Are you considering the "Atomic Age" as a thing? 7 7

[Marty Mann]

I guess I've been posting incorrectly, most of what I believed were GOLDEN AGE

were really ATOMIC AGE. I don't see a FORUM for ATOMIC AGE...is there one?

Edited September 2 by Marty Mann

[VintageComics]

On 9/2/2024 at 10:42 AM, Marty Mann said:

I guess I've been posting incorrectly, most of what I believed were GOLDEN AGE

were really ATOMIC AGE. I don't see a FORUM for ATOMIC AGE...is there one?

It all depends on how granular you want to get. I'm not convinced one is necessary yet, as the majority of the hobby probably wouldn't understand it on the same level that the people in this thread do. 

[Coverdeath]

On 9/2/2024 at 3:18 PM, bronze johnny said:

Excellent.

There are further progressions as the age gains greater definition that is evident by a publisher adding titles to correspond with the new genre and other publishers following suit.  Interestingly, This is evident with the catalyst of the Golden Age of the Superhero genre, which is Action Comics 1. It’s a distinct point of reference for the beginning of the Golden Age. We see what happens afterwards as DC expands its superhero line of titles and other publishers follow.

The Second World War is the most significant and revolutionary period of 20th Century History (in fact it can be argued in all of world history) and the primary focus for America and its allies at the time was wartime mobilization with a shift in economies to ensure victory. The arts assisted in further ensuring a message that would raise the national morale and spirit of the citizenry to contribute as much as possible to the war effort (see Capra films for the military in addition to Hollywood films like Casablanca), and the American Comic Book was no exception. It’s only fitting that the greatest era of the American Comic Book would coincide with the most significant period of 20th Century History. The superhero joined the war effort to help America fight the Axis powers. They would continue this fight up until the war ended with the defeat of the enemy dictators and in the case of the War in the Pacific, the dropping of the atomic bombs in August of 1945. Fascism and Nazism were no longer the forces to fear. The postwar Cold War era gave rise to new found fears that were initially not as distinct as those fought by the superheroes during the war. The anxieties and fears coinciding with the bomb, unclear future, rise of communism, and shift back to a peacetime economy that included the challenges presented for soldiers adjusting to a post combat life couldn’t easily be resolved by the superhero. The Atomic Age had begun.

Interestingly, Crime Does Not Pay #22 was published during the war and led the crime genre to becoming the dominant genre of the early postwar era (1946 - 1949). The crime genre was so popular that superheroes went back to fighting crime but it was not enough for those outside of DC’s mainstay superheroes Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (special mention to Aquaman who hangs around throughout this period) to maintain their wartime popularity. 

The crime genre gives rise to the romance and horror genres with the publication of the two most significant comic books during the early postwar years: Young Romance 1 and Adventures into the Unknown 1. These catalyst books soon influence rival publishers to follow suit in publishing their own romance and horror titles. EC Comics would take the horror genre to its greatest height during the latter part of the Atomic Age.

The Golden Age published Archie comic book does the same for teen humor titles. 

The later part of the postwar era (1950 - 1956)  saw the Korean War and rise of McCarthyism. The communist threat and fears of an escalated war with “Red China” resulting in McArthur advocating the use of atomic weapons contributed further to the fears of Americans. Comic books continued to remain popular while television begins to move in a direction that would make it the most popular medium before the end of the 1950s. 

The Atomic Age would then give rise to one of the most significant changes to the comic book medium, which is the industry self censoring its publications to avoid government involvement in regulating content following the reactions to Wertham’s book, and Gaines’ testimony before Kefauver’s Senate Committee investigating the impact comic books had on young Americans. 

The Code and the subsequent successful addition of superheroes to DC’s already existing superhero universe along with the advent of the Big “5 War” comics, and the introduction to most significant sci fi character creation of that era in Adam Strange, and Kirby’s original concept team creation that laid the groundwork for an even greater achievement, began the DC Silver Age of Comic Books. We know that what followed in 1961 would rise to one of the greatest creative eras in the history of the medium when Marvel Comics would follow DC’s lead and take comic books to the next level of greatness. 

Perhaps the time has come for CGC to have a seperate forum for a well deserved and fascinating Atomic Age of Comics so any confusion about the existence of this incredible era in the history of the medium is clarified once and for all. @CGC Mike 

The Atomic Age deserves its own forum.

John

Thank you John.

[Coverdeath]

On 9/2/2024 at 3:52 PM, grendel013 said:

With Action Comics, there seems to be a little back and forth. Issue 332 is the last issue without the checkered racing banner. Jan 1966.

Issue 333 is the first with the checkered banner but still feels GA.

The next few still feel GA but then there is issue 340. First appearance of Parasite. Definitely SA now. But not until Aug 1966.

This banner were used for many titles, the first I think of is JLA 

[kent allard]

On 9/2/2024 at 6:52 AM, grendel013 said:

With Action Comics, there seems to be a little back and forth. Issue 332 is the last issue without the checkered racing banner. Jan 1966.

Issue 333 is the first with the checkered banner but still feels GA.

The next few still feel GA but then there is issue 340. First appearance of Parasite. Definitely SA now. But not until Aug 1966.

Curious.  What is so definitively SA about #340 vs #339.

For Batman there was the costume change and the art.  What changed here?  Was it Superman being under attack by an individual rival who could threaten him?  His expression is one of fear/vulnerability.  Not a big fan of Superman, but I don't recall seeing this type of emotion expressed in earlier covers.

[kent allard]

On 9/2/2024 at 8:50 AM, Coverdeath said:

This banner were used for many titles, the first I think of is JLA 

I remember when they introduced that go-go racing banner.  Seemed stupid to me as a kid.  Still don't understand what they were trying to accomplish with it.

[kent allard]

Thanks very much @adamstrange and @bronze johnny for your trenchant comments.  This is fascinating!

I'm anxious to see where it goes and would very much like to see a cover gallery of pre/post era nominations, either here or split off in a dedicated thread.

Great idea for a thread @Coverdeath !

[Robot Man]

On 9/2/2024 at 7:42 AM, Marty Mann said:

I guess I've been posting incorrectly, most of what I believed were GOLDEN AGE

were really ATOMIC AGE. I don't see a FORUM for ATOMIC AGE...is there one?

Don’t worry about it Marty. Post anything you want. It’s an honor to see all your OO ten centers! 

[kent allard]

On 9/2/2024 at 1:29 PM, Robot Man said:

Don’t worry about it Marty. Post anything you want. It’s an honor to see all your OO ten centers! 

Ditto!

[grendel013]

On 9/2/2024 at 3:12 PM, kent allard said:

Curious.  What is so definitively SA about #340 vs #339.

For Batman there was the costume change and the art.  What changed here?  Was it Superman being under attack by an individual rival who could threaten him?  His expression is one of fear/vulnerability.  Not a big fan of Superman, but I don't recall seeing this type of emotion expressed in earlier covers.

I think maybe you honed in on it more than even I did. I focused on the first appearance of the Parasite which seems to be a definitive Silver age villain. But these are good points to add. Honestly, I'm not a big Supes fan either. But I figured I'd try to look through Batman and Superman covers first since they are the big DC guns.

[sfcityduck]

On 8/31/2024 at 6:10 AM, Coverdeath said:

What a divergence between people on this era of comics history... Do you personally consider this age or is there gold, then silver and nothing else in between?

I just bought 8 new books to add to my collection this morning, all from this era and I'm really impatient to getting them!   these are my first books in this year range, I see them differently, it seems to be a different style, maybe more conventional and strict, less rude than GA and less crazy than SA, but I could be totally wrong, I don't know...

What do you think?

With regard to comics? No, atomic age is not a thing. I collect comics bearing on the existence and influence of the Atomic Bomb, and they are few and far between. The A-Bomb had a much bigger impact on other forms of pop culture than comics.

Pre-Code Horror? Yeah, that's obviously a thing! Superhero revivals? Also a thing! More of them than you think in the 1950s (just not of DC superheros which is what the fathers of fandom liked the best). Explosions in titles for women, little kids, returned soldiers? Also a thing. And all those things were happening post-WWII.

The great thing about comics is that they weren't one big homogeneous thing. The Golden Age and Silver Age are specific terms that relate to the birth and initial dominance of superheroes and the renewed dominance of superheroes that occurred with the revival or refreshing of many key (mainly DC) superhero characters. The guys who invented those terms weren't thinking about storytelling content. They weren't defining the Silver Age by how a character looked or acted in a particular book (and for JLA heroes that could be different in simultaneously issued titles). They were celebrating the revival of favorite characters they had when buying books off the stand in the GA who had disappeared from the shelves. That's the history. I see no need for a retcon.  

 

[fifties]

There seem to be a number of varied opinions here, all valid, as considered by their posters. 

I began buying comic books -funny animal Dells- about 1952 or so.  I was not allowed to buy "those awful" crime or horror books.  I bought Showcase 4 in the fall of '56, and promptly gave it to my little brother (who of course lost it), as it was not my cuppa Tea.  

I would venture the idea that the "Atomic Age" began in 1950, coinciding with EC Comics' New Trend trio of horror books, which were soon copied by numerous other publishers.  AFA the Code, the last truly "horror" covers of any publisher seemed to halt with cover dates of August or September, 1954.  Many horror titles disappeared afterward.  The CCA seal then appeared on cover dates of March, 1955.  Atlas Comics changed their murder and graveyard story themes to Science Fiction.  EC tried with their "New Trend", but it was gone by the end of '55.

So the period of cover dates from March of '55 to about September of '56 are technically not GA, nor SA.  Would they be considered "AA"?

[CGC Mike]

On 9/2/2024 at 9:18 AM, bronze johnny said:

@CGC Mike 

The Atomic Age deserves its own forum.

John

I'll give this some thought.  

[adamstrange]

On 9/2/2024 at 8:22 PM, CGC Mike said:

On 9/2/2024 at 9:18 AM, bronze johnny said:

@CGC Mike 

The Atomic Age deserves its own forum.

John

I'll give this some thought.  

I recommend against it. 

We don't have an overabundance of engagement on the Boards in the current GA Forum, so adding a new forum will make it harder to sustain interest.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[bronze johnny]

On 9/2/2024 at 11:46 PM, adamstrange said:

I recommend against it. 

We don't have an overabundance of engagement on the Boards in the current GA Forum, so adding a new forum will make it harder to sustain interest.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Then how about renaming this forum the “Golden & Atomic Ages Comic Books” forum? @CGC Mike

Edited September 3 by bronze johnny

[vheflin]

Imagine you are gifted gold then eagerly trading it for radioactive uranium.

[jimbo_7071]

On 9/3/2024 at 7:49 AM, vheflin said:

Imagine you are gifted gold then eagerly trading it for radioactive uranium.

You jest, but there's something to that. Collectors have always acknowledged the Atomic Age (sometimes called the Atom Age), but most things in the hobby these days are driven by the money grubbers, not by collectors. From a marketing perspective, "Golden Age" sounds better. "Golden Age" sounds lustrous and magical while "Atomic Age" sounds coldly scientific. That explains why Atomic Age has nearly disappeared from the lexicon.

Edited September 3 by jimbo_7071

[Marty Mann]

The beginning of the ATOMIC AGE for me.

 

[buttock]

On 9/2/2024 at 9:46 PM, adamstrange said:

I recommend against it. 

We don't have an overabundance of engagement on the Boards in the current GA Forum, so adding a new forum will make it harder to sustain interest.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

There was a thread (I think?) years ago asking if we needed an atomic age forum.  

[Robot Man]

I don’t think we need an Atomic Age thread either. Not really that much of a big deal to most and it would probably not get that much traffic.

This is coming from a collector who loves this age. Might even be the bulk of my collection.