And now... Golden Age Week!

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to dedicate a week of postings to the Golden Age of Comics. That's right! I will (attempt to) post something everyday about the Golden Age.

Why talk about the Golden Age? Well, simply, without the comics published between 1938-1955, it's arguable that we'd have the rich comic culture we have today. It's certainly doubtful we'd have movies like Iron Man or The Dark Knight. Just as importantly, it's also a reminder of how far we came. With some notable exceptions, comics back then were great, if you were a white male. If you were black or a woman, well, you'd have a good deal less to be interested in. Granted, comics STILL tackle social issues in a ham-fisted manner at times ("Let's do a comic book like Sex in the City, but with Marvel superheroines! Feminists like that kind of thing, right?), but they at least try.

Finally, the Golden Age was a simpler time. Things were done not because it was conventional or unconvential, but just because no one was really doing it. What are seen as tropes and cliches now were new territory then. It's amazing to think how the men we call geniuses today were just teenagers trying to make a buck. But in the process, they set the framework for the next seventy-plus years. That's awe-inspiring, when you think about it....