Every Day Is Special: Comic Books
Who doesn’t remember visiting old friends, experiencing exciting adventures, traveling to new worlds — all courtesy of that glorious art form known as the comic book?
First appearing in the United States in 1933, the comic book has remained a steadfast mainstay of literary entertainment for young and old alike.
Every Sept. 25, we celebrate National Comic Book Day.
The comic book industry launched into permanent national popularity in 1938 with the debut of Superman, which lead to a spate of appearances by other superheroes within the next several years: Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Justice Society of America, Captain America and others.
Though wildly popular, comic books were not met with universal acclaim. In fact, early on the industry endured severe backlash from those who believed comic books were corrupting the nation’s young.
One of the more virulent assessments came in a May 8, 1940 editorial in the Chicago Daily News:
“Badly drawn, badly written and badly printed — a strain on the young eyes and young nervous system — the effects of these pulp-paper nightmares is that of a violent stimulant.
“Their crude blacks and reds spoil a child’s natural sense of color; their hypodermic injection of sex and murder make the child impatient with better, though quieter, stories.
“Unless we want a coming generation even more ferocious than the present one, parents and teachers throughout America must band together to break the ‘comic’ magazine.”
The U.S. Senate investigated the relationship between comic books and juvenile delinquency and recommended the industry police itself or suffer governmental restrictions.
The content of comic books has migrated from superheroes to super villains to anti-heroes to the so-called “grim and gritty” comics which portrayed a more realistic and honest approach to their story lines.
Consumers have cycled from readers to collectors to speculators and back again to readers.
The product itself has become flashier and more gimmicky to accommodate the market, and it appears the comic book industry is here to stay.
1. Who was the first superhero sidekick to appear in comic books?
a. Aqualad
b. Robin
c. Batgirl
d. Kid Flash
2. Which superhero had his own chili recipe?
a. Captain America
b. The Punisher
c. Iron Man
d. Green Arrow
3. How many types of Kryptonite are there?
a. 3
b. 7
c. 12
d. 20
4. What is Superman’s favorite movie?
a. “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”
b. “Man and Superman”
c. “To Kill a Mockingbird”
d. “Metropolis”
5. With 8 million issues sold, this comic book issue is the world’s best-selling.
a. Superman #1
b. Batman #1
c. Wonder Woman #1
d. X-Men #1
6. Why are grawlixes used in comic books?
a. Censor words
b. Indicate thought instead of speech
c. Separate graphic panels
d. Introduce changes in scenes
7. How many Batcaves did Batman have?
a. 1
b. 5
c. 8
d. 14
8. What do The Falcon, Power Man and Spawn have in common?
a. The are all blind
b. They are all black
c. They began as villains and became superheroes
d. They are siblings
9. Who was the first costumed hero to appear in comic books?
a. The Phantom
b. The Avenger
c. The Green Hornet
d. Flash Gordon
10. Who was the first patriotic American hero in comic books?
a. The Shield
b. G. I. Joe
c. Captain America
d. Captain Marvel
- b. 2. d. 3. d. 4. c. 5. d. 6. a. 7. c. 8. b. 9. a. 10. a.