An American comic book is a thin periodical containing primarily comics content.
While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics, which included the debut of the superhero Superman. This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded, and genres such as funny animals, westerns, romance and humor became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due especially to new censorship laws and the spread of television. The 1960s saw a superhero revival, and superheroes continue to be the dominant genre today, although other genres have continued to find audiences.
Since the later 20th century, comic books have gained note as collectable items. Comic shops cater to fans, and particularly valuable issues have fetched in excess of a million dollars. Systems of grading comic books have emerged, and plastic bags and backing boards are available to maintain the comic books' condition.
Read more about American Comic Book: Prestige Format, Independent and Alternative Comics
Famous quotes containing the words american, comic and/or book:
“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child, well nursed, is at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape.”
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)
“I have observed, that a Reader seldom peruses a Book with Pleasure, ‘till he knows whether the Writer of it be a black or a fair Man, of a mild or cholerick Disposition, Married or a Batchelor, with other Particulars of the like nature, that conduce very much to the right understanding of an Author.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)