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When comics became mainstream in the early 20th century, they were considered a main source of entertainment to the masses. Compared to today comics, the artistry was typically basic and in most cases black and white. As technology increased so did the comics. Later on colors such as yellow began to appear in strips. An example of this would be the comic called "The Yellow Kid". This comic, compared to today’s standard, was very basic. Typically the message or joke that was being made was printed on the child's shirt.

Next Came the first of what we today consider "modern comics". The "Funnies" published a multipage bound book that consisted completely of comic strips. This was the first installment of many issues of this comic. "The Funnies" paved the way to modern comics such as "Superman" and "Batman". What separated these comics from the old strips such as "The Yellow Kid" is that the development of colors and styles evolved over the decades.

Today comics have come strides from their roots. Issues upon issues now have come out for famous characters such as "Superman" and "Batman". The style of comics have developed from the "Funnies" and "The Yellow Kid" to a glorification of the super human. The idea of the super human always rising up over evil has inspired many generations of comic book readers. There are different types and styles of comics that have a completely different style of super heroes; but in mainstream America, superheroes are the dominant medium. Now one can argue that the world interprets superheroes through other mediums other than comic books. In the past few years, comics have been developed from the paperback to the silver screen. Movies have been developed by new studios who are the owners of the copy write properties. So since there have been so many developments for comic books in the last decade, what holds for the future of comic books in the future?

Comments

J Chambliss said…
The relationship between the origins of the modern comic and today's character is an important point to keep in mind as we discuss the evolution of superhero characters. Are they changing? If so, how?

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