2.1 Culture of Comics

Comics first appeared in the United States in the late nineteenth Century, and gradually evolved from the original single-page and four-volume comics into a comic strip dominated by long story plots. In the 1930s, the development of comic industry in the United States reached a so-called golden age. At this stage, various comic magazines were mushrooming. Under the pressure of competition and survival, comics artists were constantly stimulated to further explore their creativity. Superhero comics were walked on the stage of history at this time.

The golden age of superhero comics was from 1938 to 1955. The real superhero, Superman, appeared in Action Comic Strip in June,1938. This was the first superhero with supernatural ability. Later, successive comics such as Batman, Magic Woman, Captain American, and other comics formed classic superhero images, which were called the golden age of heroic comics.

In the period when the United States was involved in the World War II, super hero became the theme of most magazine comics. In the comics, the superheroes also went to the war, or went directly to the front, or fought in the rear with the espionage and the saboteurs of the axis state. The fanatical patriotism and heroism displayed in the work, which played a great role in inspiring morale.