Golden Age of Comic Books

A period in American comic-book history, beginning in the late 1930s and ending in the mid-1950s, marked by the rise of superheroes and mass-market comics.

Action Comics #1: A 1938 comic book that introduced Superman and helped establish the superhero genre. Its debut of Superman is commonly used to mark the era’s beginning.
Newsstand: A retail outlet that sells newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals to the public. Newsstands gave comic books broad access to young buyers across the United States.
Batman: A superhero created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, first appearing in 1939. His detective stories gave the growing superhero field a darker, crime-focused style.
Jerry Siegel: An American writer who co-created Superman with artist Joe Shuster. His collaboration with Shuster produced the character that defined the superhero boom.
Seduction of the Innocent: A 1954 book by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham criticizing the effects of comic books on children. Its claims intensified public concern about the crime and horror comics sold during the era.
Superman: A superhero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, first published in 1938. His popularity showed publishers that original costumed heroes could sell comic books.
Comic book: A periodical or book that tells stories through sequential images and words. The era expanded this medium into a national market for original serialized stories.
Wonder Woman: A superhero created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter, first published in 1941. Her success made a woman-led superhero series a lasting part of the era’s output.
Joe Shuster: A Canadian-American comic-book artist who co-created Superman with writer Jerry Siegel. His visual design helped establish the iconic look of the early superhero.
United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency: A United States Senate subcommittee that held hearings on juvenile delinquency, including comic books, in 1954. Its hearings brought comic-book content under national scrutiny at the era’s close.

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