Before
I get into this week’s actual post, I want to mention something. On this blog,
I will write about a number of things concerning comics. Some of these things
may be in depth, thought provoking and well thought out articles; others may be
just rants about something concerning comics I need to get off my chest. Some
will just be fluff pieces I feel like writing that really have no true point.
This
particular post will probably fall into the fluff category.
But,
this is my blog and I will write fluff if I want to!
Did Comics Books Get
More Love in the Golden Age?
I
left the last post with this Burning Question: Did comic books get more love
during the early years and the Golden Age?
This
question is really open ended, and could be the basis of a book rather than a
blog (maybe I will do that someday). It can be and is really more complex then
I am going to make it here. There may not even be an answer to the question.
Truthfully,
this blog may not even do it justice, but I will let you decide that.
This
whole idea came about when I was recently watching the Batman and Superman film
serials and I noticed how they were credited as adaptations.
The
source materials credits were not left off like they were in some film serials of
the time, or how they are missing from some modern movies.
Many
modern adaptions tend to use the ‘based upon the graphic novels’ credit, rather
than ‘comic books.’ This is usually because the term comic books has garnered a
negative connotation over the last few decades, where graphic novel still have
some ‘credibility’ to it.
What
was different about how the Batman and Superman film serials were credited?
Have
a look and you tell me:
See
something in common? They are both credited as based on the ‘Magazines.’
Based
upon the Magazine credit, I would answer ‘Did Comics Books Get More Love
in the Golden Age?’ with, yes.
A
graphic novel is something specific, an over sized, longer-then-monthly original
story in perfect bound format that is usually a standalone story and not a
reprint. Often what most people call a graphic novel is a trade paperback
collection (reprint) of previously published materials, not an actual graphic
novel.
The
label comic book to describe a monthly comic is an odd term in itself, as they
are not ‘books.’ The format is the same as many monthly magazines, over sized,
slim and saddle-stitched (stapled). Another similarity is that, like magazines,
comic books are monthly.
The
term Magazine, or Comic Magazine, seems more accurate to the monthly, periodical format of
what we call comic books.
Comic
Magazine sounds better, and gives more love to the medium then the term comic
book.
There
was a time when that is what they were known as, maybe we should return to that
time.
Ace
Masters.
