Art Spiegelman once said that “comics are an invented language. They are a synthesis of verbal and visual language, because all of the visual elements are in place as part of a narrative construct.” Where does this invented language’s roots stem from? The history of the comic can be traced as far back as 1827 with Rudolph Topffer. This is when he created the first comic strip, but a decade later, he published “The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck”, and it is considered to be the very first comic book. Five years later it came all the way from Switzerland to America, being the first comic book published there, too.
However, it is also said that in 1895, Richard Outcault was the creator of the comic strip because of his original use of the balloon to contain dialogue in “Yellow Kid”. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the terms “comic strip” were renowned in America. Going back to a much earlier time, Benjamin Franklin supposedly created the first editorial comic called “Join or Die” that was published in an American news publication. It was to convince people to join what would be later known as the United States of America.
Aside from comic strips and editorial cartoons, when one thinks of comic books, the image of a tightly-suited superhero would typically come to mind. What of the history of superhero comic books? It is said that the archetype of the superhero was created in what is considered the “Golden Age” of comic books, a span of time stretching from late in the 1930’s to the earlier part of the 1950’s.
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It was in this Age that DC Comics made world history. DC Comics published the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1 in June of 1938. Superman is thought to be the first ever recorded superhero The geniuses behind Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, created a legacy that lives on to this day, and it all started with the first ever edition of Action Comics.
The cover of Action Comics #1 depicts a Herculean-type male in the center of the page wearing blue spandex with red boots, a red cape, red underwear over the pants, and a yellow shield-like symbol with a red “S” emblazoned on his chest. He is holding a damaged vehicle over his head while people run in fear. In fact, the cover of this first-ever issue has been looked at in comparison to Antonio del Pollailo’s Hercules Clubs the Hydra, a painting of tempera on wood.
Action Comics is the longest running DC Comics series, apart from another series entitled Detective Comics. Action Comics did go on a three month hiatus, though, in 1986, and then again in 1993.
The first Superman comic book is one of the most sought-after, and for excellent reason. It not only makes groundbreaking history with the debut of Superman, but is the prototype for a long line of super heroes, such as Batman, Wonder Woman, and even the animated characters such as Mighty Mouse.
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