Wall 1 Erin Wall English IV Period 6 Ms.

Bell 3 September 2013 Comic Books & Their History A comic book is a form of entertainment that includes chronologically placed pictures accompanied by dialogue and narration. Comic books are one of five art forms originating in the United States. (Language Arts With Ms.Bell) These graphic novels were introduced to America during the late 1800s containing everyday language and slang while appealing to modern pop culture. Although still commonly overlooked, the comic book was made widely known during the 1960s when two popular publishers, Marvel and Detective Comics, dominated the industry. Previously Marvel had been known as Timely Comics, followed by Atlas Comics. Most comic book fanatics refer to these phases of graphic novels as ages: The Golden Age (1938-1956), Silver (1956-1971), Bronze (1971-1980), Iron (1980-1987) and Modern (1987 to Present). (Ching, Albert) During the Golden Age, many comic traditions were set forth. In 1933, Harry Wildenberg and Max C. Gaines formatted the future of comic books. In 1938 Jerome Siegal and Joseph Shuster created the superhero genre through the introduction of Superman. Later, Batman was introduced by detective Comics in 1939. These led to the creation of superheroes such as Wonder Woman, The Flash, The Green Lantern, and Captain America. But as World War II ended, this golden age ended as well.

Wall 2 The Silver Age came when World War II ended, and comic books had little purpose with much competition from the television. On top of that, critics of the graphic novels claimed that they were corrupting the minds of innocent children with violence. During the 1960s that began to change when superheroes with an imperfection were created such as The Hulk and Spiderman. After nationalism through Captain America, these new outsiders conveyed the feelings of Americans during the Vietnam War. The Fantastic Four was created by Marvel which included villains and bickering heroes and the contest of good versus evil. The Silver Age was ended when Steve Rodgers abandoned Captain America. The Bronze Age was characterized by the shift from social issues to an emphasis on art and form. Critics wanted better art, and authors abandoned content for appearance. The experiments continued as sales declined, and the Academy of Comic Books was created with the purpose of making it to the motion picture. Both Marvel and Detective Comics licensed their creations out to television. The Iron Age consisted of questioning superheroes mortality and the figurative deaths of many comics such as Captain Marvel and Batman. Although the genre of comic books was almost completely dismantled, revenue was raised by increasing comic prices; initially making comics a subculture. In the late 1980s, during the modern age, comics became a collectors item when they were being reissued. Marvel made a break for it in the early 1990s with their new hit X-Men that sold 8.2 million copies. The graphics and new technology contributed to reinstating the life of previous comics. Comics continue to emerge in commercial culture to this day.

Wall 3 I. The History of Batman In 1939, Batman was introduced to the public by Bob Kane. Although slow at first, within a year, Kane developed a mature Batman. (Batman Publication History) Unusually, Kane single-handedly took the credit for the creation of Batman. Soon, Kane combined his art with the written works of Bill Finger. They submitted their creation to Detective Comics, who published them enthusiastically. Finger was slow in his creations, but was later hired directly to Detective Comics but still created scripts for Batman. During the Golden Age, Batman killed most of his opponents and was very ruthless. National, another publisher suggested creating a sidekick for batman. And thus Robin was born. When the Silver Age came around, and critics claimed comics to be too violent for the innocent, Batman changed his focus. Rather than hunting criminals to kill them, he investigated and became more of a detective role. (Batman Publication History) By day he was a Deputy for Gotham City, and a hero at night. His comics were now sciencefiction based, involving vast trips through outer space. II. More about Bob Kane and Bill Finger On October 24, 1915, Bob Kane was born in New York. Kane entered the comic industry in 1936, at the age of twenty-one. Free-lancing material to Jerry Igers comic studio, Kane later helped create one of the first comic packages in high demand. When Detective Comics became interested in the high demand of action comics, Kane took a chance and introduced the beginning of Batman. He asked for Bill Fingers opinion, and took many aspects of advice into his creation. At the time, Bill Finger was a

Wall 4 shoe salesman with only a dream of writing. But together, Kane and Finger created a legend, which would survive through the continuous ages of comics. III. Batman Broken City Summary Batman, the continuous superhero is in disguise. When darkness overcomes Gotham city, Batman is there to fight crime. In Broken City, written by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, Batman investigates the murder of Elizabeth Lupo. A killer known as Killer Croc is the primary suspect. Batmans theory is that it is Elizabeth Lupos brother Angel in disguise. He violently interrogates many people associated with Lupo such as Margo Farr, her boyfriend. (Broken City) Crispus Allen, a Gotham city detective assists Batman in his search for justice. Eventually the two find out it was Elizabeths son being irresponsible with a weapon, but was too afraid to come forward. Batman still takes down Killer Croc and leaves him for dead. IV. Opinion on Broken City I have always been a fan of Batman movies. I did not expect the comic to completely resemble any of the movies, and my prediction was correct. Much more graphic sexually and violently then I expected, the Batman comic was no interest of mine. Although it was nice to sit down and finally experience Batman in the written form, I was quite unimpressed. The placement of the dialogue was quite confusing, not to mention it was almost too direct. There was not enough elaboration on what was being expressed in the pictures and graphics. I received only a very general idea of what was occurring.

Wall 5 I do have to give it to the team of authors Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso for sticking to the true batman. They portrayed him as moral and just, which are extremely important in the founding characteristics of Batman. The tension and drama, was definitely depicted well in the artwork. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but I probably would not voluntarily take the time to read one of Batmans comics. Although maybe it was just the written work I did not prefer. Perhaps I will try another authors comic to compare the two. In conclusion, comic books have a very long and complex history. They have made an extremely large impact dating back to World War II when Captain America became a form of nationalism in the rise against Hitler. They have been the middle ground between picture books and written novels. The idea of superheroes continues into this modern age, not necessarily in comics, but in television. People will forever remember where it all originated in the great works of artists and script writers. The concept of superheroes continues to prosper, portraying morals and values such as responsibility and good citizenship. Although I personally may not enjoy some of them, I fully believe comics can instill morals and values of American culture.

Wall 6 Works Cited Name of site. Version number. Publisher. Date. Access date. http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Publication_History. Publication history unknown. September 2, 2013. http://www.languageartswitmsbell.com/comic-book-research-seniors.html. Ms.Bell. 2013. September 2, 2013. http://livescience.com/03263. Ching, Albert. June 2010. September 2, 2013. Azzarello, Brian and Risso, Eduardo. Batman Broken City. New York: Detective Comics. 2004.