I have started reading "Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Scare and How It Changed America" by David Hajdu. It details a lot on the people involved in this movement, and how they played a part in the rise of comics. So far I have learned that comics roughly began appearing in newspaper as small strips, depicting stories about lower-class delinquents. They were a new art form targeted towards the proletariat, catered to their taste and thus despised by the more sophisticated middle and higher class members of the society. Throughout the ages comic books and comic strips were the go-to source of reading material for children. As the book describes, it was a way of escapism for children, and a way of rebel against their parents without severe consequences, "Uninhibited, shameless, frequently garish and crude, often shocking and sometimes excessive, these crime, horror and romance comics provided young people of the early postwar years with a means of defying and escaping the mainstream culture of the time..." (p6). Comics did not have any strict censorship laws or regulations to constrict them of their content. Therefore they were free and and opened doors to all kinds of possibilities. The comics industry welcomed young and new artist-writers into its arms, and embraced their ideas and creativity. The Sunday supplements became a source of inspiration and expose to art for a generation of great comic creators, such as Jerry Robinson, Creig Flessel and the legend himself, Will Eisner.
Reading this book made me realize how powerful comics' influence has been on those people. They were all captivated by the newspaper comic strips at a young age, and it pushed them to pursue a career in comics. I couldn't remember all the events that lead to famous characters like Superman or Batman, and I couldn't recall all the names of the people involved in the business. There were printers, publishers, editors, artists and writers, all contributing to the rise of comics during the early 1930s to 1940s. Though it was difficult remembering all the details, I now have a rough idea of what happened back in the days regarding comics. When nothing constrained it, comics flourished freely and wildly. It must have been a beautiful scene to behold.
Here's Xiao. Always good-looking.
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