Genres through the Decades

In my last post, I admitted to reading my first romance comic book and how different it was.  And we've discussed the different genre's of entertainment in this blog before.  I thought it would be interesting to track trends of the different genre's over the decades and see where the trends lie.

Using the incredible website Mike's Amazing World of Comics and his incredibly useful Time Machine, I was able to put together some data.  Mike's time machine enables you to enter a date, either a cover date or an 'on sale' date, and see all the comics that share that date.

For the purposes of this study, I only looked at DC comics.  First, I didn't want to spend TOO much time gathering data for just the one blog post.  Second, DC is my favorite, by far, of the comic companies.  Third and most importantly, DC has always offered more genre selections than other companies.  So they're a good benchmark to trip through the decades making our counts.

September, 1936.  DC comics, then known as National Periodical Publications, was one of the few companies printing original material.  Anthologies, mostly humorous.

Anthology

2

September, 1941.  America was a couple of months away from Pearl Harbor, but the comic books were already at war.  And super heroes had seen sudden popularity.   Most comics were what I call “super hero anthologies”.  Those are books that had ten or so stories but were headlined on the cover by the book’s most popular super-hero.  Very few books only showcased one hero.

Super Hero/Anthology

7

September, 1946.  In five short years the comic industry had grown.  Many comic book companies were now vying for the ten cents of an eight year old.

Super Hero/Anthology	8
Humor	4
Super Hero	3
Teen Humor	1
Real Fact	1

September, 1951.  The war was over and super heroes were in sharp decline.  Returning soldiers that carried comics in their packs during the war were now more interested in adult fare.  Like horror and crime.  DC tried to hold their content more towards the attentions of kids.  Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were the only three heroes to retain their titles throughout the 1950’s.  As such, DC ended up avoiding most of the dusts-up that would come with Dr. Wertham and his war on juvenile delinquincy.  Romance comics were new, as was America’s freshly started love affair with science fiction.

Super Hero/Anthology	5
Western	4
Humor	4
Super Hero	3
Television	2
Teen Humor	2
Science Fiction	1
Romance	1

September, 1956.  Dr. Wertham’s war on comics had taken it’s toll on most companies.  But DC had the Adventures of Superman captivating kids on their afternoon black and white television sets and driving sales of all Superman related titles.  I’m adding the category “Celebrity Humor”, as Jerry Lewis gets his own DC title.  And “Animal Hero” as Rex the Wonder Dog carries a book in a decade when Green Lantern can’t.  The 1950’s seem long and slow to me, as it takes awhile to get super heroes back on the scene.

Super Hero	4
Western	4
War	4
Super Hero/Anthology	3
Science Fiction	3
Humor	2
Television	2
Teen Humor	2
Romance	2
Mystery	2
Celebrity Humor	1
Animal hero	1

September, 1961.  The Flash and Green Lantern were back and the Justice League had started up.  Not only that, but the Fantastic Four was new at Marvel comics and re-energizing that company towards a super-hero explosion.  Things were finally cooking for my favorite genre.  And DC’s numbers show the jump.

Super Hero	11
Science Fiction	6
War	3
Romance	2
Mystery	2
Western	1
Television	1
Celebrity Humor	1

September, 1966.  Batman was on the air and super-hero comics were extremely popular.  Star Trek was on too, but science fiction was taking a back seat to westerns still in most mediums.  Marvel was printing it’s own money with super hero comics and the Silver Age of comics was in full swing with the swinging set.

Super Hero	19
War	3
Romance	3
Science Fiction	1
Western	1
Celebrity Humor	1

September, 1971.  The excitement of the Silver Age of comics had dulled, super heroes weren’t exactly super-popular anymore, and publishers were looking for the next big thing.  Horror was still a few years off from catching on again.  

Super Hero	16
Romance	6
War	3
Horror	3
Science Fiction	1
Western	1

September, 1976.  DC made a push for more space at the magazine rack with the "DC Explosion" from 1975 to 1977.  But several factors combined in 1978 to make the event known as the "DC Implosion" that almost killed the comic book company.  It was saved by the release of the first Superman movie. 

Super Hero	15
Fantasy	4
Horror	3
War	2
Super Hero/Anthology	2
Television	1
Literature	1

September, 1981.  DC has survived the DC Implosion and exploded again in popularity thanks to the Superman movies.

Super Hero	20
War	4
Horror	3
Fantasy	2
Science Fiction	1
Western	1

September, 1986.  Specialized comic book stores have sprung up all over America and the companies start tailoring their output to a more mature audience.  On a personal note, this did not make me happy.  I watched as the comics got better, but darker and much more violent.

Super Hero	26
Horror	2
Fantasy	2
Science Fiction	2
Humor	2
War	1
Super Hero/Anthology	1
Television	1

September, 1991.  The 1990’s have begun.  Kicked off by dark comics and an even darker Batman movie.  The 1990’s were my most miserable decade as a comic collector.

Super Hero	38
Horror	9
Fantasy	3
Science Fiction	2
Television	2
War	1

September, 1996.  By the middle of the decade the more adult comics that kicked the nineties off have taken a turn into loud, violent, kinetic action with highly stylized art.  The comic companies are going after the adolescent dollar, and driving kids and women away in droves.  Comics are no longer sold in convenience stores and drug stores, but only at specialty shops.  And the industry boom swiftly turned into bankruptcy and depression for the comic companies.  Comic stores started to close in droves.  And DC, in an attempt to stay relevant and popular, published the “Death of Superman”.

Sigh.

I’ve added a new genre.  The 1990’s brought us what I call “pulp violence”.  Comics so adult and hyper-violent that they transcend beyond the genres I’ve established so far.

Super Hero	53
Horror	12
Science Fiction	3
Humor	3
Pulp violence	3
Television	1
Super Hero/Anthology	1

September, 2001.  I’m married and a father and building a life (finally).  The comics seem to be recovering some of their lost dignity. Slowly.  But the “pulp violence” genre looks like it is here to stay.

Super Hero	48
Pulp violence	9
Horror	6
Science Fiction	5
Humor	5
Western	1

September, 2006.  Comics continue to test my loyalty with violence and death and very few material geared to kids.  The boxes start piling up in the house and we start the house addition to accommodate a larger family and a huge collection.  By now, comics are so hard-wired into my lifestyle that quitting is not a quick, easy option.

Super Hero	67
Fantasy	11
Pulp violence	8
Horror	6
Science Fiction	6
Humor	4
Western	2
Television	2
Romance	2

September, 2011.  DC publishes the new 52.  A re-boot of their characters and their universe.  Not only that, but the company decides to offer their content digitally on the same date as the published material.  I make the decision to go digital and halt the overflowing effect of the collection.  DC’s new 52 initiative also saw the company try to offer a wide variety of genre material.

What I didn’t reflect here is that DC also tried to experiment with genre’s within genres.  Using some of their super hero books to play up themes of horror, science fiction, and war. 

Super Hero	56
Horror	15
Pulp violence	6
Fantasy	4
Humor	3
War	2
Western	1
Television	1

Microsoft Excel was kind enough to take the data for me and make a chart.

As you can see plainly, super heroes are the bread-and-butter of the industry.  Taking off during the Silver Age of comics.  Nothing else comes remotely close.  But at least the company does offer some alternative output.

Thanks,

DCD