The Comic Book History of Comics (3 points)

 My family would read a lot of newspapers. As a kid, I would grab the newspapers to look for the comic strip from that day. To find out that children, decades ago when the comic strip became very popular, would do the same is very cool. I never paid much attention to the history of comic books and strips, but finding out the comic strip, first published in 1896, was surprising. 

It is impressive how Hearst published the very first comic strip, not knowing it would set off an entirely new genre. A genre where every artist feeds off each other's ideas to make new characters and new scenarios, cleverly making them their own. Something I found very interesting was the intense competition between different comic strip artists and publishers. It is very similar to that of the industry we are in as illustrators. We feed off each other, inspiring one another but still striving to stand out in the crowd with the best idea. 

From these artists, we have gained characters that shaped our childhood; Popeye, Tarzan, Zorro, etc. It intrigued me to see how far back these famous characters date and their journey from a simple comic strip to being animated, to becoming famous cartoons that people grew up with. Some are still relevant in the film industry where they get a spot on the big screen. The creation of Superman, and his fame, led the way to superhero comics becoming its genre and the most popular, chased by struggling pulp publishers. It's incredible to see the work that went into one single character that became a staple for action and superhero comics.