The recent resurrection of our oldest and favourite superheroes in the summer’s big blockbuster movies has meant that interesting the characters original homes, the pages of some of our much loved classic comic books has soared.
With a significant increase in the number of comics both old and new for sale, I thought it might be quite nice to have a quick trip down memory lane and take a brief look at how and why comic books have become so well loved and highly collectable.
No one can really be sure of exactly when comics, as we have come to know them, first originated. But with early cave drawings considered to be in the same medium due to their use of images and symbols to represent a story comics have been around for a long long time.
Comics actually get their name from the fact that in their early development they were essentially used as humouristic mediums although in non-English speaking countries they are often given a different name.
Over the years advances in printing technology has enabled comic books or comic strips to become not only mainstream but slick and sophisticated works of art. Comic books, and rightly so, are works of art and should be appreciated as such, which is perhaps another reason why they have always been popular with all generations.
Although comics can be about anything the imagination will allow, some of the most popular and indeed famous comic strips were focused around super heroes. After the birth of the comic book legend that is Superman, comic books and their characters quickly became embedded in mass-culture.
During the 1940’s hundreds of comic book superheroes were created included the now famous Batman, Captain Marvel and Captain America. It was also during this time period that comic books became the glossy printed books that we know and love.
In the decades that followed we saw a huge range of comic book characters emerge and stamp their mark on their fans. Some of the most iconic and never to be forgotten include ‘The Spirit’, ‘Peanuts’ and ‘Astérix’, all comic masterpieces and true representations of the comic strip art form.
It was during the 1960’s, however, that the comic book giants Marvel began to take over the comic book market and become the force behind super characters such as the ‘Fantastic Four’, ‘Hulk’, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Spiderman’.
Now all stars of the big screen and capturing the imaginations of the younger generation in the same way they did with their parents and grandparents, the superhero characters are back with vengeance.
In the next instalment I will look at some of the most popular and expensive comics ever to have been sold at auction as well as a look at the reasons why buying and selling comics in an online auction is such a ‘super’ way to source old and collectable comics.
