So What Exactly Are We Talking About When We Talk About the Bronze Age? 2 2

[Zonker]

In the category of "more adult themes," I didn't really talk about profanity (partly cause it still seems stupid to equate adult with cursing, but that's another rant). I've been curious for some time about the gradual loosening of restrictions regarding language in CCA-approved books. Here's a cover that surprised me when I first studied the slogans on the signs:

[Zonker]

"Give a Damn" huh? Does anyone remember any clearly Silver Age books that allowed the use of the word Damn? A GCD search of story titles suggests there were no code-approved books that contained Damn as a part of a story's title up until "Kingdom of the Damned" in 1971.

[jools&jim]

 

I think it's also instructive to make the somewhat obvious point that comics were merely a (small) subset of the broader culture, wherein many of these same trends (more mature themes, leftist political content, more open sexuality, social relevance and protest, shifts in management philosophy, the rise of maverick "auteurism", etc.) had already made their way into popular entertainment via movies and music (and, to a lesser extent, television). What was happening at Marvel and DC in 1970 and 1971 would have been unthinkable without the cultural upheaval, on a wider scale, which transpired from 1967 to 1969. As they had done in past eras, comics in the '70s were reacting to, and emulating, existing trends in art and entertainment, not setting them.

 

The tendency in art, as in culture in general, is always towards greater and greater license. In that sense, the Bronze Age of comics is roughly analogous to Rock-and-Roll post Sgt. Pepper (with its newfound "seriousness" and artistic pretensions) and the birth of "independent" film and New Hollywood in the late '60s. That comics were lagging behind these trends isn't surprising; what's surprising is that they followed them at all, and did it successfully enough for us to still care...

[Zonker]

I think it's also instructive to make the somewhat obvious point that comics were merely a (small) subset of the broader culture, wherein many of these same trends (more mature themes, leftist political content, more open sexuality, social relevance and protest, shifts in management philosophy, the rise of maverick "auteurism", etc.) had already made their way into popular entertainment via movies and music (and, to a lesser extent, television). What was happening at Marvel and DC in 1970 and 1971 would have been unthinkable without the cultural upheaval, on a wider scale, which transpired from 1967 to 1969. As they had done in past eras, comics in the '70s were reacting to, and emulating, existing trends in art and entertainment, not setting them.

 

The tendency in art, as in culture in general, is always towards greater and greater license. In that sense, the Bronze Age of comics is roughly analogous to Rock-and-Roll post Sgt. Pepper (with its newfound "seriousness" and artistic pretensions) and the birth of "independent" film and New Hollywood in the late '60s. That comics were lagging behind these trends isn't surprising; what's surprising is that they followed them at all, and did it successfully enough for us to still care...

 

Couldn't agree more! (thumbs u

 

I remember reading in my teens one of David Gerrold's behind-the-scenes books on the making of the original Star Trek series. He recalled that the network censors nixed one of his plotlines because it wasn't acceptable to have "big business" be a villain on commercial TV at the time. And that was the late 1960s, and in a futuristic sf setting, to boot. The culture really did loosen up, or the counterculture became mainstream, take your pick, in the late 1960s, with music, then film, then TV and commercial comics bringing up the rear.

 

And at the risk of stretching the analogy too far, by the late 1970s (post-Jaws), you had the rise of the summer blockbuster crowding out more serious films, and in comics the dominance of super-heroes over other genres.

[bronze johnny]

When we discuss what the BA is, let's not forget the rise of diverse comic book characters. (I've included a one of my earlier threads discussing this below)

 

As a Bronze Age collector I could not help notice the lack of discussion concerning what I believe to be one of the most important historical developments to ever occur during the Bronze Age. This development is one of the great trends to ever flow through the history of the American Comic Book. It is the introduction and rise of comic book characters who are of a different racial and/or ethnic background.. America had become a more diverse society during the 1970's. And so did that great American art form, the comic book.

 

While the Siver Age re-introduced the superhero as a comic book genre, it was the Bronze Age that diversified her/him.

 

But the Silver Age deserves credit for introducing the Black Panther in Fantastic Four #52 (1967) T'Challa is the first Black Superhero (I do recognize that T'Challa was initially a nemisis for the Fantastic Four). It is also noteworthy that the Falcon, Marvel's second Black Superhero, later appears with one of the great symbols of our nation, in Captain America 117 in 1969, and later teams up with Cap during the early years of the Bronze Age.

 

DC joins the trend in 1971 by introducing the comic book company's first Black Superhero, John Stewart, in Green Lantern #87.

 

It is not until 1972 that the diversity trend really starts to take shape when Marvel introduces Luke Cage, the first Black Superhero to star in his own comic book in 1972. Red Wolf, the first Native American comic book character, is given his own book by Marvel, albeit for a short run. The trend continues when the Black Panther stars in Jungle Action #5. And we must not forget Shang Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, who begins a long run after first appearing in Marvel's Special Marvel Edition #15. The mid-seventies sees the introduction of a number of other diverse characters that include Black Goliath and Omega the Unknown. And in 1977, Black Lightning, DC's first Black superhero, is given his own book.

 

In order to see the significance of the Bronze Age Trend of Diversity and what it has meant to the American comic book, it is enough to just look around today and see the diversity trend continuing. The same above mentioned characters that first appeared during the Bronze Age may not still be around all the time and are not considered major characters by most comic book collecters. Nevertheless, the diversity trend that began during the Bronze Age still shines through the many diverse characters that continue to appear and re-appear throughout the "American Comic Book Universe" today. And no time prior to the Bronze Age did this trend exist. As previously mentioned, America was becoming a much more diversified nation during the 1970's and the Bronze Age of Comics became the first era in "comicbookdom" to reflect this trend.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2009 by bronzejonny

[nmtg9]

I think it's right to look at this in the broader social picture.

 

In the late sixties things changed - MLK and Kennedy assassinated, Civil Rights Riots, Student Riots in Paris, Brian Epstein died (which changed Lennon), Lennon met Yoko, musicians stating dying, Sharon Tait slaughtered.

 

These things changed Western Culture. Music, Film (Easy Rider being the start), Literature, and COMICS.

 

I find the late sixties/early seventies a fascinating period where the (hippy?) mood changed significantly and shaped the way we look at things today.

 

Great thread. Neil

[Zonker]

That's a good point. As you note, comics did start to introduce non-white characters in the 1960s, but most of them were either tokens, or were introduced solely to make a point. Jackie Johnson was part of Sgt. Rock's Easy Company in the 1960s, Gabe Jones was a Howling Commando for Sgt. Fury, there was also Johnny Cloud, the Navajo air man, and the Black Panther you covered. Probably because the Civil Rights era was a late Fifties / early Sixties event, comic books had a longer lead time to get on board.

 

I'm not too familiar with Falcon or Black Goliath, but the John Stewart GL and the now-better-forgotten Legion of Super-Heroes member Tyroc were introduced to make various points about their Black-ness. I remember when Black Lightning was introduced, they tried to stress that he was a super-hero who just happened to be Black, rather than a Black-Super-Hero. But nevertheless part of his super-hero disguise was that huge Afro and fake jive speech pattern.

 

It probably wasn't until the New X-Men that you had a racially-diverse cast just because, rather than to make some heavy-handed point about the ethnic group each member "represented." Supposedly Dave Cockrum, a big Blackhawks fan, had the idea for reproducing the Blackhawks member-from-every-nation idea as a super-hero team. Then of course that became the template for super-hero team revamps for the next decade... quite successfully with New Teen Titans, and quite stupidly with Justice League Detroit (featuring Gypsy & Vibe)

[joe_collector]

As they had done in past eras, comics in the '70s were reacting to, and emulating, existing trends in art and entertainment, not setting them.

 

In some ways yes, but in others, some BA books were leading the way, and just ahead of US mass market pop culture.

 

Sure, GL/GA 76 was in response to the 60's flower power movement, and the Easy Rider bookend to the hippy movement, but remember that comics were (at the time) a mass market medium, and there were trends at Marvel that only showed up in studio movies a year or more down the line.

 

Comics creators must have been at the cutting edge of pop culture at the time, getting their influences from small indy and international creators, rather than following the US media.

[joe_collector]

It is not until 1972 that the diversity trend really starts to take shape when Marvel introduces Luke Cage, the first Black Superhero to star in his own comic book in 1972. Red Wolf, the first Native American comic book character, is given his own book by Marvel, albeit for a short run. The trend continues when the Black Panther stars in Jungle Action #5. And we must not forget Shang Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, who begins a long run after first appearing in Marvel's Special Marvel Edition #15.

 

And don't forget about the Women's Movement, with Shanna, The Cat and Night Nurse making a short run effort at introducing new female headliners to the fold, along with giving the Black Widow co-headliner status with Daredevil.

[jools&jim]

Comics creators must have been at the cutting edge of pop culture at the time, getting their influences from small indy and international creators, rather than following the US media.

 

Good point. I'm not sure how many mainstream artists and writers at the time were "true" '60s radicals and hippies (Denny O'Neil was a Navy vet!), but many of them were clearly aspiring bohemians, and young and hip enough to be keenly aware of the counterculture (if not always genuine products of it), which as early as 1966 was already emerging (slowly) into the mainstream (e.g., The Smothers Brothers show; Laugh-In; Hunter S. Thompson's "Hell's Angels" and his late '60s articles for Esquire and other respectable magazines; Roger Corman's low budget biker movies which preceded "Easy Rider" by several years; the debut of Rolling Stone magazine in 1967; John Boorman's extremely dark, and extremely strange "Point Blank" -- a major studio nouveau-noir thriller starring Lee Marvin -- talk about anti-heroes! -- also in '67; etc., etc.).

 

So yeah...the comics guys were definitely paying attention and absorbing influences from a variety of sources; my point is that a lot of the stuff they would bring to comics had already been happening for several years in other media -- mostly in the underground, with occasional (but influential) instances of it bubbling up through the bong water and into the mainstream...

[nmtg9]

occasional (but influential) instances of it bubbling up through the bong water into the mainstream...

 

Nice point Mike. Neil

[Gatsby77]

I would also add the Diana Prince run of Wonder Woman to the women's movement. Also, I don't think you can over-estimate Denny O'Neil's writing in ushering in new, darker themes to comics (Green Lantern, Batman/Detective).

[Zonker]

I've been meaning to re-read the Diana Prince issues. From what I remember, the de-powered Wonder Woman wasn't quite the female empowerment poster gal, instead being somewhat dependent upon the men around her: her mentor I-Ching certainly, but also private investigators / boyfriends Tim Trench and Jonny Double. Those bondage covers didn't really help the cause either.

 

At least initially, my impression was they were trying to chase the Diana Riggs - Avengers fad, moreso than any political statement.

 

But they did wind up the run in #204 with a typically heavy-handed "Special! Women's Lib Issue" banner on the cover.

Edited November 8, 2009 by Zonker

[joe_collector]

At least initially, my impression was they were trying to chase the Diana Riggs - Avengers fad, moreso than any political statement.

 

I think it was a bit from Column A and some from Column B. Remember, back when The Avengers debuted, Emma Peel was (given the times) a feminist character, as was Riggs in real-life.

[jools&jim]

 

Diana Rigg...

 

[nmtg9]

Diana Rigg A friend of mine shared a flat with her nephew. She didn't come round dressed like that though

[SolitaireOne]

All I can say is WOW :o :o Incredibly well-written Zonker. Certainly makes me want to delve into some research and my early 70's books to see what I can find.

Agreed! (thumbs u (thumbs u

Very nicely done, Z -- Great Thread!

[HD]

---snip--

 

At least initially, my impression was they were trying to chase the Diana Riggs - Avengers fad, moreso than any political statement.

 

---snip---

I believe this is the best single characterization of the bronze age. At the time, society was interested in Evel Knievel and the occult, so Marvel came up with Ghost Rider. Chasing faddish culture even made its way into romance comics, which were still doing well at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Notice the fashions and the "hip" language that suddenly invaded the genre. Unfortunately, the end result was was either hysterical or embarassing depending on how well you know how young people normally dressed and spoke then. The writers were clearly showing their age.

[Zonker]

---snip--

 

At least initially, my impression was they were trying to chase the Diana Riggs - Avengers fad, moreso than any political statement.

 

---snip---

I believe this is the best single characterization of the bronze age. At the time, society was interested in Evel Knievel and the occult, so Marvel came up with Ghost Rider. Chasing faddish culture even made its way into romance comics, which were still doing well at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Notice the fashions and the "hip" language that suddenly invaded the genre. Unfortunately, the end result was was either hysterical or embarassing depending on how well you know how young people normally dressed and spoke then. The writers were clearly showing their age.

 

That's interesting... I would have thought that in all ages of comics, you could have said the same thing as has often been said of another pop medium: "Imitation is the sincerest form of Television!"

 

The whole Golden Age was predicated on chasing the costumed super-powered crimefighter fad introduced in Action #1. Arguably, the Silver Age was DC repeating its super-scientific re-vamp recipe from the Flash over and over, while Marvel upped the ante with its super-heroes-with-problems formula.

 

But you may be on to something. By the mid-1960s, both Marvel & DC seemed to be constantly trying to find the next pop culture wave outside the comics medium to ride:

 

Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD was a response to James Bond & the Man from U.N.C.L.E

 

Deadman was lifted from The Fugitive (only Deadman's "1 armed man" had a hook!)

 

As mentioned, the Mod Diana Prince followed in Emma Peel's bootsteps.

 

Kamandi (though created years earlier) was clearly green-lit in hopes of cashing in on the Planet of the Apes.

 

I'm guessing The Exorcist made it thinkable for Marvel to launch a series called The Son of Satan.

 

Evel Knievel => Ghost Rider, as you mentioned (thumbs u

 

Barnabas Collins "Dark Shadows" => Tomb of Dracula?

 

Revisionist Westerns of the '70s => Jonah Hex?

 

Chariot of the Gods => The Eternals?

 

I'm sure there are many more...

[seanfingh]

 

This is an interesting hypothesis.