – Black Panther in a Fantastic Four issue. While Marvel conformed to the Code, it tried not to be limited by it. The Marvel formula in Stan Lee’s words was “to mix fantasy with realism”. This brought about a paradigm shift in the approach to superhero comics.

THE BRONZE AGE (1970 – 1985)

The developments in the late 60s triggered change. No longer were comics viewed as the mainstay of children and ‘immature men’ thanks to Marvel. The introduction of darker plots and topical social issues like racism and societal bias were highlighted in comics like the X-Men (1963). Contemporary issues had been the zeitgeist of liberal European 9th art for decades. It was relatively new here. Inspired by Shaft and the U.S. blaxpoitation era, Marvel released the first black superhero comic in 1972 titled Luke Cage, Hero for Hire. It was a big gamble but Marvel was willing to risk it. The Bronze Age of American Comics was about pushing the envelope of discourse as far as the Comics Code Authority would allow. During this period, Stan Lee and John Buscema brought out a seminal book called How to Draw the Marvel Way which birthed a whole new generation of cartoonists.

The year 1985 also marked the end of Silver Age-styled DC. In the comic crossover series Crisis of Infinite Earths, DC Comics jettisoned many old characters, admitted new ones, and collapsed their entire multiverse into a single, more grounded universe to compete with the Marvel style of deeper, more human, realistic characters and stories.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF WILL EISNER

In 1978, one of the pioneers of US comics, Will Eisner, popularized the ‘graphic novel’ (a term coined by Richard Kyle) with his book A Contract with God. Graphic novel as a term is not well-defined. However, it usually approaches comics in a different style. Traditionally, they have a darker tone graphically and literary-wise. They can be fiction or non-fiction, an anthology of stories or a long-formed story. Later years gave rise to critically acclaimed graphic novels such as V for Vendetta and Watchmen -both now converted to movies.

Eisner also proposed the term Sequential Art instead of ‘comics’ or ‘the funnies’. His argument? While comics may have their origin in humour, this was no longer the case and thus misleading. In 1985, he coined this genre-neutral name since the art basically tells a story through a sequence of illustrated panels. The name never quite caught on though.

THE FUNNIES

In the area of syndication, US comic strips bag the prize. Also called ‘the funnies’ because they were generally or originally centred around humour, they thrived under US Comic Code Authority.

Many of these strips are so old but are still running to this day. We have popular characters like Popeye who started as a minor character in the serialized strip Thimble Theatre back in 1929 but, due to his popularity, the ‘sailor-man’ eventually took over. Thimble Theatre has been running since 1919!

The longest-running strip, The Katzenjammer Kids, ran from 1897 to 2006 while the second longest, Gasoline Alley, is only 3 years behind this record and is still running!

Many funnies survived the fall in newspaper sales due to their global appeal and are also now available as webcomics. The number of popular US funnies stretch out into the sunset: Beetle Bailey, Peanuts, Crock!, Doonesbury, Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield, Dilbert, Dennis the Menace (usually coming in single panels and not a strip in the strict sense), Hagar the Horrible etc. All of these have transcended their early simple beginnings.

THE MODERN AGE (1985 to date)

In the 1980s, comics grew in leaps and bounds. Towards the late ’70s, superhero comics resumed their venture into the movie industry with major hits like Superman (1978) which showed that screen adaptations could actually work. The next decade saw more and more adaptations on the silver screen (live-action and animation). This introduced more converts to the comics industry who otherwise were prejudiced towards the genre as a serious art form.

Comic stories and illustrations also improved with the increased fanbase and attention. With more money pumped into the industry, the ninth art in the US expanded to a wider audience, garnering global acceptance. Walt Disney’s impact on animation and storybooks also influenced comics globally, inspiring many US and European cartoonists. Eventually, the House of Mouse will take over some of these comic companies- specifically Marvel- further bolstering the influence of comics on general culture.

Ironically, Marvel now champions the multiverse concept once jettisoned by DC for a single, darker, more grounded universe like their greatest rivals. This switch of roles (especially in the Cinematic Universe) has made some critics believe that we are slowly heading back to another Silver Age. A Neo-Silver Age, so to speak, where comics and their screen adaptations have come full circle to become the staple of the younger demographic once more and not taken seriously. Well, only time will tell.

The Ninth Art in America has grown beyond everyone’s expectations with die-hard fans thronging Comic Cons (like the Lagos Comiccon this September), cosplaying, and generating substantial revenue for the US economy. Not bad at all, eh? And it all started 85 years ago with Jerry Siegel, Joe Schuster. and an alien from Krypton.

FINAL PART: MANGA, JAPANESE MOVEMENT & THE AFRICAN VOICE