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Golden And Silver Age Origins
Edited by Stephanie Acosta, Ryan Carter, Megan Rogers, and Daniel Sobel
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Contents 7
Prologue
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Introduction to Superman
10-12
Action Comics #1
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Introduction to Batman
14-16
Detective Comics #33
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Introduction to Wonder Woman
18-20
All Star Comics #8
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Introduction to Captain America
22-24
Captain America Comics #1
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Introduction to Spider-Man
26-28
Amazing Fantasy #15
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Introduction to Thor
30-32
Journey into Mystery #83
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About the Editors 5
Prologue The Golden and Silver Age of comics started with Superman’s first appearance in Action Comics in 1938 and generally agreed to end around1970. In this time period, many spectacular and recognizable heroes saw their inception: Batman, Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the Flash. With Marvel and DC comics constantly churning out new iterations of old characters as well as one blockbuster movie after another, the origins of these baby boomer heroes has become increasingly more skewed. Not to be confused with first appearances, this anthology looks to shed light on the origins of the most well-known superheroes for both comic book veterans and newcomers alike. We chose this theme for the anthology because it is a great way for beginners to get into comic books, starting with the popular icons. All of the chosen heroes have had many versions of their stories, but their origins remain the same throughout each re-telling. They’re all household names and the best way to start a book is on page one with the origin story.
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Superman Action Comics #1 Golden Age: 1938 Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
The first time an audience was
introduced to Superman it was June, 1938. This was the beginning of the Golden Age, which made this comic in particular extremely important in history because it is considered by many to be the start of the super-hero genre of comics. Action Comics #1 is a good starting point for readers interested in Superman’s origin story because it contains all of the basic elements that make up his beginning, which stay true throughout Superman’s history. This comic tells the story of the planet Superman is born on, which is being destroyed due to old age. Superman’s father, realizing what this will mean for his son, sends Superman on a rocket to Earth, where he is raised by humans. He is then known for his super strength and jumping ability. -- Megan Rogers Stephanie Acosta
Jerry Siegel was born in October, 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Glenville High School in Cleveland and wrote for the school paper. He met co-creator, Joe Shuster, at this school when they were 16 years old. Joe Shuster was born in July, 1914, in Toronto, Canada. When he was young, he worked as a newspaper boy for the Toronto Daily Star. When he was around nine years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. After the two became a pair, they worked together on Malcolm Wheeler Nicholson’s landmark, New Fun. In 1933, Siegel wrote a short story called “The Reign of Superman,” which Shuster created a villainous version of Superman who wanted to take over the world. A few years later, in 1938, Superman was rewritten and turned into what he is today in the Action Comics #1, published by the precursor to DC Comics. In later years, the author-artist pair continued to work together on different projects, as well as winning awards like the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. 9
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Batman Detective Comics #33 Golden Age: 1939 Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Batman was first seen by an audience
in 1939 in Detective Comics #27. Bob Kane and Bill Finger created a character who was seen as a hero and detective. Batman was first published only a year after Superman was seen for the first time in a comic. Audiences at this time were becoming fascinated with the superhero genre. Batman became extremely well liked because he was an average person with no special abilities, and yet still managed to save lives and protect his city. His origin story can be related to because it is the story of a young boy whose parents were murdered in a mugging in Gotham City on their way home from a show one night. He was left his family’s fortune and trained to be an excellent fighter. He uses his intelligence and strength to fight crime and overcome his childhood fear of bats, which is where he got his identity. -- Megan Rogers
Bob Kane, originally Robert Khan, was born in New York City in October of 1914. In high school he was friends with Will Eisner and started working in comics at this early age. His first pencil work was Hiram Hick, in a comic book publication. He continued to create strips for comic books until he started working with Bill Finger to produce to Batman story. He helped create many different icons in the Batman comics. Later in life, he was mentioned in the publication Fifty who Made DC Great, as well as being inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame. Bill Finger was born in Denver, Colorado in February of 1914. His family moved to New York City during the Great Depression. He met Kane in 1938 and stared working at his studio shortly thereafter. He too helped co-create one of the greatest superheroes of all time. After his time writing with Kane he started to work directly for DC Comics, supplying characters to both Batman and Superman. Later, he collaborated to create the Green Lantern in All-American Comics #16. He too was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and mentioned in the publication Fifty who Made DC Great. 13
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Wonder Woman All Star Comics #8 Golden Age: 1941 William Moulten Marston
Wonder Woman first appeared
in All Star Comics #8 in December of 1941. Wonder Woman was created during World War II and, like Captain America, was seen fighting villains and figures from the war. She became a major feminist icon because she was the first woman superhero, as well as being an advocate for gender equality and justice. Wonder Woman’s origin story is from the Golden Age and she is told to come from the Amazons, which is an all-female society of superhumans. She is known as Princess Diana of Themyscira. Outside of her home, she is in disguise and known as Diana Prince. She has super strength, agility, speed, and weapons like the Lasso of Truth and her tiara which doubles as a projectile. -- Megan Rogers
William Moulten Marston was born in Cliftondale, Massachusetts in May of 1893. He graduated from Harvard University and earned a Ph.D in psychology in 1921. In the years following his time in college, he invented the systolic blood pressure test, which became part of the polygraph test in later years. Studying psychology he became convinced woman were more reliable and trustworthy than men. In 1940 he created the character “Suprema”, who was renamed Wonder Woman and debuted in the 1941 All Star Comics #8 issue. Marston continued to work on his comic creations for the last six years of his life until he died in 1947 of cancer. He was mentioned as one of the honorees in Fifty Who Made DC Great in the company’s 50th anniversary publication.
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Captain America
Captain America Comics #1 Golden Age: 1941 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
The first Captain America Comic was
released in 1941, just a few months before the United States of America was to enter World War II. The cover of the first issue featured Captain America punching Hitler in the jaw. When the Captain America comics were first released during the golden age of comics, they were Timely comics (now Marvel Comics) most popular character, and they have remained popular since his silver age revival. Over the past several decades there have been several retellings of the origin of Captain America, but despite the large amount of time that has passed, the story has remained rather consistent.
-- Stephanie Acosta Captain America was created by the team of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Joe Simon was born on October 11,1913 in Rochester, New York, a part of a poor Jewish family.
During his high school years, he became the art director for the newspaper and the yearbook. After college he went through a series of editing and cartooning jobs, and while living in New York City, he found a staff job with Funnies, Inc. and did freelance with Timely comics. It was around this time that he met Jack Kirby who would be his partner for the next twenty-five years! Kirby was an up and coming comic artist, he was born on August 28, 1917 in Manhattan, New York. Around the mid-nineteen thirties, Kirby jumped into the comics industry creating newspaper comic strips for various different newspapers and magazines. He then started working for Fox Feature Syndicate, where he met Joe Simon, with whom he started to create freelance work with. The pair in 1940 created the character of Captain America for Timely comics, and the subsequent issues till Captain America #10.
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Spider-Man Amazing Fantasies #15 Silver Age: 1962 Stan Lee
Peter Parker is just your average
high school teenager. He is really smart, geeky, and trying hard to cope with all the stress that comes along at his age. He is orphaned ar an early age and lives with his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben. Parker is not a popular student in school and is often picked in by the cooler jocks. During a class field trip, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him superpowers. These powers include super strength, agility, the ability to climb walls and ceilings, and the power to shoot webs out of wrist devices that he creates. After the bite happens, Parker must learn to balance his teenage life with his new crime fighting life. His greatest challenge is to keep his identity hidden from the public. Spiderman was the first comic to focus in on a teenager who goes about fighting crime on his or her own.
Stan Lee was born December 28, 1922 in New York City. Lee attended school in the Bronx and later became an associate of Pulp Magazine. Lee says he was just a runner for most of the writers and artists. Lee made his first comic debut with a Captain America issue. Over time he created many more comic heroes throughout the golden age. In 1942, Lee joined the US Army repairing communication equipment. In the 1950’s, Lee teamed up with Jack Kirby to create more superheroes like “The Fantastic Four”. Lee created many more superheroes such as “X-men”, “Spiderman”, “The Hulk”, and “Iron Man”. In 2972, Lee stopped writing comic books but instead took on the role of publisher.
-- Daniel Sobel 25
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Thor
Journey Into Mystery #83 Silver Age: 1962 Stan Lee
In Norse mythology, the god Thor
is associated with lightening, thunder, storms, strength, and oak trees. In 1962, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby thought this timeless hero would translate well to the comic book world and introduced Thor in issue 83 of Journey into Mystery. Since then, Thor has become on of the most recognizable Marvel characters by being regarded as one of the most powerful Marvel characters as well as being featured in several films. In this excerpt from his debut issue, we see the little known origin of Thor—where Dr. Donald Blake inherits the power of Mjölnir to become the thunder god himself. -- Ryan Carter
Born December 28, 1922, Stan Lee is an icon in the comic world. Having created characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the X-Men, Lee’s resume is as illustrious as it is prolific. In 1939, Stan Lee became an assistant at Timely Comics, which would become Marvel Comics by the 1960’s. After spending time in the US army from 1942 to 1945, Lee returned to Timely (now known as Atlas Comics). In 1961, under the brand of Marvel Comics, Lee introduced Marvel’s first superhero team: The Fantastic Four. This ushered in what would be known as the Marvel Age of Comics. Lee no longer write for Marvel, but can be seen in cameos in most Marvel films.
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Editor Biographies Stephanie Acosta
Ryan Carter
Stephanie is currently a freshman at Florida State University, a biology major aspiring to become a veterinarian. Back in her hometown of Davie, Florida,she enjoys spending time volunteering at church functions or anything to do with animals.Additionally she likes to spend her free time cooking and baking or watching television shows and movies.
Ryan Carter was born in Seminole, Florida. Ryan is currently a BFA Acting major at Florida State University. Ryan is also a nationally recognized alligator wrestler who devolved his own alligator hypnotization technique. Ryan has been nominated for a Metrolina Theatre Association Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his portrayal of Lorenzo in Melancholy Play. In his down time, Ryan enjoys alone time with his pet avocado tree.
Megan Rogers
Daniel Sobel
Megan Rogers was born in Clearwater, Florida and grew up in Tampa, Florida. She moved to Tallahassee, Florida in the fall of 2013 to attend Florida State University and major in Exercise Science. Currently, she is 19 years old and studying to be a pharmacist.
Daniel Sobel was born August 23, 1995 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in a Jewish household. He moved to Tampa, Florida when he was just 8 years old. He is currently attending Florida State University in Tallahassee as a Political Science major. He plans on enrolling into the Florida State Law School and going on to become a Lawyer. Sobel grew up reading comics; his favorites included Batman, Spider-man, and The Punisher. When he isn’t writing comic anthologies, he spends his free time at his Fraternity house or playing the guitar. He is the proud owner of two obese cats named Chase and Bailey. 33
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