by Matthew Russell - Posted 5 years ago
Vigilantes Beware! We return to the world when comics were “of the devil” and censorship ran amuck of this great industry. Yes, we return to the ’80s to talk about the comic landscape and how an unlikely savior came from across the waters.
A long time ago America and Britain got into a scuffle of sorts. I think it had something to do with the fact that we liked coffee and they kept giving us tea so we dumped it overboard or something.
A little while later they were getting picked on by Germany and we pulled them out of the fire. Both countries made up and shook hands and everything was right in the world.
Yes, I know that this alternate history doesn’t jive with reality and if my old history teacher read this he would have skinned me alive.
Anyway, back in the real world…
Way back when the great and honorable Dr. Fredric Wertham (yes, it was hard to write that with a straight face) wrote a book based on lies. He blamed the problems of the world on comic books. Since we were still a new industry finding our footing, we were an easy target.
I read the book and I still can’t figure out how he came to his conclusions. He asked prisoners in jail “What did you read as a child?” Since almost every kid at the time read a comic in those days, he assumed that because all the prisoners read comics, that is the cause for their delinquencies.
He called Batman gay!!!
Anyway, Senator Estes Kefauver from Tennessee, in a spectacular douche move decided to virtually outlaw comics. In all fairness, he was trying to go after the truckers union at the time but that doesn’t excuse him for vilifying comics.
The industry decided to submit to congressional oversite and the Comic Code Authority was born.
Now limited in who the villains were on the pages, and how each vigilante pursued them, American Comics became the joke of literature. Every story became so watered down that they were laughable.
Did you know that Batman and Robin were actually deputized back in 1941 Batman Issue #7? Really!?! Yep, they did it.
That's right folks, comics went underground. To make up for the starch clean image of Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel comics turned ugly. They became what the Senate was trying to prevent.
Greed, sex, drugs, and rock & roll. That's what the underground scene looked like. You can still see the remnants today in comics such as Heavy Metal, and Fritz the Cat (comics or movie).
To come up with a happy medium, we look across the pond.
I know that the heading is wrong. Just to make my history teacher proud, Paul Revere actually said “The regulars are here.” or “The Regulars are on the move.” See, I did pay attention.
Meanwhile, back in America…
Usually, the term British Invasion applies to music with bands like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who and so many more. Well, comics reached our shores as well.
Amazing prints like 2000 AD and Promethea began to take hold of American fans. Creators like Alan Moore, John Wagner, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Brian Bolland, and eventually creators like Chris Claremont took over this generation.
This guy is easily the top writer in the industry. You can’t dispute his mark on comics. V For Vendetta, the Watchmen, The Killing Joke, hell, even Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
His early days on titles such as 2000 AD and Warrior were pivotal to British Comics becoming mainstream. They were gritty, bloody, and had an edge that we were sorely lacking. Overall, they were bold.
Created by John Wagner in issue #2 of 2000 AD, Judge Dredd left his mark on the world. If you have only ever seen the Sylvester Stallone, you have no idea who Dredd is.
Forgoing color to save money on print, Dredd was the ultimate lawman in Mega-City. Stunningly drawn by Carlos Ezquerra on a bi-weekly basis. He was ranked by IGN in 2011 as 35 among the top 100 comic book heroes of all time. This Dirty Harry style futuristic lawman was EPIC!!!
The production value of each print rivaled the American Mainstream at the time. They told grittier stories that we did. The main reason is the American Comics companies traditionally competed with each other. In Britain, they tried to compete with television. This meant they had to turn out better stories with better art.
In this time in history, Britain wiped the floor with Americans.
In 1976 Marvel saw what was going on in England and decided to set up a publishing arm over there. Free of the typical American restrains of the day, they began to see success by reprinting old Marvel comics along with a few new pages designed for the British market. A new superhero was even born of this, Captain Britain.
On a side note, be on the lookout for What If on Disney’s streaming service. Rumor has it that Hayley Atwell will be reprising her role as Peggy Carter in the series and become the female Captain Britain
