Comments on: What is the Bronze Age of comics?

By: Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor

Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:48:23 +0000

I’ve posted this “What is the Bronze Age of comics?” question over at the Marvel Masterworks Message Boards and the CBGXtra Forums to gather some additional opinions on the topic. (FYI, it seems to be working.)

By: Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor

Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:42:39 +0000

The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide refers to the period from 1946-56 as the Atom Age. The emergence of a separate designator for that period was probably the first chink in the broad, metal-named historical framework. I doubt total agreement will ever be reached by fandom on any of these ages. Still, I think exercises like this are useful (and good fun!), especially as I needed to define the scope of what Comics Bronze Age would be covering. Plus the history buff in me — that’s the field my academic work has been in — appreciates the marriage of my two favorite pastimes : )

By: Edo Bosnar

Edo Bosnar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:55:20 +0000

I suppose, but then it really starts to get almost silly – I mean using all of these archeological-type distinctions for ‘eras’ that lasted for a blink of an eye in the broader sweep of history (and no, I’m not taking this all that seriously, I know it’s all just good fun…)
Actually, looking at all of these discussions of the various comics “ages” over the past few years makes me think it might just be simplest to just classify them by decades (i.e. ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, etc.), since once you get down to it, it seems really hard to define what all of these “ages” mean to various readers – I mean, the same thing can be said of the Silver Age: most would say it began with the appearance of Barry Allen Flash, but that only applies to DC, since Marvel (& Charlton and so forth) only started seriously publishing super-hero comics again about 5-6 years later…
And what do you call that period between the decline of the Golden Age super-hero period (late ’40s) and the start of the Silver Age with the new Flash (i.e. the heyday of EC and other horror/crime/war/SF/romance comics)? Is that still the Golden Age? I would say not, but as you can tell by my previous comments, I tend to look at these things rather differently. Anyway, have to stop now, I’ve already eaten up enough of my all-too-short lunch break…

By: Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor

Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:16:08 +0000

Edo: Thanks for joining the discussion. There was definitely something different going on at Marvel in the late ’60s. I’m guessing when I adopt “official” definitions for this site, 1968-69 will be the Pre-Bronze Age, as these books are noticeably different than the ones that came before. As for comics from the early ’80s, I’m guessing I’ll still be defining them as Bronze, though there’s certainly a different flavor to these later Bronze books (Byrne’s FF, Simonson’s Thor, Miller’s Daredevil, The New Teen Titans, etc.) Perhaps Early Bronze and Late Bronze distinctions are necessary?

By: Edo Bosnar

Edo Bosnar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:27:41 +0000

I’m coming in to this discussion really late, but I only recently became aware of this site (like 2 days ago. sorry…)
Anyway, I find this whole ‘Bronze Age’ conundrum fascinating, and have followed the debates on various comic blogs over the past few years with great interest. Here’s my 2 cents for what it’s worth: I primarily take issue with 1970 as a generally-accepted clear-cut starting point. This may be valid for DC, but far from agreeing with the point made above that Marvel only entered the Bronze Age in 1973, I actually think the Bronze Age started earlier at Marvel – in my opinion, titles like the Avengers by Thomas & Buscema, and the last dozen or so X-men issues prior to going into reprints, also mainly handled by Thomas, are squarely in the Bronze Age. The same can also be said for Spider-man by the late 1960s. Even the later issues of Lee & Kirby’s FF already have this sort of ‘transitional’ feel to them.
As for when the Bronze Age ended, that seems trickier – and again, I think differs depending on the company. The titles put out by the new direct sales publishers are definitely post-Bronze. Granted, using DC’s ‘Crisis’ as an obvious break seems only fitting, but to me many of the pre-Crisis titles at DC seemed to have this post-Bronze Age ‘vibe’: for example, New Teen Titans, and, say, Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. Looking at Marvel, the Bronze Age seemed to end when John Byrne took over Fantastic Four. And when, reflecting trends in Hollywood at the time, more or less second-tier characters with questionable morals, like Wolverine and the Punisher, began to become A-listers.

By: Michael Cobb

Michael Cobb — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:25:39 +0000

How about “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” – this story was published in (I believe) 1986, ended the original run of both historic Superman titles, AND marked the retirement of Julius Schwartz.

I realize it somewhat covers the same territory / argument put forth here on behalf of Crisis, but it still seems a reasonable end-point.

By: Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor

Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Looking for more evidence of an editorial shift in the comics industry in 1970? In this week’s “Comic Book Legends Revealed” column, Brian Cronin points to a significant comics event that happened that year: DC discovered black people! I jest — but just a little. A reader survey conducted by the company that year targeted race relations as possible subject matter for future stories. Several other “relevancy” topics that were all the rage in the early Bronze Age — i.e., “national problems,” “city problems” and “pollution” — also made the survey.

By: Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor

Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:23:54 +0000

Jim:

As often as it comes up when researching the Bronze Age, it’s pretty clear 1968 marks the beginning of a transitional phase. Among the key events:

• An explosion of new titles from Marvel (made possible by their new distribution deal).

• Marvel experimenting with the magazine format (i.e., Spectacular Spider-Man) and avoiding the CCA.

• Two years before Kirby makes the jump, another key member of Marvel’s Silver Age stable — Steve Ditko — emerges at DC.

• Editorial changes at DC led to things like the “new” Wonder Woman and the return of horror to House of Mystery.

• Radical work from young guns Neal Adams and Jim Steranko helped redefine what a comic book could — and perhaps should — be.

It’s pretty clear that when the definitive history of the Bronze Age of comics is written, the Pre-Bronze years of 1968 and ’69 deserve a chapter of their own.

By: Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor

Andrew Wahl, Comics Bronze Age editor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:04:57 +0000

Arnold:

Thanks for stopping by Comics Bronze Age. I have a feeling this discussion is just the start of extended studies on the topic for me. I’m currently working on master’s degree in history, and, if I can get my adviser on board with the topic, I hope to delve much deeper into the Bronze Age in the year ahead. (And, if I do, don’t be surprised if I don’t come back to hit you up as a source!)

Cheers,
Andrew

By: Arnold T. Blumberg

Arnold T. Blumberg — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:45:01 +0000

Just a note saying thanks for taking a look at my work in comics history as part of your exploration. Nothing is set in stone, and I haven’t thought of the subject seriously in a while so my opinions may even have changed somewhat. But the debate rages on.

Regards,
Arnold