ShareThisThanks to the flood of reprints these days, the curtain is being pulled back on one of the strangest eras of comics: the 1950s.
That decade is one of extremes, primarily due to the draconian 1954 Comics Code. Knowledgeable fans frequently refer to "pre-Code" and "post-Code" comics, and the differences are often startling. For one thing, comic-book sales hit their peak in 1953, but post-Code they'd never approach those numbers again. Pre-Code we had EC Comics, still regarded today as some of the best ever created. But the Code was engineered by jealous competitors to put EC out of business, and had the incidental effect of reducing the remainder of the field to pabulum even kids couldn't swallow.
Another unusual aspect of the 1950s was the relative dearth of superheroes, a genre that dominated comic books in every other decade. The original big bang of leotards that began with Superman in 1938 had petered out by the late '40s, replaced by experiments in other genres: romance, teen-age humor, crime, Westerns, horror, you-name-it. The Code put a stop to the best-selling crime and horror, but it still took until the 1960s for the Spandex brigade to fill the void.
Which brings me, at long last, to this week's reviews. They look at collections of books from the '50s that are strange for a variety of reasons -- not the least being their names.
-- "Showcase Presents: Strange Adventures" Vol. 1 (DC Comics, $16.99) contains more than 500 pages from one of DC's premier 1950s sci-fi titles, reproduced in glorious black-and-white. It runs from March 1955 ("Strange Adventures" No. 53) to October 1956 (No. 74) -- which means it begins too late to contain one of the few continuing characters in this long-running anthology title, Captain Comet (1951-54). I asked DC why this was, and got a "no comment," so your guess is as good as mine.
Anyway, it's not a very entertaining collection, and should be read in small doses. Although these short sci-fi stories are tightly plotted by familiar names like Otto Binder and John Broome, they are stunningly repetitive, with the primary narrative being alien invasions thwarted by quick-thinking Earthmen. And the art is rendered in a house style that makes later superstars like Carmine Infantino and Gil Kane interchangeable with each other and lesser lights like Sy Barry.
But I found it fascinating from a cultural and historical perspective. This collection is a snapshot of middle America's mores, attitudes and scientific understanding in the mid-1950s. And I learned a lot.
For example, I discovered that kids today know more about basic physics -- especially gravity and nuclear fusion -- than adults did then. And that we were very impressed with the H-bomb, which could re-ignite suns, grant strange abilities and was (implausibly) a bulwark to hostile alien races who had mastered interstellar travel. Oh, and that most aliens look like us with bad facial prostheses (so as not to scare kids) and were all telepathic (since there was no time in these short stories to hurdle the language barrier).
There's more that's just fun, like DC's fixation on apes (there are at least two "gorillas in space" stories). And while some of the scientific facts on which each story turns are valid, the wrong ones -- comic-book pseudo-science -- can be worth a chuckle.
-- "Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Strange Tales" Vol. 2 ($59.99) collects genuine pre-Code horror books ("Strange Tales" Nos. 11-20, 1952-53) -- so why does an "approved by the Comics Code" star appear on each of the covers?
Because, grasshopper, there was a 1948 Comics Code -- the first attempt by the industry to self-regulate, and placate the unholy alliance of preachers, politicians and publicity-seekers screaming to "protect the children" through the 1940s and early 1950s. Atlas (today's Marvel Comics) was a signatory of that earlier, weaker Code. But it was apparently strong enough (or Atlas was jittery enough) that none of the stories found herein would scare a pre-schooler.
But it does contain some early stories by Stan Lee (later co-creator of Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, et al.) and artwork by later Marvel stars (Gene Colan, George Tuska, Joe Sinnott, Werner Roth), later DC stars (Russ Heath, Jim Mooney, Mike Sekowsky, Sid Greene) and some 1940s holdovers (Carl Burgos, Bernie Krigstein, Bill Everett). Plus the ubiquitous Sy Barry, of course.
Toss in an informative foreword by 1950s comic expert Michael Vassallo, and it's good enough for my bookshelf.
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)
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