Comic Books What They Used to be

IT ALL began with The Yellow Kid. This was a humorous cartoon feature that began appearing in the New York World back in 1896. It became enormously popular. Soon newspaper readers were also amused by the antics of the likes of Foxy Grandpa, Buster Brown and The Katzenjammer Kids. The funnies were born.

And funny they were. The titles alone reveal the mirth embodied in these cartoon creations: Happy Hooligan, Maude the Mule, Mutt and Jeff, Krazy Kat, and so forth. These playful characters well reflected the innocence of the age before the climactic year of 1914. In retrospect, however, perhaps not everything was truly funny. The popular Katzenjammer Kids, for example, made readers howl at what has been called a systematic campaign of sabotage that successfully resists spankings, threats, and promises.

The Rise of the Superhero

Soon publishers decided to reprint some of these popular features in book form. At first, however, these comic books were merely promotional items given away by advertisers. But in 1934 publishers Wildenberg and Gaines wagered that youngsters would be willing to spend 10 cents for a comic book they called Famous Funnies. It, too, was a success. So, using artists barely out of high school, publishers waged a fierce competition for readers.

In 1938 a turning point came. The young team of Siegel and Shuster found a publisher for a comic book character they had invented Superman. According to one of his originators, he was to be a character like Samson, Hercules, and all the strong men I ever heard tell of rolled into one. Only more so. This man of steel captured the imaginations of young and old. Soon the monthly magazine was grossing a million dollars a year. And, spurred on by this success, publishers began inventing other caped crusaders.

But the next generation of comic books descended into the realms of sex, violence and horror. Graphically violent comics, such as one entitled Crime Does Not Pay, actually paid their publishers quite well. And as the 1950 s rolled around, comics also began to horrify their youthful readers with titles such as Tales From the Crypt.

In many cases, the comics no longer were comical.

The Public Protests

In 1954, Frederic Wertham s book Seduction of the Innocent indicted the comic book industry for corrupting youth. Dr. Wertham studied emotionally disturbed children and found that many of them were avid readers of comic books. Concluded Dr. Wertham, Comic book stories teach violence.

Some, however, felt that Dr. Wertham s research did not prove that comics had a bad effect on normal children. Nevertheless, at least in the United States, steps eventually were taken to police the comics industry by setting up a code restricting excessive violence and nudity. But have such measures been effective? What are the comics like today?