Which one of these comic-book eras was the most wholesome overall?

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Maxirad

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  • Golden Age of Comic Books
  • Silver Age of Comic Books
  • Bronze Age of Comic Books
  • Modern Age of Comic Books
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There was also a kind of hysteria among adults and parents in the 1950’s with respect to ‘horror comics’ that they thought were corrupting the youth, which led directly to the ‘comics code authority’ which is no longer in effect these days, I’d wager.
 
When I was a boy 10 years old in 1950, my mother gave me $1 allowance every week. Comic books cost 10 cents so I bought 10 comic books every week. “Little Lulu” or “Uncle Scrooge” comic books, which were typical of the ones I loved, were in no way unwholesome. So I would vote for this age.
Decades later I saw some comic books that made me shudder, because they were so repulsive for me as a Christian.
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By the way, if this isn’t off the topic, I loved some comic strips which were current even earlier than this, including the Katzenjammer Kids and Fearless Fosdick comic strips. These weren’t comic books, but no doubt were ancestors of them.
 
Comic books began by reprinting newspaper comic strips. Later, original material was produced. The story of EC Comics deserves special mention. They began by producing Picture Stories from the Bible. They would then produce original material. The horror comics were needlessly graphic. One artist was later ashamed of the work he did. Kids at the time could afford 10 cents. The Comics Code Authority was established in 1954. Around the time, other publishers told readers about their own standards. These standards were designed to eliminate objectionable material before publication. The original Captain Marvel was extremely popular.

Today, comics roll in the mud to varying degrees. Nothing positive has happened in terms of real creativity. Artists draw quickly to turn in more pages for more pay. I still follow the comics but, aside from a few exceptions, I stopped buying comics in 1985.
 
Your early tastes were excellent.

Yes, those strips, and many others, preceded the development of comic books.
 
Yes, I have heard something of that. 1971, SPIDER-MAN 96-98. A case of legalism vs good intentions, the Comic Code Authority vs the US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare. HEW asked Marvel to do an anti-drug themed story, as a public service. The CCA forbade drugs in the comics (mostly). Lee talked with the publisher and did the right thing, per the HEW request. The CCA refused to allow their seal on those comics. Which were well received. And things returned to Silver Age normalcy.
 
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Define wholesome.

the silver-age was the most family friendly. To the point of being schlock.
 
My favorite comic characters of all - by my favorite comic writer/artist of all - Carl Barks.
 
edwest211 said:
The horror comics were needlessly graphic.
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They were quite graphic for the time, but I remember a book I found many years ago in a library which contained reprints of many of the most famous of the EC horror comics along with commentary and history about William Gaines, the publisher. To make a long story short, he presented the original cover artwork as submitted by the artist as compared to the published cover that was deemed offensive, and he himself had significantly toned it down. So I guess how graphic it was is a matter of perspective, like so many things.
 
EC was toning down the art work, in reaction to the rising tide of criticism.
 
It’s been a long time since I read it, and I never had my own copy of the book, but my memory is that he made that particular change for other reasons. But my memory is nowhere near infallible so take it for what it’s worth…

ETA: Long time in this case is well over 40 years.
 
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Heck, my memory fails at 40 weeks.

But I have read the tales of EC, in my comics history books many times. And ALTER EGO, the semi-pro fanzine of the golden-silver age, ran a multi-part treatment of the whole CCA/SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT saga, a couple of years ago (someones Phd dissertation, adapted). I might be able to find that.
 
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That sounds like a really good read. If you find a link for it I would appreciate a heads up. What I do remember of the whole EC/CCA thing still makes me angry. Especially stuff like the attempt to ban “Judgement Day”.
 
The 'zines are around here somewhere. Whether they are generally available, I don’t know.
 
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