{"id":2756,"date":"2020-04-07T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T23:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=2756"},"modified":"2024-01-09T16:40:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T00:40:53","slug":"maggies-world-080-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/maggies-world-080-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Maggie\u2019s World 080: Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MAGGIE’S WORLD BY MAGGIE THOMPSON<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maggie\u2019s World 080: Changes<\/h1>\n\n\n
Maggie Thompson<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Just when you think you\u2019ve figured out what \u201clife as usual\u201d is \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every once in a while, I plan ahead. As 2019 was counting down to New Year\u2019s Day and I considered topics for 2020, I realized that April 2020 would mark the 20th anniversary of a memorable, joyous event. My decision then was to focus in this 80th Toucan column on that wonderful experience. And to suggest that it might be time to institute another comics cruise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What it has turned out to be, instead, is time to think again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The back of the postcard from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was captioned, \u201cMaking Waves: The 1st Annual CBLDF Fundraising Cruise departed April 9, 2000 from Los Angeles for a week-long tour of the Mexican Riviera in the company of a star-studded comics creator crew. Art by Rick Geary.\u201d \u00a9 2020 Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The activities included a variety of experiences; Neil Gaiman said he had the answer to the question, \u201cIf all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge, too?\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
What Was So Great about a Comics Cruise, Anyway?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Folks working to raise money to supply legal aid to the comics field (especially comics shops) came up with ideas for fund-raising events. In 2000, the idea was to put a bunch of fans and pros together on a cruise ship and visit three ports in Mexico: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatl\u00e1n, and Puerto Vallarta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was incredible: Old friends shared new experiences. Many pros and fans made new friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, it isn\u2019t a good topic for April 2020. Time to change the focus. But, hey, changes have been a factor throughout the history of comics. (Well, throughout history in general, but the focus is on comics here.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Transitions: Comics in the early 20th century were sometimes reprinted in hardcover collections such as the 1903 A.C. McClurg & Co. collection\u00a0Cartoons by McCutcheon: A Selection of One Hundred Drawings<\/em>. Three decades later, periodicals offered original material.\u00a0The Comics Magazine\u00a0<\/em>#1 (May 1936) provided new stories from such creators as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. \u00a9 1936 Comics Magazine Co., Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Decades of Comics Changes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The 1800s brought growing popularity for captioned cartoons and magazines in which they were displayed. 1841 saw Punch<\/em> #1 in England, and, in 1884, Ally Sloper\u2019s Half Holiday<\/em> introduced a recurring comics character. Such creators as Thomas Nast, Rodolphe T\u00f6pffer, and John Tenniel produced popular work in the field. Heck, by 1900, there were continuing cartoon characters, picture-stories aimed at readers young and old, Palmer Cox\u2019s The Brownies<\/em>, color newspaper inserts, and many, many recurring comics characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, things were off and running, with readers quickly becoming fans of panel cartoons and strips and buying books that collected them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animated Cartoons<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

1900 was another comics turning point, starting with animation pioneer J. Stuart Blackton playing around with formats. Winsor McCay\u2019s \u201cGertie the Dinosaur\u201d was produced by 1914, complete with his development of registration marks and other standard animation techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, following a variety of other entertainment developments, along came Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney, with Oswald in 1927, \u201cSteamboat Willie\u201d in 1928, and then on to Disney\u2019s 1932 \u201cFlowers and Trees,\u201d Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs <\/em>in 1937-1938, and more and more technical (and delightful story) developments including One Hundred and One Dalmatians<\/em> in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Footnote: The first reported (non-animated) TV image was of the comics character Felix the Cat; I didn\u2019t want you to think I\u2019d forgotten.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Periodical Comic-Books<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Much of the focus on the comic artform in the twentieth century came through the developing nature of magazine comics. In 1920, the British Film Fun <\/em>comic book began; in 1925, The New Yorker<\/em> was released; other comics appeared around the world. Then \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heck, it happened before 1930: Dell\u2019s The Funnies<\/em> #1 (1929) is credited with being the first all-original-content U.S. comic book to be sold on newsstands. Sure, it wasn\u2019t in what has become the current format, but there it was. Big Little Books were introduced in 1932 with The Adventures of Dick Tracy, Detective<\/em>. So, yes, reprint format again, but the next year saw the promotional Gulf Comic Weekly<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then it was 1934. Famous Funnies<\/em> #1, published by Eastman Color, is considered to be the first newsstand comic book and it featured reprints of such strips as Mutt and Jeff<\/em> and Tailspin Tommy<\/em>. And the next year, what\u2019s considered to be the first DC comic book (though it wasn\u2019t released under that imprint)\u2014the large size New Fun Comics<\/em> #1\u2014featured original material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, it was 1936, and newsstands were filling up. There were first issues of Popular Comics<\/em>, King Comics<\/em> (featuring King Features strip reprints), Tip Top Comics<\/em>, and The Comics Magazine<\/em>. Funny Pages<\/em> introduced The Clock (the first masked hero in comics), and Detective Picture Stories<\/em> was the first detective comic book as well as, because of that, being the first single-theme comic book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, yes, 1938 brought Action Comics<\/em> #1, and Marvel Comics<\/em> was released the following year. To sum it up: The 1930s were Comic-Book Time. Yay! A new art form had emerged!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The mid-1950s brought another change to the comics industry. This is what readers found, when they opened the last issue of\u00a0Tales from the Crypt<\/em>\u00a0(#46, February-March 1955). \u00a9 2020 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
But \u2026<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In the May 8, 1940 issue of Chicago Daily News<\/em>, Literary Editor Sterling North\u2019s \u201cA National Disgrace\u201d attacked comic books as \u201ca poisonous mushroom growth of the last two years.\u201d Even people who had been reading comic strips in their newspapers every day attacked the artform. By 1948, some publishers announced the formation and code of standards of the Association of Comic Magazine Publishers. Nevertheless, a couple of years later, Senator Estes Kefauver announced a Special Senate Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce to investigate possible violations of postal laws by comic book publishers. In 1953, Fredric Wertham garnered publicity for the upcoming Seduction of the Innocent<\/em>. And, in 1954, the Senate held hearings to make \u201ca full and complete study of juvenile delinquency in the United States,\u201d with a focus on comic books\u2014which by then were being subjected to actual book burnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(You want to know why it\u2019s so hard to find Golden Age comics in good condition? Consider World War II paper drives, 1950s condemnations, and book burnings.) In 1954, the new Comics Magazine Association of America adopted provisions of its new codes: one for editorial, one for ads. And things calmed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comic Book Distribution<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s the thing: The CMAA was also a racking program, providing a distribution service to its members. Readers looking for current comic books were better able to find them. (Mind you, those without CMAA membership still required a hunt: Dell, Gold Key, and Gilberton releases weren\u2019t available everywhere.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, it was 1977, and Phil Seuling announced formation of Sea Gate Distributors, offering pre-ordered, non-returnable comics at a discount to shops\u2014and so, soon, did other firms. Five years later, in 1982, Diamond became another of the several comics-shop distributors. In 1995, DC announced Diamond as its exclusive distributor. The comics shop market adjusted and adjusted and adjusted\u2014and 2002 saw the introduction of the industry-wide Free Comic Book Day. Which, yes, is having to adapt in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now \u2026<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Well, here we are. The ground shifts under us, with technology helping some and complicating life for others, creators working to meet sometimes self-imposed deadlines, reimbursement for some on hold, and \u2026 You know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comics have come far since the 1800s, the early 1900s, the 1930s, the 1950s, the 1970s \u2026 Heck, at a time when schools and libraries have finally recognized the excellences of the artform, many activities are on pause, as many of us self-isolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare for the worst, prepare for the best, make plans for whichever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comic art is based on imagination. Imagine the field two decades from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I already know one thing about 2040: Even if we all make it safely through 2020 and even if I live to be 97, I’ll think twice about going on a cruise again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maggie\u2019s World by Maggie Thompson appears the first Tuesday of every month here on <\/em>Toucan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Written by<\/p>\n\n\n

Maggie Thompson<\/div>\n\n\n

Published<\/p>\n\n\n