...On superheroes. In approximately one week I have to turn in an extensive paper on the history of comic book heroes. Yes, this is a legitimate class project. The subject was even approved by my professor. I apologize in advance to anyone who wishes they could write papers like this in their classes.So now you're wondering how I would even come across a project like this in the first place. It's quite simple, really.
The class: Intro to Mass Media.
The assignment: Write a paper on any media topic you choose.
Those who know me even a little bit shouldn't be surprised that I chose superheroes as a subject.
So here I am now with four different web pages up (excluding my blogger page), examining and cross-sectioning various reports on comic book history. Right now I'm at the start of the Golden Age, which began roughly with Superman in 1938 and continued until the 1950's when superheroes temporarily fell out of the public favor. This period featured the introduction of some of DC Comics' most popular characters including (of course) Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash.
People generally believe that Superman was the first superhero, but that's not quite so. In 1935, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (who later created Superman) introduced a character called Dr. Occult. This comic book feature was a detective who took on cases involving the supernatural and even had supernatural powers himself.
There were also non-powered heroes that could be considered predecessors to Batman. One of these characters was known as the Clock, who fought crime in a business suit and full-face mask.
He generally left a calling card that boldly stated, "The Clock has struck!" Dang, that's clever. There's one character I'd like to see resurrected from the comic book grave.I gotta say that this is all very exciting. Even though I'm quite the superhero enthusiast, I really don't know much about the history of many of these heroes (excluding Spider-Man - my favorite). Already I've learned a ton, and I've barely even scratched the surface on the Golden Age, not to mention the Silver, Bronze, and Modern Ages. It's quite fascinating learning all this stuff, and I hope to have a real slam-bang paper polished off by next week.
Okay, back to work. I'll likely post again when my project is complete, or maybe even before then.
Up, up, and away!
T.H. Excellence
