Copper Age Keys

[joe_collector]

Copper begins in 1980 1981/1982 with (Daredevil 168/181) and ends in 1990 with with the multi-million selling Spider-Man 1.

 

I definitely agree with Spider-man #1 being the start of the Modern Age, as it totally changed the landscape and paved the way for Image.

[Rodey]

I can't think of major characters. Gambit? Cable? Deadpool? Deathstroke? Maybe Gambit takes top cheese. But nothing MAJOR outside the copper age.

[DrWatson]

I would consider this to be a Copper Age key and the beginning of the Copper Age for the Fantastic Four.

 

[DocGo]

That's interesting. I imagine every long-running title could have their own age breaks.

[DrWatson]

That's interesting. I imagine every long-running title could have their own age breaks.

 

EXACTLY!

[DocGo]

Well, it makes defining any age with agreed upon years a little more difficult unless someone hammers down a solid year or two and people look for something significant within those years for a given title.

[tallmancomics-migration]

I kinda have a list of what I consider to be Copper Age key runs (my copper age is Jan 1, 1980-Dec 31 1989) Here goes:

 

X-men 129-143 (1st Kitty Pride, White Queen, Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past)

X-men 158, 171, Avengers Annual 10 (Rogue joins X-men)

X-men 210-213 (Mutant Massacre)

Wolverine Mini-Series 1-4

Wolverine Regular Series 1-10

Miracleman 1-16

Watchmen 1-12

Dark Knight Returns 1-4

Batman 404-407 (Year 1)

Swamp Thing 20-64

Hellblazer 1-12

Sandman 1-12

Spiderman vs Wolverine 1

Amazing Spiderman 238-300 (Hobgoblin, Black Suit)

Daredevil 168-190

Secret Wars 8

Superman 423, Action 583

Crisis 1-12

 

I'm sure I forgot a few. As far as books such as Primer 2, TMNT 1, Albedo 2, and Gobbledygook 1 & 2, I'm not opposed to calling them keys, but to me they're more novelty items with low print runs. Sure, TMNT have had a pretty significant pop culture impact (toys, movies, cartoons) but, in my opinion, not a very significant impact on the world of comics.

[Rodey]

Tallmancomics,

 

1st) Welcome to the boards!

 

2nd) Really cool opinion on copper keys

 

3rd) Welcome ot the boards!

[tallmancomics-migration]

Hey Rodey,

Thanks for the welcome. Great topic. The Copper Age is my favorite period in comics. Great stories, great art. As far as defining the period, I believe it will be harder to identify the beginning of the Copper Age than its end. I think the end is evidenced by the Marvel reboots (X-men 1, Spider-man 1) and the start of the Image comics. The first of these occurrences, which several posters have already noted, is Spider-man #1, August 1990, to me this is the definitive end of the Copper Age.

[DocGo]

I'd agree that the beginning of Image (1992) is the best Copper Age finale that's been put out there but I wouldn't say Spider-Man #1 (1990) is the "definitive end". I think the creator caravan holds more significance to the industry than the reboots.

[chrisco37]

Hey Rodey,

Thanks for the welcome. Great topic. The Copper Age is my favorite period in comics. Great stories, great art. As far as defining the period, I believe it will be harder to identify the beginning of the Copper Age than its end. I think the end is evidenced by the Marvel reboots (X-men 1, Spider-man 1) and the start of the Image comics. The first of these occurrences, which several posters have already noted, is Spider-man #1, August 1990, to me this is the definitive end of the Copper Age.

 

Agree with you on that. Hard to pinpoint the start. You could argue for Cerebus #1 (the true beginning of the Independent explosion). You could say Dazzler #1 (direct market). Is it Wolvie Mini #1? Hard to say.

 

But, the end is marked by the beginning of Image.

[Mac Man]

I would add that along with the founding of Image you also should consider the "killing" of the great franchise titles- Superman and Batman (okay, he just had his spine broken in a couple of places) marking the explosion and downfall of the comic market. I always use those three benchmarks as the indicating factors for the end of the Copper Age and beginning of the Drek -er, Modern Age books

 

In terms of the beginng of the Copper Age, we're definitely talking about a more murky area. But again, the further away we get from this period, I think the easier it will be to gain a more clear picture of when it started, what seperated it from the Bronze Age books, etc. Truthfully, the Renaissance did not take place at one given time, instead gradually spreading throughout Europe. What's hard for people to realize is that the England's Renaissance period didn't really take place until the 1400s-- not long before Columbus came to North America! Meanwhile, Italy was already well into theirs and moving into the Early Modern period. In like fasion, there really isn't one given title that people can point to and say "Ha! THIS is when the Bronze/Copper Age began!" simply because some titles may have taken a little longer to catch up so to speak. For example, Miller's "Wolverine" Mini series is definitely one of the early CA comics, but I would also argue that the Secret Wars 8/ASM 252 is plays a strong role in the definition of the Copper Age with the introduction of the Alien Symbiote which took place approximately 2 years later.

 

Just my two cents

[chrisco37]

Very true. And the Copper Age was also partially defined by the "British Invasion" (Moore, Gaiman, Davis, Bolland, etc..).

[DocGo]

I think Mac's end works with the DC "Deaths" and the creation of Image ('93 & '92 respectively). I also agree that the Copper Age probably began at different times for each publisher (maybe even each title):

 

Marvel possibilities: Daredevil #168 (1981), Wolverine Mini (1982), ASM #252 (1984)

DC possibilities: New Teen Titans (1982), Crisis (1985), Watchmen (1986), DKR (1986)

 

And I'm sure it goes on from there...

[joe_collector]

But, the end is marked by the beginning of Image.

 

I don't know - the Modern Age started for me when the multi-million selling Spider-man #1, X-Men #1 and X-Force #1 hit the stands, which was DIRECTLY responsible for McFarlane, Lee and Liefeld creating Image.

[Mac Man]

JC... I might be off here, but I think we're in the same ballpark. I see those works as simply heralding the end of CA whereas you're viewing them as the first Moderns. Really though, we're talking about the same time frame, generally speaking (with regards to Marvel that is), and aren't placing our markers far from one another at all.

[joe_collector]

JC... I might be off here, but I think we're in the same ballpark. I see those works as simply heralding the end of CA whereas you're viewing them as the first Moderns. Really though, we're talking about the same time frame, generally speaking (with regards to Marvel that is), and aren't placing our markers far from one another at all.

 

Agreed, and I'm just going from personal experience and how the hobby felt at that time. The minute Marvel & McFarlane released Spider-man #1, with all the different covers, variants and limited Platinum edition, comics totally changed.

 

And that's what I associate the Modern/Chrome era with - over-production, variants, limited editions, multiple covers, speculation, hype, creators as rock stars, etc.

[chrisco37]

But, the end is marked by the beginning of Image.

 

I don't know - the Modern Age started for me when the multi-million selling Spider-man #1, X-Men #1 and X-Force #1 hit the stands, which was DIRECTLY responsible for McFarlane, Lee and Liefeld creating Image.

 

Yeah, that's probably closer to the "true" beginning than Spawn #1, but all in the same ballpark (91-92).

 

 

[Mac Man]

And that's what I associate the Modern/Chrome era with - over-production, variants, limited editions, multiple covers, speculation, hype, creators as rock stars, etc.

 

Well, it's a good thing that we don't have the problem with that nowadays with variant covers... oh, wait. We do.

[whetteon]

And that's what I associate the Modern/Chrome era with - over-production, variants, limited editions, multiple covers, speculation, hype, creators as rock stars, etc.

 

Well, it's a good thing that we don't have the problem with that nowadays with variant covers... oh, wait. We do.

 

Oh snap!

 

But back to the topic at hand. I'd like to add Tick #1 Special Edition and Flaming Carrot #1 to the Copper Age Key list if they weren't already there. Both independents that had their own fan following and market franchise.