Episode 28: Tijuana Bibles
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode, I discuss the notorious Tijuana Bibles, the first pornographic comic books. Except that you can't really tell the story of the Tijuana Bibles without also covering several other topics, including the history of celebrity, a celebrity condottiero, Murasaki Shikibu, the first over-merchandised celebrity, Lord Byron fanfic, the history of fandom in the US, firefighting "buffs," Lindmania & Lisztmania, the 8 Most Important Moments in the History of Fanfiction, Judaism as a read/write tradition, the first Real Person Fanfic, the original Mary Sue, the history of Tijuana,...
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Episode 27: African Comics Before WW2
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
A somewhat scattershot (sorry) chronology of the development of comics and graphic narrative in the colonies and countries of Africa before the beginning of World War Two. In this episode I discuss Paleolithic Algerian rock art, Madagascaran funerary pole sculptures, the King of Cameroon making his own alphabet and the artists who helped him and went on to make proto-comics of their own, caricature and comic art in newspapers in South Africa, the early history of comics in Egypt, the history of comics in Mauritius and the island of Reunion, some surprising developments in Kenya, racist and...
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Episode #26: Marvel Comics #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
One of my longer efforts to date, this one is about Marvel Comics #1, the first issue by what would eventually become the juggernaut of American comic book publishing. In this podcast I discuss: just how many Jewish folk were an integral part of Golden Age comics Martin Goodman and his background, the pulps he worked on, and what got him into comics comics packagers and Funnies, Inc. all the moving parts that came together to produce Marvel Comics #1 the historical context in which Marvel Comics #1 appeared the six stories appearing in Marvel Comics #1, and what each one was about what...
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Episode 25: Rin Tin Tin #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode, which is ostensibly about the Spanish comic Rin-Tin-Tin, I go allll over the place. (Sorry). I begin with the early history of theater among the Egyptians and then the Greeks, discuss their use of animals on-stage, proceed to the Romans (who loved having animals on-stage, my goodness!), briefly describe the use of animals on-stage leading up to vaudeville, then vaudeville, the dime novels with heroic animals, the early silent films with heroic animals (there are several I single out and describe their histories), the stars among the movie animals of the 1920s,...
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Episode 24: Amazing-Man Comics #5
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I use the superhero Amazing Man, who debuted in Amazing-Man Comics #5 (cover date Sept 1939), to take a look at just what, exactly, constitutes a "typical" superhero of the late 1930s and early 1940s. I conclude that Amazing Man is actually the archetypal 1930s superhero and is both symbolically and semiotically important. I discuss the history of Centaur Comics, the debut of Amazing Man, his success, what happened to him after Centaur went out of business in 1942, who Amazing Man was, what he could do, who his archenemy was, the variety of 1930s elements which...
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Episode #23: Colonialism in the Bandes Dessinées beginning with Alain Saint-Ogan's "Zig et Puce"
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
ln this episode I use Alain Saint-Ogan's bande dessinée "Zig et Puce" as a springboad for a discussion of colonialism in the French bandes dessinées. I start, of course, with the 1814 Treaty of Paris and the 1814-1814 Congress of Vienna and proceed from there through the two French Colonial Empires, the mission civilatrice, the possible/likely body count of the French imperial venture, the unpopularity of the French colonial venture with most French in the 1920s and how French thought-makers and opinion-shapers reacted to that unpopularity, the use of popular fiction (including bandes...
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Episode 22: Superman #1
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
In this episode I discuss the publication of Superman #1, the first comic book dedicated to the stories of one character. I talk about why this is significant, what DC Comics was probably thinking about when they published Superman #1, the issue's immediate success, why its contents are significant, how Superman #1 is the start of a major change in the portrayal of Superman, and alllll about the Jewishness of Superman, from Siegel & Shuster's immigrant parents to the antisemitic atmosphere in which Superman appeared to where Superman lands on the...
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500 Issues, the Juneteenth episode: Black Creators, Paraliterature, and Golden Age comic books
The History of Comics in 500 Issues
To help celebrate Juneteenth, I made an episode in which I discuss Black creators of paraliterature, which (as I'm sure you know) is all of that literature which is not "respectable" or within the margins of "recognized literature." Naturally, there's too much to say to limit myself to only Black comics writers and artists, so I went back to the 17th century and started there. I discuss the Purtians, chapbooks, slave narratives and the work of "free Negroes," The Black Vampyre: A Legend of St. Domingo, novelettes of the Mexican-American War, dime novels and the story of the sole Black...
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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.
info_outlineIn this episode, I discuss the notorious Tijuana Bibles, the first pornographic comic books.
Except that you can't really tell the story of the Tijuana Bibles without also covering several other topics, including the history of celebrity, a celebrity condottiero, Murasaki Shikibu, the first over-merchandised celebrity, Lord Byron fanfic, the history of fandom in the US, firefighting "buffs," Lindmania & Lisztmania, the 8 Most Important Moments in the History of Fanfiction, Judaism as a read/write tradition, the first Real Person Fanfic, the original Mary Sue, the history of Tijuana, why the Puritans were actually pro-sex, the history of pornography, the Marxist interpretation of the popularity of porn during the American Civil War, the actual and true Secret Origins of the Tijuana Bibles, why there were a lot more Tijuana Bibles in circulation than you think, how much Will Eisner could have made if he'd accepted the Mob's invitation, and what the British had instead of Tijuana Bibles.
My longest episode, and my best work yet, I think. Enjoy!