Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked

I recently viewed The History Channel's Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked DVD. This DVD is a very informative overview of the history of comic books. Among the interesting points discussed in this DVD are the following:

• When Superman was introduced via comic books in the 1930s, he resonated with the American population. Clark Kent was a normal man that lived in the Smallville, USA, not in some fictional location. Since he was born outside of the US and could not return home, many American immigrants empathized with him.
• During the late 1930s and early 1940s, comic books were very anti-Nazi and anti-Japanese, even before America began fighting in that war. Superman was so anti-Nazi that Joseph Goebels said that Superman was Jewish. Captain America was depicted to beat Hitler up. Other comic books predicted a Japanese attack on American ships in American ports before the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. For these reasons, comic books became included in the care packages that were sent to American soldiers stationed abroad during World War II.
• During the war years, these superheroes requested that their readers recycle paper (and other materials) for the war effort and buy War Bonds. Inadvertently, the calls to conserve paper reduced the supply of comic books during these years. This created a scarcity of comic books during World War II, which later caused their prices to soar as they were increasingly sought out by collectors.
• In the 1950s, the US Senate learned of some research that indicated that many people that had psychological problems read comic books. In 1954, the US Senate held hearings on comic books and the violence that they were said to induce. As a result of these hearings, the comic book industry was forced to submit all of their comic books to a self-policing Comics Code. From 1954 to 1956, comic book sales fell 50%.
• In the 1960s, surveys indicated that campus radicals believed that Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk were their foremost role-model revolutionaries.
• Comic books have been used by politicians to advance their causes. For example, the Nixon Administration requested that the comic book industry produce some editions with an anti-drug theme. In the 1990s, Virginia's governor used some of DC Comics' characters to get tougher anti-gun laws passed. Also, in 1996, comic books were used to educate children in Bosnia about the dangers of landmines.
• Beginning in the 1990s, writers and artists could own a stake in their creations which enabled some of them to become very wealthy.
• The comic book industry almost became upended by speculation in comic book purchases in the early 1990s. Publishers printed huge volumes to meet demand that really only existed for older, rare comic books. When the speculators tried to sell their comic books, the prices crashed and the comic book industry contracted dramatically.

These are some of the issues that will be discussed during our panel on the Convergence of Video Games and Comic Books at our Profiting in the Video Game Economy Conference which will take place in NYC on February 16, 2006. More information about this conference is available from Naomi Barazani at 212-952-7400 ext. 126 or naomi@twst.com.