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Explore the evolution of comics from the early days of Little Lulu to the rise of underground comix. Discover iconic characters, parodies, and the social and political satire that shaped the comic book industry. From superheroes to controversial disability cartoons, this comprehensive guide showcases the diverse world of comics.
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COMICS, COMIX, & THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen
The first comic book appeared in 1933,as shown here in Little Lulu. • The cost of each comic book was a dime (10 cents). • You can tell the age of a comic book by looking at the original price. • Today there is a huge discrepancy between the price on the cover and the actual price of the collectible comic book.
Captain Marvel • The original Captain Marvel was published by Fawcett Comics and outsold Superman in the 1940s.
Shazam! Ironically, DC Comics in the 1970s purchased the original Captain Marvel character, but could not put his name on a front cover. So, the comic was called Shazam (after the wizard who granted Captain Marvel his powers).
Today’s Comics • …range from simple domestic humor such as The Family Circus to the sophisticated social and political satire of Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury. • Cathy takes on the problems of single professional women. • BC, The Wizard of Id, Broom Hilda, Zippy and many more offer a combination of simple amusement and allegorical meaning.
UNDERGROUND COMIX • The term comix is a “co-mix” of image and words. • Underground comix deal with the underbelly of society as they make fun of drugs, sex, violence, racism, elitism, blasphemy, risque music, body functions, and crude language.
Robert Crumb—“the Father of Underground Comix.” • The distorted heads and enlarged feet of Crumb’s drawings came from his LSD-distorted view of people and symbols.
Gilbert Shelton-- another drug-inspired underground comix writer of the 1960s • His well-received parody of the 1960s hippie drug culture was designed not to preach, but to entertain. • Shelton also created “Wonder Wart-Hog” as a parody of superhero comics.
ABOVEGROUND COMICS • At the opposite end of the spectrum from underground comix are the coffee table comic books: • Joe Anderson’s Bugs Bunny: Fifty Years and Only One Grey Hare • Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness • Walt Kelly’s Pluperfect Pogo • Bill Watterson’s The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
MIDDLEGROUND COMICS Between the underground comix and the coffee table comics, mainstream collections include: • Scott Adams’s The Dilbert Principle • Charles Schulz’s Happiness Is a Warm Puppy, Home Is on Top of a Dog House, I Need All the Friends I Can Get, and Security is a Thumb and a Blanket
JOHN CALLAHAN’S DISABILITY CARTOONS • John Callahan was paralyzed in an automobile accident shortly after his 21st birthday. He draws controversial cartoons about disabilities. • One of his most famous shows a dark-skinned street beggar carrying a sign that reads, “Please help me. I am blind and black, but not musical.”
In another cartoon, a man with two prosthetic hands is ordering a drink, and the bartender says, “Sorry Sam, you can’t hold your liquor.” • When under the title, “The Alzheimer Hoedown,” he showed confused couples unable to “Return to the girl that you just left,” he received an angry letter from the St. Louis chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.”
Members of the Hall of Fame Sponsored by the International Museum of Cartoon Art Include the following, each shown with one of their most famous cartoons:
Walt Kelly’s “Simple J. Malarkey” alluded to Senator McCarthy.When newspapers said they would no longer show Malarkey’s head, Kelly placed a brown paper bag over his head, which added to the joke.
Richard Oucault’s “The Yellow Kid” and “Buster Brown and Tige”
JOHNNY HART CARTOON • When the following Johnny Hart strip was run in The Arab News, both the feature editor and the editor-in-chief were sentenced to lashing and prison terms for failing to recognize the blasphemy. • Their sentences were reduced after the incident caused an international furor.
Arizona’s Governor Evan Meacham • In Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury there is a Mecham-like character who reacts to claims that he is insensitive: • “Lies! Lies spread by queers and pickanninies.”
THE GRAPHIC NOVEL • Graphic novels have become a major part of modern literature. • Many people first took notice of them in 1986 when Art Spiegelman won the Pulitzer Prize for his Maus. • As shown in the next slide, he has continued to work with modern tragedies.
