Who among us hasn’t read the comics in our daily newspaper (when there was one!) or a comic book from cover to cover?
It was the ever-popular dime novels from the mid-to-late 1800s that set the stage for comic strips, and later comic books, as we know them. Usually about 100 pages long and printed on thin, pulp paper, dime novels told serialized stories about cowboys, lawmen, outlaws, and Indians. Selling for 5-15 cents each, they romanticized the Old West and set the stage for the legacy of good vs evil and the tropes we still enjoy today.
Long about 1930 or so, the dime novels and the newspaper-bound comic strips made room for the arrival of comic books. Their bright, colorful panels really made the stories leap off the page. Shorter–about 32-64 pages–and selling for 10-25 cents, they were fast-paced with action-packed plots and larger-than-life heroes that truly brought Westerns to life, helping to launch their popularity in films and the actors that starred in them.
And then . . . came the graphic novel in the late 1970s. If you haven’t read one, visualize them as a longer comic book with more diverse themes as in a memoir, or something more serious as politics. Many have storied adventures, too, and are created by graphic artists for webcomics and digital platforms. Interestingly, graphic novels have achieved academic recognition as legitimate literature to be studied in schools and universities.
Those pulp-fiction dime novels have come a long, long way, haven’t they?
***SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT!***
Only a couple of days ago, my nephew (with a graphic artist degree) has self-published his very own graphic novel. The Flyman has been in his heart since he was a little boy, and thanks to the advent of self-publishing on Amazon, he has finally been able to publish his dream. Faith-based, packed with action, friendship, humor, and fantasy, the Flyman (ala Spiderman or Superman) battles evil in the name of God and will keep you captivated to THE END.
Did you have a favorite comic strip you loved to read in the newspaper?
Did you have a collection of comic books while growing up?
Do you like to watch movies featuring superheroes?
Pam has written 30 romances, most of them historical westerns, but she's proud of her contemporary sweet romances featuring the Blackstone Ranch series published by Tule Publishing, too! Stay up on the latest at www.pamcrooks.com
I always enjoyed Peanuts.
Ah, yes, a classic!
A bit of trivia – original Peanuts comic strips written and illustrated by Charlies Schulz ran for 50 years! At his request, effective on the day after he died, no one could write or illustrate another Peanuts. So every Peanuts comic strip you might see now is a reprint.
I had several favorites. My husband still reads them in the digital paper.
I still have a few comics from childhood.
I prefer Marvel over DC movies, with a few exceptions.
Good morning, Denise. My husband reads them online in our newspaper, too. He tells me comics are still in color on Sundays, like I’ve always remembered.
Our big city newspaper is dying a slow death. I have such fond memories of waiting my turn with my brothers and sisters to read those comics on Sundays. We used to have big inserts of ads that were fun to go through, too. No more.
Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite. No didn’t have the money when I was a kid.
Hi, Kim! No, we didn’t have the money, either, and even if we did, I’m not sure our mother would wants us to spend it on comic books! 🙂 But I remember seeing them in the drug store – racks of comic books that were so tempting and always with kids thumbing through them. 🙂
I loved getting the Sunday paper and stealing the comics. there are so many I enjoyed including Cathy, Peanuts, Archie, Blondie and Garfield
Oh, lots of good ones there, Debra! I’d forgotten about Cathy – I always enjoyed that one, too. And Blondie . . .
I and my cousins all had stacks of comic books we traded and read again and again.
How fun, Janice, that you had cousins to swap with! No doubt you all bonded over the characters and had such fun talking about them and reminiscing.
Hey Pam! Ha! Yep. My father loved the comic strips. I can still hear his laugh and he has been gone over 35 years now. Blonde, Lil Abner, Bailey, and Peanuts…he loved. Only comic books I got was Archie. I liked the whole clan. I remember wrapping a Father’s Day gift for my father from the funnies one year. He laughed.
Cool about your nephew! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, yes, L’il Abner! And Beetle Bailey! Boy, blasts from the past! Good memory, Tracy!
And what a lovely memory of your dad laughing over the comic strips! I hope you never forget.
I practically learned to read from Finnish Uncle Scrooge magazine. And once I had enough English vocabulary I started reading comics in English. Some of the other comics I read were Beetle Bailey, Lucky Luke by Morris and Goscinny, Asterix and Oumpah-pah by Goscinny and Uderzo; Garfield and U.S. Acres, Wizard of Id, Love is, Peanuts, Marmaduke, Calvin and Hobbes, some Finnish comics… I still read comics. I have some new favorites, like Diamond Lil (Brett Koth has very similar style as Jim Davis), Lio, Mythtickle, Off the Mark, The Far Side, Dark Side of the Horse and Viivi & Wagner. My favorite Disney cartoonist is Don Rosa. One of his stories I recommend is The Quest for Kalevala.
WOW, Minna!!!! That’s quite a list, and you are quite the comic book aficionado!!
I love that you still read comic books, too, and that you were able to finesse your English by reading them. Yay!
I used to love to read Family Circle, but that was about the only one.
Family Circle! I loved that one, too!
I did NOT have a collection of comic books, but I did enjoy Archie and the gang!! We couldn’t afford to get comics all of the time. Some friends got some comics on a regular basis and would share theirs. Some of theirs weren’t really appropriate for my age, as I discovered pretty quickly!! Some of my cousins had quite a few comics, and I’d read them when we visited sometimes. I haven’t watched any of the new movies with superheroes, though I loved to watch the cartoon ones on TV on Saturdays, and of course I grew up watching Adam West as Batman.
Hi, Trudy! Superheroes truly evolved from those old western comics, where the cowboys and lawmen always defeated the bad guys. Superheroes today do the same thing, but with technology, they definitely have the Wow Factor that kids have grown up with and love.
I had such a crush on Adam West!!! 🙂
I liked Archie and his friends.
Archie was fun, too!
No I have never read comics, and I rarely watch superhero movies,
Different tastes for everyone, right, Laura? 🙂
Hi Pam, yes I used to like the Dennis the Menace one and Family Circle on the newspaper. I used to love the Archie and Veronica Comic books , my brothers had all the Super Hero ones, growing up they used to have a boys club and they would read and trade comic books. Yes, I like to watch Super Hero movies. Have a great evening and a great weekend .
Dennis the Menace is another one!!
I can see how a boys club would really foster comic books and trading.
Gosh, I’m loving all these cartoons from the past!
I love watching superhero movies, especially the old school ones. I used to like reading the Garfield comic strip in the newspaper.
Hi, Melanie! Superheroes, despite their flash, really can be good role models for vanquishing the bad guys in a larger-than-life way.
Garfield is another biggie! 🙂
A big congratulations to your nephew. What an exciting achievement for him.
Growing up, I never really had a favorite comic strip. Today, I read all the comic strips in our little paper. There are many I enjoy, like Pearls Before Swine and Non Sequitur. They make you think.
I do enjoy super hero movies, although I haven’t been to one in a long time. Actually, I haven’t been to any movie in a long time.
I took a class on graphic novels and comic books. I found it interesting that graphic novels are considered a bit more difficult to read than regular books. Since panels are not always the same size or lined up evenly, Interpreting and connecting dialogue and the pictures requires more concentration and spacial awareness. That almost makes it sound like it is easier to produce them than it is to read them.
Why does it not surprise me that you would take a class on graphic novels and comic books, Pat? 🙂 You will always be a lifelong learner! Love that about you!
You are so right about the panels (and good for you for knowing that term!) are not always the same. That intimidated my nephew as he was preparing to make an ebook of The Flyman, but he found that it was easier than expected. Amazon found a way!
I was a HUGE comic book nerd growing up. I had a big collection – superhero, western (like some you pictured), even some Archie, Disney, and such. But when I went off to college my little brother loaned them out to a friend of his and never got them back 🙁
Back when I used to read a newspaper I did enjoy the comics, especially the Sunday funny papers. As an adult my favorites were Dilbert and Calvin and Hobbs
A big congrats to your nephew – that’s quite an accomplishment!
Well, that’s a bummer about your comic books, Winnie! Phooey.
I do miss reading the newspaper (the physical version) and I found that reading comics was a relaxing way to start the day (like on Sunday mornings after church) or to end the day in late afternoon or after dinner when the paper was delivered to us.
It’s sad that kids nowadays don’t have that experience like we did. Comics were good, clean reading.
Thanks for stopping by!