Atomic Age no more? 1 1

[Lt. Eckhardt]

I remember a time where we considered the period from 1946 until about 1956 the Atomic Age of Comics with the true Golden Age ending with the conclusion of World War 2.  Nowadays, I hardly ever see the term Atomic Age being used.   it seems the Golden Age encompasses the entire period from 1933 until the arrival of Showcase #4 in 1956.  Would you say this is an accurate assessment?   Should the Atomic Age be a more used term?

It also seems that the Victorian and Platinum Age seem to only exist in an Overstreet vacuum and you just don't meet collectors really interested in this periods.    Anyone here a collector of those ages?  

Finally,  when are we going to give the 1990's a proper age naming?   Sorry, but a book from 1991 and a book from 2017 shouldn't both be Moderns!

Let's talk.

[Ken Aldred]

I like the term Atom Age for 1950 to the start of the Silver Age later on that decade, being a fan of the classic science-fiction films from that time and EC Comics, both influenced by nuclear and Red / xenophobic paranoia. So, a very appropriate term for this period.

[AJD]

I think that the AA really covers 1946-1955. There was a distinct change of tone in comics after WW2 ended.

[1950's war comics]

The age i go by is how they are listed on eBay 

GA 1938-55  SA 1956-69, luckily i am not interested in anything before or after that

if i were to search a different way  or years i would likely miss out 

[Ken Aldred]

10 minutes ago, Scott_From_Canada said:

And EC Comics are definitely not Golden Age 

They'll always be Atom Age to me.

[1950's war comics]

Yeah am aware that the cut off point 1955-56 could possible cause one to miss an issue if it listed incorrectly in the wrong era, for example the early Brave and the Bold issues from 1955 will most likely be listed in SA on eBay. so yeah an eBay search should be issue # specific

[Buzzetta]

I use the term Atomic Age if it means anything... especially in terms of the EC Sci Fi and Horror books.  I think I noticed the application of Atomic Age after I picked up my first GA era Batman book with issue #41.  That book is considered the first Batman Sci-Fi cover.  Once I asked around someone edjumicated me and said it was one of the first Batman Atomic Age covers... 

 

Ohhhhh

[exitmusicblue]

Simple is best...

[*paull*]

i don't mind the Atomic Age designation, especially since the GA would be quite long and too diverse without it.  I look at the GA as mainly pre-war superheroes and the Atomic Age mainly as post-war sci-fi and horror.

[Readcomix]

I don't get too bent out of shape about it either way. Sure, atom age better describes post-war thru at least mid-50's (though arguably the hallmarks of silver age storytelling don't really come along until FF#1; much of the DC hero revival stuff has no new tone to it to speak of) but arbitrary cut offs don't neatly describe every book in a given year. For example, Adventure Comics from 1946 reads more GA than Atomic in its substance.

People love to quibble about this stuff, and it's interesting, but comics evolution is more of a continuum, it seems to me.

Then again, growing up in the '70s, before it was declared the Bronze Age, it didn't strike me as necessary to have an Age label to encompass every year of comic history. WWII was Golden, Silver was the hero revival. The interim and the new stuff were cool and different on their own, absent a label.

[piper]

I wonder what they think in the GA forum? 

 

[01TheDude]

12 hours ago, Readcomix said:

I don't get too bent out of shape about it either way. Sure, atom age better describes post-war thru at least mid-50's (though arguably the hallmarks of silver age storytelling don't really come along until FF#1; much of the DC hero revival stuff has no new tone to it to speak of) but arbitrary cut offs don't neatly describe every book in a given year. For example, Adventure Comics from 1946 reads more GA than Atomic in its substance.

People love to quibble about this stuff, and it's interesting, but comics evolution is more of a continuum, it seems to me.

Then again, growing up in the '70s, before it was declared the Bronze Age, it didn't strike me as necessary to have an Age label to encompass every year of comic history. WWII was Golden, Silver was the hero revival. The interim and the new stuff were cool and different on their own, absent a label.

Interesting that you did not hear that term. I started collecting around 1975 and always heard it referred to that way from the beginning. GA/SA was clearly established and people discounted the 1970s by throwing the term bronze at it as bronze is a less valuable metal than silver or gold. Just like music from the 50s was referred to as Golden Oldies back then frequently.

Within the hobby-- most understand what you mean by Atomic Age. And we all understand the vast difference between 1990s "moderns" and current output. I've always been fond of the term Chromium age for the period myself-- but since i don't collect that era, I don't mind what it is called. My collection barely touches into the copper age and only from a completion perspective on a few titles. SA and BA are my huckleberry if you will. It seems pretty common for people to collect from the era of their childhood (with numerous exceptions of course).

Edited March 7, 2017 by 01TheDude

[Lt. Eckhardt]

What about The term Iron Age for the 1990s?

[kav]

2 hours ago, Lt. Eckhardt said:

What about The term Iron Age for the 1990s?

I like Foil Age both for the foil used on covers and the foil hat element of people thinking they would be valuable.

Edited March 8, 2017 by kav

[Readcomix]

10 hours ago, kav said:

I like Foil Age both for the foil used on covers and the foil hat element of people thinking they would be valuable.

That's beautiful; even allowing for different tastes (your trash is someone's treasure, etc) the exuberance was irrational.

 

 

[Readcomix]

20 hours ago, 01TheDude said:

Interesting that you did not hear that term. I started collecting around 1975 and always heard it referred to that way from the beginning. GA/SA was clearly established and people discounted the 1970s by throwing the term bronze at it as bronze is a less valuable metal than silver or gold. Just like music from the 50s was referred to as Golden Oldies back then frequently.

Within the hobby-- most understand what you mean by Atomic Age. And we all understand the vast difference between 1990s "moderns" and current output. I've always been fond of the term Chromium age for the period myself-- but since i don't collect that era, I don't mind what it is called. My collection barely touches into the copper age and only from a completion perspective on a few titles. SA and BA are my huckleberry if you will. It seems pretty common for people to collect from the era of their childhood (with numerous exceptions of course).

I heard it in the '70s, just not from day one. I simply mean there's a time when books were coming out without the era being labeled. (Kind of like how some folks are saying, hey what era are today's books? We can't still be in the modern era. To my mind, nothing since Copper and the birth of independents needs or warrants an era label. They're just current books at the time. Heck, Dave Sim and the Pinis may even argue about when independents were born.)

I go back to I can call it atomic or 50's; I don't think it's essential to have a label that encompasses every period. That said, the 50's and 70's are very important timespans in comics history, with the 70's in some ways bringing back elements of the 50's, just as the SA brought back elements of the GA in a broad sense (the superhero milieu).

[valiantman]

On 3/6/2017 at 7:36 PM, exitmusicblue said:

Simple is best...

1930s comics, 1940s comics, 1950s comics ... 1990s comics.  Those are the labels that make sense.

Forget the metal ages, they only lead to questions about what years are included.  Go straight for the years with the labels.

Even within the Golden Age, it's not like anyone who collects 1939 Centaur comics really feels like they're collecting the 'same comics' as someone who collects 1953 westerns.

Simple is best...

Edited March 8, 2017 by valiantman