• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Timeline for the ages.
2 2

Started by Robert Doggett,

39 posts in this topic

Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/30/2021 at 2:43 PM, valiantman said:

How far it is from a particular brick in a particular wall on a particular side of a particular building to another particular brick on a particular wall on a particular side of another building is the kind of thing only a shake-weight enthusiast would care about.  Some of you need to put the shake-weights down.  You're actively working both arms and it shows.

It’s a classic nerd debate, that’s all.

Minutiae, forever tweaking the fine details.

Edited by Ken Aldred
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/30/2021 at 3:01 PM, valiantman said:

Unfortunately, the nerds involved think it matters.

All I’m bothered about is whether a comic’s good, at the end of the day, whether it’s digital or aged newsprint.

(Despite being a nerd myself.)

Edited by Ken Aldred
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Randall Dowling

Randall Dowling

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 8:43 AM, valiantman said:

These arguments always remind me that there's always going to be a debate inside the community that makes zero sense to people outside the community.

The answer to "How far is it from Los Angeles to Miami?" is "about a 5 hour flight" or "about 40 hours driving" or "about 2,700 miles"... and those answers are ALL good enough unless you're in charge of the programming team that writes the code for Google maps.

Knowing that it's 2,732.741 miles from a particular building in Los Angeles to another particular building in Miami is what it sounds like when you guys want to talk about Showcase #4 is Silver, Showcase #3 isn't, Detective #225 is-but-isn't, but either way we know Detective #224 is Golden Age, and that building in Los Angeles has a west wall that's further from Miami than the east wall, so we need to really get more specific about this answer, right?  Don't we need to continue debating the Golden/Silver dividing line for each title (issue #3 = Golden, issue #4 = Silver, issue #224 = Golden, issue #225 = Silver) within each age for another 60 years?

No, we don't.

The Golden Age is the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Silver Age is the 1960s and probably started before in a few titles.

The Bronze age is the 1970s.

Debating how far it is from a particular brick in a particular wall on a particular side of a particular building to another particular brick on a particular wall on a particular side of another building is ridiculous.  Some of you have been arguing for decades. It will never end until you end it or die.  Let it die before you do.

Somebody woke up angry today...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Turnando

Turnando

Posted
Posted

The ages have historical meaning much deeper than range of numbers, as comic fans know.

I'm interested in why superheros went away after the war, ending the golden age.  What changed in society?  I've never liked superheroes, maybe because I'm a child of the 60s?

Why did superheroes come back to begin the silver age?  What happened between those two ages and why did it happen.  Where do the book burners fit in?

Dividing the ages by years that don't really mean anything is uninteresting (to me).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 10:38 AM, Math Teacher said:
On 11/30/2021 at 8:43 AM, valiantman said:

The Golden Age is the 1930s to the 1950s.

I'm going along with my friend, @KirbyJack. The idea that Showcase #4, Showcase #6, and Showcase #22 are in the Golden Age is ridiculous.

Why would you crop my quote to make an unnecessary point?

On 11/30/2021 at 8:43 AM, valiantman said:

The Golden Age is the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Silver Age is the 1960s and probably started before in a few titles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 10:37 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:
On 11/30/2021 at 8:43 AM, valiantman said:

Some of you have been arguing for decades. It will never end until you end it or die.  Let it die before you do.

No thanks. I want it to be immortal.

You misspelled "impotent".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 5:03 PM, namisgr said:

I like to think of it as a respectful difference of opinions, and not an argument or debate.  (shrug)

A civilised perspective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Math Teacher

Math Teacher

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/30/2021 at 10:48 AM, valiantman said:

Why would you crop my quote to make an unnecessary point?

To me, the Silver Age ended at different times for different titles. I have always considered that the SA Spider-Man ended at issue #122 (July, 1973). I have always considered that the SA Fantastic Four ended at issue #101 (August, 1970), as this is the last issue that Jack Kirby worked on. I have always considered that the SA Flash to have ended at issue #174 (November, 1967), as this is the last issue that Carmine Infantino pencilled.

I'm not here to tell anyone that I am the be-all, end-all authority on this issue. If you want to say that ASM #91 is the end of the Silver Age (December, 1970), I'm OK with that. You have your opinion and I have my opinion. Opinions are opinions, not facts.

Edited by Math Teacher
Link to comment
Share on other sites
valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 11:02 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Alright, you've changed my mind:

  • Golden Age ends in 1960.
  • Silver Age ends in 1980.
  • Bronze Age ends in 2000.
  • Modern Age ends in 2019.
  • 2020+ is the Valiant Age.

theCapraAdHominem has spoken. :sumo:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/1/2021 at 2:24 PM, KirbyJack said:

Yes. Irrevocably. 

The freedom was no longer there, excesses monitored and reined in or completely expunged.

Edited by Ken Aldred
Link to comment
Share on other sites
bc

bc

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2021 at 10:18 AM, Turnando said:

The ages have historical meaning much deeper than range of numbers, as comic fans know.

I'm interested in why superheros went away after the war, ending the golden age.  What changed in society?  I've never liked superheroes, maybe because I'm a child of the 60s?

Why did superheroes come back to begin the silver age?  What happened between those two ages and why did it happen.  Where do the book burners fit in?

Dividing the ages by years that don't really mean anything is uninteresting (to me).

These are excellent questions! (thumbsu

There actually are threads in the respective SA/GA forums that boardies have posted potential answers to these questions or at least provided contemporary documentation of the state of "Americana" throughout the comic ages. Personally, that's one of the most valuable contributions of this board, understanding the cultural/societal influences on our hobby over several generations.

Many of these ages are specific to a publisher. Sure Showcase 4 (cover date Oct '56) is widely recognized as the first SA book from DC since it brought about the resurgence of superheroes, but what was Atlas doing then? They released a new anti-hero title with the same cover date: Yellow Claw. One could argue that an "anti-hero" title at that specific period in time in the US is more groundbreaking than a rebirth of a popular GA character. Is that the start of the Marvel SA that collectors recognize? Nope, that would be FF #1 with a cover date of Nov '61 (five years later) which forever changed the course of the new Marvel Comics.

Been a collector for almost 50 years, been here over 17 years and still learnin' stuff every day :)

-bc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
2 2
Go to topic listing