Episode Five: "The Empire, Long Divided, Must Unite": The Story of the Three Kingdoms
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
Release Date: 10/27/2024
Episode 21: The Early History of the Dutch Comics Industry
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss the beginnings of the Dutch comics industry from 1493, when an imprisoned Dutch nobleman drew a comic strip in one of his letters, to March 15, 1940, when the Netherlands officially surrendered to the invading Germans in the Second World War. Along the way, I talk about Dutch racism--which lordalmighty is prevalent in pre-WW2 Dutch comics--the notable early Dutch comics artists, the Second Boer War, the first Dutch comic book (which happens to be a really sexist dystopia), the Dutch firing shots at British children's comics, a lot of comics which were intended for...
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Episode 20: Detective Comics #27 and the Batman
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this epsiode I discuss Detective Comics #27, the issue in which Batman debuted. I talk about the background behind the creation of Batman, why Batman's original artist was a genuinely bad person, the various artists who contributed to Batman's success in the first decade or two of his existence, the various characters and texts which inspired the creation of Batman, how much of a killer vigilante Batman was in his first dozen or so appearances, the changes Robin wrought upon Batman and his stories, and about the Gothic and why it applies to these early Batman stories.
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Episode 19: "Don Catarino" and the Early Years of the Mexican Comic Book Industry
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss the beginning and early years of the Mexican comic book industry, from its precursor among the Nahuatl-writing Mexica of the Aztec Empire to the appearance of Jose Tomas de Cuellar and Jose Maria Villasana's comic book Rosa y Federico to the Golden Age of Mexican comics in the 1930s. Along the way, I discuss some scholarly controversies (i.e., historical events that historians, critics, and scholars vehemently disagree about), tobacco companies' cigarette cards, the creation of the calaveras, the long slow effort of Mexican cartoonists to escape the shadow...
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Episode 18: Wonder Comics #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss Fox Comics' Wonder Comics #1, which featured the infamous Superman rip-off "Wonder Man." I talk about Victor S. Fox, the lawsuit that resulted from Wonder Comics #1, DC's Golden Age litigiousness, the heroic archetypes of the Golden Age, Shakespeare's sources for Hamlet, "Shoggoths in Bloom," the screen personae of Leslie Howard and Douglas Fairbanks, and whether originality is the only (or most important) virtue.
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Episode 17: Dominguin #1 and the Beginning of the Spanish Comic Book Industry
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss the early years of the Spanish comic book industry. I begin in the 1870s, after the downfall of Isabella II (Sexenio Democratico represent!), when loosened press laws led to, among other things, the first Spanish magazine to publish a comic strip. From there it's on to a litany of Spanish comics, some of which actually look really good, and Spanish artists, a lot of whom were clearly quite talented and made some darn attractive-looking comics. I end in the late 1920s, when Spanish comics were beginning to soar but had not yet reached the Golden Age which would be...
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Episode 16: Detective Comics #20
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss the debut, in Detective Comics #20 (on-sale date Sept. 7, 1938), of the Crimson Avenger. I place the Crimson Avenger in the chronological context of the comics in which he appeared. I discuss my definition of what a superhero is, describe the seventeen elements which can make up a superhero, and discuss the fuzzy logic and continuum approach I use when discussing who is and isn't a superhero. I discuss why the Crimson Avenger isn't so much a comic book superhero as he is a pulp superhero, putting him in the context of the many other pulp superheroes who...
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Episode 15: Favorite Comic #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss the British comic paper Favorite Comic #1 and why it's important: because it featured "Victor Brand," a series about the Sherlock Holmes-like detective Victor Brand and his intelligent monkey chauffeur, leg-man, bodyguard, and general assistant Jacko. I discuss the history of the portrayal of apes in Western culture, from ugly and malicious in the time of Classical Greece to supernaturally evil in the Middle Ages to the "rape ape" of the 17th and 18th centuries to the Rousseauvian "Noble Savage" and finally to heroes, which began with Favorite...
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Episode 14: Funny Pages #21
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I describe the circumstances around the publication of Funny Pages #21, the people involved in its publication, what's inside it, and the sole important strip in the issue: the one introducing Paul Gustavson's The Arrow. The Arrow is a killer vigilante, so I discuss the cultural context for that. The Arrow is an angry killer vigilante, and I discuss that. And I argue that the Arrow--the first non-DC superhero to appear after Superman's debut--is historically important, because he established that independent superheroes--that is, superheroes who weren't published...
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Episode 13: Corriere dei Piccoli #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I describe the history of the Italian comics industry up until 1937. I begin with Cesare Lombroso, the famous criminologist, because of course I begin there. Why wouldn't I? I discuss his daughter Paola and her various contributions to society and good works, which happens to include being the person most responsible for the first Italian comic book, Il Corriere dei Piccoli. I discuss the contents of that issue, the fraught question of word balloons vs bottom captions, the various comic strips which appeared in Il Corriere dei Piccoli over the next several years...
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Episode 12: "Tough is putting mildly the treatment you're gonna get!" Action Comics #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss Action Comics #1 and its contents, including the fabulous new character find of 1938: Superman! I discuss what led up to the publication of Action Comics #1, how the mob and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia were responsible for it, what the other strips besides "Superman" were in this issue and if they're any good (surprise--the Zatara strip is actually pretty good!), the state of science fiction in April 1938, and what the appeal of Superman was!
info_outlineIn this episode I describe the early history of the Chinese comic book industry--specifically the lianhuanhua industry--from its beginning in 1899 to its first end during the Cultural Revolution.
I discuss the history of pictorial communication in pre-modern China; the influence of lithography on Chinese publishing; the Romance of the Three Kingdoms; the "Four Famous Female Roles," i.e. the four major lianhuanhua writer/artists of the 1930s; The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple; Lu Xun; and Mao's opinion on lianhuanhua.