A Comic Reflection of Society
America’s past through the lens of comic books
Let’s talk comics. Not graphic novels. Real comic books. We’re talking comics from “Golden Age,” the period from Superman’s debut in 1938 to the mid-1950s. Plenty are in the public domain and freely available online. That burgeoning comic book industry also exposes the society of the day.
For example, there was more than a bit of racism around. There were no black superheroes during the Golden Age. There were short-lived comics such as Negro Romance (1947) or All-Negro Romance (1950). Blacks were frequently depicted as African primitives or a Stepin Fetchit.
Foreigners, particularly enemies, ruled the dominion of racial slurs. Japanese in World War II stories aren’t only “Japs,” they’re sometimes “slits.” With their Caucasian background, “heinie” or “kraut” usually is the worst epithet for German soldiers. Comics set in the Korean War are awash with “gook” or “gooks.” Again, Caucasian enemies fared better. Russians and Eastern European Communists get off with “Reds” or “Commies,” with “dirty” as an occasional adjective.
The 1950s also reflected an almost frightening naivete about nuclear arms. While war…
