What Period Does GA Begin and End For You For Collecting... 2 2

[fifties]

On 10/31/2023 at 1:08 PM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Since my estimate of GA dates got the most "likes" (3) of any other guesses, I must be correct...

My personal scale...

1937-1945-GA

1946-1955 (or code sticker on cover)-Atom Age

 

What 1937 book would you assign as the beginning of the GA, given that the generally accepted norm would be Action 1 in '38? 

And there were no "code stickers" from the CCA until cover dates of March,1955.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 10/31/2023 at 1:15 PM, Robot Man said:

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Tri-ColorBrian

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 10/31/2023 at 1:15 PM, fifties said:

What 1937 book would you assign as the beginning of the GA, given that the generally accepted norm would be Action 1 in '38? 

And there were no "code stickers" from the CCA until cover dates of March,1955.

Jan 1937...because I like the date...and I own some 1937 comics...

And I meant the Atom Age stopped with the beginning of code stickers in 1955...not the whole year. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Tri-ColorBrian

[Mmehdy]

GA 1937-1949

Atom 1950-1957

SA 1958-1970

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 10/31/2023 at 3:32 PM, Mmehdy said:

GA 1937-1949

Atom 1950-1957

SA 1958-1970

Just gotta be different, huh? 

[Mmehdy]

On 10/31/2023 at 3:41 PM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Just gotta be different, huh? 

No I think Flash comics #104 is a true golden age book and it came out Feb 1949...In the Flash omnibus I have read that issue...pure golden age all the.way

[The Black Hand ®]

For me, the GA began ending when superhero titles started turning into goofy humor books. For instance, Top Notch turning into Top Notch Laugh.

[Robot Man]

And More Fun when Clover and Dover took over…

[shadroch]

Golden Age, Atomic Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Copper Age.  

One of these is out of place. Why?

[circumstances]

On 10/30/2023 at 10:37 PM, Telegan said:

For those of you who make the atomic age division, what is the reasoning in terms of comic books for the division.  Obviously, the dropping of the bombs and "nookyuler", but what about it in comics?  Is it because you started seeing "atomic things" in them or was there something about the comics themselves other than the content?  Just trying to learn ...

i started reading comics in early 1975, and started collecting shortly thereafter.

so i guess i am a relative newcomer to the whole hobby.

not sure the term "atom age" (or "atomic age") had been coined yet, but we (myself and any other collectors i knew) never used it.

as centaur collectors, and (new) more fun collectors, and (new) adventure collectors, and detective comics collectors, the debut of superman had zero to do with the beginning of the golden age of comics, because all the above titles and companies we collected started with original content in 1935, 1936, 1937 (we had no interest in strip reprints).

although the comics we most enjoyed were created prior to the end of World War 2, it is difficult to just say the Golden Age ended right there, with Marvel Mystery, and Cap, and so many other titles still ongoing (yet winding down).

That is why we always went with the end of the All Star run as the final ending of the Golden Age. Although that seems a tad late chronologically, it is hard to call All Star 57 anything other than a Golden Age book. An imperfect demarcation point.

Anything that came after All Star 57 were "fifties books." That was it. It was just understood that they were not Golden Age anymore. Horror, Crime, Romance, EC, etc., if it came out after All Star 57 it was a "fifties book."

There was always some debate as to when the Silver Age began. Was it Showcase #4 (9/10/56)? Was it Detective #225 (11/10/55)? Was it when the CCA stamp first appeared on the cover (early 1955)?

I like the content-based arguments better than the CCA argument. The introduction (or re-introduction) of heroes into comics in an ongoing fashion (unlike the Atlas attempts with Subby and Cap and Torch) heralded the Silver Age of Comics (to us).

And comics with the CCA stamp could certainly qualify as "fifties books," but could never ever be called a Golden Age comic.

So, if the biggest debate was if the Silver Age started in November of 1955 or October of 1956, I think we were doing pretty good on our collective understanding of it all. I always tended to go with the latter date, as the comics circa 1956 always seemed to be more like "fifties books" to me (at least the hero books), than Silver Age books. The "real feel" of the Silver Age hit me with FF #1, some 5 years later. That period between Showcase #4 and FF #1 is a nascent Silver Age trying to find its footing. Maybe like the three year period from New Fun #1 to Action #1, where the newly born Golden Age of Comics was finding its way.

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by circumstances

[buttock]

On 11/1/2023 at 8:32 PM, The Black Hand ® said:

For me, the GA began ending when superhero titles started turning into goofy humor books. For instance, Top Notch turning into Top Notch Laugh.

The "Golden Age" is a descriptive term referring to a time when things were great in all features.  It defines itself in a way.  Before Action 1, although things definitely existed, they weren't the same as after Superman came into existence.  Then things boomed throughout the war, but shortly after the creativity, profitability, etc., all declined.  So for me, the true "Golden Age" is from Action 1 to the end of WW2.  But there are many ways to define it for other reasons.  

[circumstances]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:46 PM, buttock said:

The "Golden Age" is a descriptive term referring to a time when things were great in all features.  It defines itself in a way.  Before Action 1, although things definitely existed, they weren't the same as after Superman came into existence.  Then things boomed throughout the war, but shortly after the creativity, profitability, etc., all declined.  So for me, the true "Golden Age" is from Action 1 to the end of WW2.  But there are many ways to define it for other reasons.  

that was definitely the golden era of the golden age!

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 11/2/2023 at 10:46 AM, buttock said:

 So for me, the true "Golden Age" is from Action 1 to the end of WW2.  But there are many ways to define it for other reasons.  

Have you ever considered a career in politics? 

[buttock]

On 11/2/2023 at 2:35 PM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Have you ever considered a career in politics? 

I only accept pure unadulterated and unquestionable power.  Politics is beneath me. 

[MrBedrock]

In my opinion Action 1 through the end of The War is The Golden Age.

For the purposes of the database for our website anything pre-code is "golden age".

[Robot Man]

On 10/31/2023 at 12:44 PM, fifties said:

I'm a little behind ya, bro, having bought my first about 1952 or so, and woulda been a Dell funny animal book, long since gone.  I did however keep the two 3D's I bought in the fall of '53 for a quarter each.

My personal “Golden Age” was probably when I bought ASM 3 off the drugstore rack around 1962. Reading comics, building Rat Fink models and riding my Sting Ray…

[Krydel4]

On 11/2/2023 at 5:23 PM, Robot Man said:

My personal “Golden Age” was probably when I bought ASM 3 off the drugstore rack around 1962. Reading comics, building Rat Fink models and riding my Sting Ray…

Nice...

[Cat-Man_America]

Normally, I refer to all 10 cent or more comics produced before the CCA as the golden age. But just for the sake of all my fellow obsessive folks ...a category in which many collectors find or lose themselves... just for the sake of ridiculousness, I've broken the GA into smaller groups that are about as anally retentive in the extremis as I can make them: 

Funny Book or Platinum era: Comics produced between 1934 and 1938 (before Action #1 changed the trajectory of comics; Sunday comic reprints and variety short subjects ruled)

Gen-U-wine GA (pre U.S. entry into WWII; nice meaty sized books; costumed heroes introduced and flourished; with rare exception variety acts were the filler): 1938-1942 (early)

Men in Tights Age (WWII era, economic tightening, dimensions and page count downsized as paper rationing occurred; colorful costumed heroes ruled): 1942-1945 (mid/late)

Nuclear Nookie Age (atom bomb and bombshell era; decline of the superhero, blossoming of teen romance, western, crime and GGA ruled): 1946-1949

Wertham Age: 1950-1954 (aka Pre-code Horror...vampires, ghouls, skeletons and crazed psychiatrists ruled with cold war and juvenile delinquency fears and rampant paranoia)

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Cat-Man_America
Ale!

[Robot Man]

On 11/2/2023 at 9:01 PM, Krydel4 said:

Nice...

Yep. I believe mine was green and had a shifter on the top bar. Me and my brother would make custom bikes from parts from the dump and trash. Had a cool one with a raked chopper style front that we made from parts. Also mini bikes with old lawn mower motors. Had the need for speed at an early age! 

[buttock]

A few thoughts on 'ages'.  

1.  Ages don't necessarily start and stop consecutively.  i.e. it's not the case that the GA stops on 12/31 and SA starts on 1/1.  I think there are a few cases where the start is obvious (Action 1, Showcase 4), but more where an age evolved slowly, both beginning and end.  So to try to define them with an absolute date or issue is impossible.  

2.  Ages don't apply across the board for publishers, titles, or characters.  Showcase 4 in 1956 is obviously silver age, but Batman from the same month still feels like the doofy 50s Batman rather than the one that changed in 1964.  You can say that the GA ended with WW2, but I think the later All Stars, Flash, Superman, Batman, etc., still feel very GA.  Timely and Nedor, on the other hand had clear changes as the war ended since their covers were almost exclusively war-related.  So a 1947 DC might seem very GA, but a 1947 Timely doesn't.  Similarly the SA is very different for DC vs. Marvel.  The Silver Age begins with Showcase 4 in 1956, but for Marvel it doesn't really start until FF 1 in 1961.  Therefore a 1957 Marvel (which would be Atlas at the time) isn't viewed as SA, while a 1957 DC might be SA.  Further, Showcase 4, while being clearly the start of the SA, doesn't mean that all DCs after Showcase 4 are SA.  Is All Star Western 89 not SA, while 91 is SA?  No, it took some time for the whole comic book field to evolve into the SA.    

3. The definitions of an 'age' aren't consistent.  GA and SA conventionally refer to superhero comics.  The Golden Age started with Action 1 and the Silver Age started with Showcase 4.  Those terms are used broadly in society, but there aren't societal equivalents for Bronze, Copper, etc.  Those terms then followed to refer more to eras than actual events, which is why there is so much debate over when the BA started.  There isn't a singular book like Action 1 or Showcase 4 that defined the change, nor was there a tapering out of the preceding era to make such a singular book stand out.  In this case it's more that things shifted over time with things like GL 76, the Spidey drug books, etc., that were reflective of a societal shift rather than an event in the history of comic publishing.  So GA and SA refer to one type of change, while BA refers to another and CA yet another.  Then throw in things like "atomic era", "pre-code", "pre-hero Marvel", etc., and things get really confusing because you're referring to different framing points in different genres, publishers, titles, and characters (e.g. nobody talks about pre-code Disney).