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In the Shadow of the Atomic Age
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Started by adamstrange,

2,391 posts in this topic

selegue

selegue

Posted
Posted

A quintessential Atomic Age book from the UNIMPORTANT thread.

 

Jackie Gleason and the Honeymooners 2 -- fun caricatures, probably by Mike Roy. I like to see these DC celebrity books because they'll probably never be reprinted.

 

JackieG2.jpg

 

Jack

 

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Hepcat

Hepcat

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Posted (edited)

I'll have to ask the thread originator whether post code books are allowed in this thread. I'll withhold my praise for your book until after we get an answer.

 

;)

Edited by Hepcat
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Hepcat

Hepcat

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I think I'm among the biggest fans of the Howdy Doody run on this board. Here are scans of four of my File copies:

 

31-05-201174159PM.jpg

 

31-05-201174202PM.jpg

 

13

 

HowdyDoody13.jpg

 

20

 

31-05-201174205PM.jpg

 

:juggle:

Edited by Hepcat
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rjpb

rjpb

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I'll have to ask the thread originator whether post code books are allowed in this thread. I'll withhold my praise for your book until after we get an answer.

 

;)

 

As with all ages there has been debate on when the Atomic Age ends. Does it end with the advent of the code, or does it bridge into the early Silver Age, ending somewhere in the later years of the dime era? I'm a proponent of the overlapping ages theory, meaning that the starts and ends aren't precisely defined, but vary according to genre, publisher and title.

 

I'd classify on non superhero universe DC books with a 10¢ cover price as Atom Age, especially as DCs commitment to expanding the superhero universe really doesn't take off until Flash #105 in 1959 and the Silver Age is generally thought to coincide with the revival of interest in superhero books.

 

Interesting that DC was more comfortable giving the Challengers of the Unknown their own title a year before The Flash. add to that Marvel's initial commitment to sci-fi monster fantasy comics after the Atlas implosion, and it's clear that the Silver Age of Heroic Comics didn't get the same kick-off from Showcase #4 that the Golden Age did from Action #1. So, 1955-1961 = Atom Age for many titles. :sumo:

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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I'll have to ask the thread originator whether post code books are allowed in this thread. I'll withhold my praise for your book until after we get an answer.

 

;)

lol

 

I do admit to a preference for "tidiness" and would suggest this belongs in the SA Forum but this is CGC's chatboard on the interwebs. Comment away!

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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I'll have to ask the thread originator whether post code books are allowed in this thread. I'll withhold my praise for your book until after we get an answer.

 

;)

 

As with all ages there has been debate on when the Atomic Age ends. Does it end with the advent of the code, or does it bridge into the early Silver Age, ending somewhere in the later years of the dime era? I'm a proponent of the overlapping ages theory, meaning that the starts and ends aren't precisely defined, but vary according to genre, publisher and title.

 

I'd classify on non superhero universe DC books with a 10¢ cover price as Atom Age, especially as DCs commitment to expanding the superhero universe really doesn't take off until Flash #105 in 1959 and the Silver Age is generally thought to coincide with the revival of interest in superhero books.

 

Interesting that DC was more comfortable giving the Challengers of the Unknown their own title a year before The Flash. add to that Marvel's initial commitment to sci-fi monster fantasy comics after the Atlas implosion, and it's clear that the Silver Age of Heroic Comics didn't get the same kick-off from Showcase #4 that the Golden Age did from Action #1. So, 1955-1961 = Atom Age for many titles. :sumo:

 

Here's what I've previously posted on the topic.

 

All comic "ages" were designated after the fact and represent reasonable attempts to categorize noticeable changes in publishing trends. Golden Age represents the golden age of superheroes when they went from being 13% share of a very small market in 1938 to a 54% share of a much larger market in 1941. The end of WWII resulted in such a significant reduction in the interest of superheroes that by 1950 supers were down to just a 4% share of of an extremely large comics market.

 

The Atomic Age was the first time period when the industry published comics in every genre targeting every age group from young kids to adults. It was also the time of the greatest number of title and the greatest number of printed comics. In 1952, for example, there were 643 titles compared to 115 in 1940 or 289 in 1945. Explicit acts of violence, "good girl" art and inclusion of horror story elements were primary themes that were eventually stifled by the comics code.

 

I personally think the Atomic Age is best described as starting with the dropping of the Atomic Bomb and ending with the advent of the Code. These end points are not only historically significant but also happen to correspond with very dramatic publishing shifts.

 

All stats were sourced from the indispensable Gerber Photojournal.

 

I do agree that the majority of 1955-61 books don't quite fit the definition for SA but I don't think they are Atomic Age either. The code essentially emasculated the strong content of the pre-code era resulting in a short-lived late-50s style.

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Hepcat

Hepcat

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Posted (edited)
31-05-201174143PM.jpg

This was either recycled into or from a Turok cover.

 

Hmmmmmm. Well the composition and feel does indeed resemble Four Color 596 which came out four years earlier:

 

Turok1CGC.jpg

 

(shrug)

 

 

Edited by Hepcat
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AJD

AJD

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I think I'm among the biggest fans of the Howdy Doody run on this board.

 

Yep, you are almost certainly in the top ten, but it's tough competition... ;)

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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I'm quite fond of the Tor series by Kubert and took a few interior pics to help show why.

 

 

Tor3.jpg

Tor3pg1.jpg

Tor3pg3.jpg

Tor3pg2.jpg

Tor3pg4.jpg

Tor3pg5.jpg

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Hepcat

Hepcat

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I love that Tor! That's the first time I've seen it in colour.

 

Here are scans of two of the "rarest" books in my collection:

 

Atomic War 2

 

AtomicWar2.jpg

 

Atomic War 4

 

AtomicWar4.jpg

 

:cloud9:

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selegue

selegue

Posted
Posted
I think I'm among the biggest fans of the Howdy Doody run on this board. Here are scans of four of my File copies:

 

31-05-201174159PM.jpg

...

 

 

Howdy, Howdy Doody!

 

Nice copies.

 

If you try posting any CCA-stamped Dells, you're in big trouble.

 

Jack

(just flew back from Wisconsin and... say it together...)

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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Books like this just scream 1950s Cold War era! :cloud9:

 

AtomicWar2.jpg
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