Welcome
Welcome to Comic Book Masters
Comics have always been a popular past-time for both children and
adults. In my own youth I had an extensive collection of comics, mostly
of the horror kind, and even today I like the occasional comic; my
prefered comic today would be that master of interstellar frag...Lobo.
How did the
comic book get it's start?
by David Gieber :
The origins of the comic book are somewhat
controversial and
perhaps the jury is still out. So lets go back to the cartoonish
broadsheets of the Middle Ages, which were parchment products,
created by anonymous woodcutters. As mass circulation of these
broadsheets became possible, they soon developed a market,
particularly at public executions, popular events for centuries
(ugh), which drew thousands of happy spectators. Many of these
spectators would invest in an artist's rendering of a hanging or
burning, and thus making a very lucky day for the broadsheet
seller.
The broadsheet evolved into higher-level content as humor was
introduced. Eventually, all types of broadsheets emerged, which
were eventually bound in collections, the prototype of the modern
magazine. Magazines formatted like the popular Punch, an elegant
British creation, became the primary focus of documentary
accounts of news and events, fiction and humor. One can see in
Punch, the sophisticated evolution of a comic style, particularly
in respect of the evolution of comics in Great Britain. Still and
all, from an historical standpoint, the comic strip stood in the
alley, waiting to be born. And then some say Great Britain's Ally
Sloper's "Half Alley" was the first comic book. This was a black
and white tabloid that had panels of cartoons mixed with a sliver
of news; circa 1884.
Now while all this
was going on in Great Britain, this inching
towards the comic book, the United States had its own brand of
evolution. Instead of magazines, US newspapers took the lead in
creating the comic book industry. Newspapers, with their first
steps, took their single image gags and evolved them into
multi-paneled comic strips. It was during this period that
William Randolph Hearst scored a knockout with the Yellow Kid,
which was actually printed in yellow ink.
So where did the actual comic book begin? Some say it was with
reprints of Carl Schultz' Foxy Grandpa, from 1901 to 1905.
Although others say it was Great Britain's Ally Sloper's Half
Alley. In 1902, Hearst published the Katzenjammer Kids and Happy
Hooligan in books with cardboard covers. For a time, the Yellow
Kid himself was a top contender. But it depends how rigid you are
in your description of a comic book. These examples, for sure,
were predecessors to the modern comic book, which exploded in the
1930's.
The Whitman Publishing Company, in 1934, became one of the
pre-launchers for the modern comic book. They published forty
issues of Famous Comics, which was a black and white hardcover
reprint. The first regularly published comic in the more
recognizable modern format though, was Famous Funnies. It
featured such memorable characters as Joe Palooka, Buck Rogers
and Mutt and Jeff.
Superheroes as we
know them today took a strong foothold in the
1930's. In 1938, Max C. Gaines, who was one of the comic industry
giants, brought "Superman" to Dell Comics publisher, Harry
Donenfield. Donenfield scored the comic coup of the century when
he published a story written by two teenagers, Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster- and so "Superman of Metropolis" (the title of their
short story they wrote in their own fanzine) was born. Superman
was to set a standard for comic book heroes that persist to this
day.
Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to
take up
residency on the Internet. He is the owner and editor of several
websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood
passions; www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com. You can visit
here to keep up to date on the world of comic books and comic
book collecting. Feel free to sign up for my comic book ezine
Stan Lee: Even the
Comic Book Great Ones have problems
by David Gieber:
Stan Lee, in my
mind, has to be one of the all time most
recognizable individuals in the "Comic Book Industry". Most
lovers of comic books have known his name all their collecting
lives. For those of you who don't know his name, I am sure you
have heard of his creations. The X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the
Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, and the very well known Spider-Man
are all from the mind of Stan Lee. For the last forty years or
more and as an employee of Marvel Comics, he has entertained us
through the art of comic book imagination.
Well, by now you would think that an individual of this caliber
would be taken seriously and treated with respect from his
employers. Apparently not! In 2002 Stan Lee decided he had to
file a lawsuit against the comic giant, Marvel. It appears the
agreement between Lee and Marvel was that 10% of the income
generated from TV and movies using Lee characters, was to be his.
Seems Marvel didn't see it that way. Typical of conglomerates,
isn't it? The boys in the suits seem to want to make all the
rules. Stan at one time had even been a suit. Among other
positions held at Marvel, Lee had even been president of the
company for a while.
Years ago when Stan Lee had
created most of his characters, he
had done it through a write-for-hire agreement, so he doesn't own
the characters. Stan was then, just a "meat and potatoes" kind of
guy, trying to put meat and potatoes on the table. But over the
years, he was very instrumental in putting Marvel Comics on the
map.
When the 10% deal was formally put together, apparently most
individuals involved didn't realize the windfall that comic book
character movies would become. Now is that any reason to hold
back Stan's piece of the pie? I think not. Just corporate bigwigs
trying to increase their lot in life. Now this is just my opinion
so don't rant back at me as being unfair.
As luck would have it, a federal judge agreed and ruled in favor
of Lee. How much monetary compensation does this mean? Well to
put it in perspective, the two Spider- Man movies thus far, have
reaped on the order of 800 million dollars apiece, in world wide
ticket sales. This settlement could mean tens of millions of
dollars for Lee, but the battle is not over. Marvel, will quite
probably appeal the verdict and the case may be tied up in the
courts for years.
Now don't go feeling too badly for Stan
Lee. He is still pulling
down a salary from Marvel on the order of a million dollars.
Still not to shabby in my mind. And Lee has mixed feels because
he has been loyal to Marvel for 60 years. To have his lifelong
employer trying to, shall we say, stiff him, for being so loyal,
I'm sure, does hurt. Had it not been for Lee, Marvel may not have
been in the financial position they are today.
At 82, Stan Lee does have a comfortable and successful life. And
if even his settlement is held up in the courts for years, Stan
won the first round. He didn't bow down to the corporate hammer.
Just another "Joe working class hero" yelling out, hey guys,
let's play by the rules.
Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to
take up
residency on the Internet. He is the owner and editor of several
websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood
passions; www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com . You can visit
here to keep up to date on the world of comic books and comic
book collecting. Feel free to sign up for my comic book ezine.
Disclaimer
To the best
of our knowledge these are all from either the public domain or free to
use, and a link either has been or will soon be placed on our link page
whenever possible to credit the sources of the photos and tips.
If for some
reason we have inadvertantly placed a photo or image or article that is
not freely
available we will be glad to remove it upon request.
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